The 10 best brunch spots in Adelaide you didn’t know about
From a cafe in an old post office to one with a pick-your-own-strawberry patch, these 10 brunch spots are Adelaide’s best.
Food & Wine
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From glorious granola to oozy poached eggs, nothing quite beats a good brunch menu.
If you’re a regular brunch’er you might’ve hit the most popular spots, so if you’re looking for something different we’ve got you covered.
We’ve uncovered 10 of the best brunch secrets, from a new Spanish-inspired suburban cafe to a revamped post office in the Hills. There’s something to suit all tastes for that mid-morning nosh.
If you know of a hidden gem, we’d love to hear it: email jessica.galletly@news.com.au
SHEOAK
38 Sheoak Rd, Belair, 0412 983 151, sheoakcafe.com
Topping that twisty-turny section on the James Rd turn-off from Old Belair Rd is an expansive cafe, somehow light, airy and cozy all at once.
Indoors, it’s toasty warm, with pops of mod black trim softened by rustic timbers, limed tables and comfortable chairs.
Breakfast and lunch are served all day (seven days, kitchen closes 3pm) with both menus quite hearty and heavy on the classics. There are three variations of eggs benny under cloaks of impressively housemade hollandaise.
The ubiquitous smashed avo has a twist of peas in the mooshy mix, and again there are good variations. Try the avo, saltbush dukkah, grilled asparagus and house-pickled veg.
Or, Adelaide Hills porcini and goat cheese feature in the mushroom dish, also available as a vegan brekky. Eggs florentine with an added pile of curly bacon on the side, pictured, eats as good as it looks.
WILLMOTT’S GASTRONOMICA
36 Kensington Rd, Rose Park, 8364 1307
So you know Willmott’s does great providore-style lunch, but did you know it has a considered breakfast menu, too? The cosy offshoot to Andre Ursini’s Orso restaurant on Kensington Rd is the ideal place for winter. Beautiful old brick and bluestone walls, high and low tables, kitchen bustle and cool tunes all bring atmosphere and warmth.
The avo is not smashed but elegantly – and generously – splayed. Terrific soft parma sidles the greens, and properly poached eggs.
Across the table, a mixed medley of mushrooms is a mixed tumble with oodles of noodly enokis and the seasonal best in an umamicreamy sauce topped with rocket.
Mushrooms are not usually too picture-pretty once cooked, but here the dish has a snowy mountain look with finely and freshly shaved parmesan cascading with the greens over the earthy base. The coffee is great, too.
LOCKWOOD GENERAL
35 High St, Burnside, lockwoodgeneral.com.au
Morning food has become so interesting. Think a poached egg on soft, pillowy gnocchi with smoky lardons of Italian-style pork cheek and crunchy pangrattata, or a tumble of field mushrooms and toasty brussels sprouts on good bread. These are examples of new-age dishes you’ll find at the likes of this cool cafe in the backstreets of Burnside.
Savvy locals in the know have peak hours tied up, so time it right, later or earlier, to avoid the wait for a table.
It’s a smooth operation built on experience. The LG is one of a trio of cafes, sister to Peter Rabbit on Hindley St and Bloom. Mums and local walkers choose footpath tables where their dogs are welcomed with fresh water, and there are plenty of cosy knee rugs for cooler days.
The menu is split into “brunch” and “shared” items, which all work regardless of the time of day. Coffee and pastries tick the boxes, too.
BECKMAN STREET DELI
37C Beckman St, Glandore, 0409 445 914, beckmanstreetdeli.com.au
Traditionalists might differ, but as lovers of brunch, we’re enjoying tasty twists on the classic eggs benedict.
“Eggs benny at the Deli” is described as a mix of local feather and PECK poached eggs, sweet corn fritters, San Jose chorizo, sauteed spinach, spicy tomato ragu, sriracha hollandaise. Phew.
BSD is cosy and comfy and the service is over and above. One dish comes with scrambled eggs instead of fried. It’s our own ordering (at the counter) mistake. The waiter overhears then confers with the chef who offers a do-over “so everyone is happy”. Mr fried-egg lover refuses because he’s pretty keen on the perfect fluffy scramble made with butter. Is he a convert now? Reportedly yes – at BSD at least.
The cafe rooms are light and welcoming, but we like that little library nook or, on a sunny day, the outdoor patio just out of sight of Beckman St traffic.
ASHTON POST OFFICE CAFE
257 Lobethal Rd, Ashton, 7120 6952
When you hear a cafe is in an old post office along a winding stretch in an Adelaide Hills town called Ashton, you know it’s going to be cute stuff.
Our slat tables and chairs are surrounded by pleasant greenery, although not so comfy that you would want to linger too long. Indoors, there’s more hanging greenery and a shabby chic-meets-retro feel.
Things are very casual. Order at the counter, where, if you are eyeing off the lovely home-style cakes I suggest you put dibs in because they disappear fast.
Apart from a couple of classics, there’s a spicy cauli toastie, pictured, and garlic mushroom, all teamed with more punchy flavours including garlic, red onion, baby spinach and the like. We choose four different toasties, made with sourdough from local Uraidla Bakery. A caramelised chilli pumpkin with roasted walnuts and feta, plus greens and cheese, takes our fancy, while across the table the reuben is given the bigger tick for its tender slow-cooked quality corned beef, mustard, pickles and sauerkraut.
BEACHES
55 North Tce, Port Elliot, facebook.com/beaches.ptelliot
If you haven’t been to Port Elliot for a few years, then you may have missed the opening of this gem of a cafe.
It’s a wholesome place, where delicious colours grace fresh and seasonal plant-forward plates. Servings are generous and flavours nicely balanced. The beauty pictured above is built on a base of textural gluten-free cacao granola carrying coconut yoghurt and the flourish of fresh fruits.
Beaches’ soul bowl offers another cheery palette. It’s based on quinoa, greens, roasted mushrooms and hashed sweet potato, topped with avo, squeaky slabs of haloumi fresh from the pan, and a touch of “local kraut” for extra zing.
Avocado splayed on chunky ciabatta smeared with house-made pesto, softly poached eggs, feta, herbs, and brightness in a dusting of dukkah is a big tick. All of these elements are made in-house, along with ‘healthy’ slices and cookies.
CACHEMIRA
137 Magill Rd, Stepney 0420 219 740
Sausages for breakfast? Some do like the traditional big-brekkie staple, a lot.
On the lighter side, make it a sobrassada, by local producer San Jose, and now we’re talking.
With the level of kitchen love at Cachemira, the sausage effect is a hit because the team here grind this delicious smallgood and smear it liberally on toast, lending damn tasty oomph to eggs on good sourdough.
Blistered tomatoes still clinging to their delicate vines add freshness to the sobrassada brunch stack, pictured, along with fried eggs and a piquant salsa called pico de gallo.
We enjoy the Spanish-style start to the day.
The smashed avo is one of the prettiest you will find, and it offers a good twist. The avocado shares its limey light with perfectly poached eggs, and zingy salsa offset with a quality tumble of chewy aged chorizo.
Across the table another hit is the mushroom ragu with restrained truffle flavour in the mix, layered on good sourdough with greens, parmesan, and soft poached eggs.
BEERENBERG FARM
2106 Mount Barker Rd, Hahndorf, 8388 7272, beerenberg.com.au
The stunning extension of Beerenberg is one of several new-look lures in the traditional Hahndorf tourism zone – and it’s so much more than a pick-your-own strawberry field.
Catching our brunch-mood eye is “kartoffelpuffer”, Beerenberg’s take on the traditional German potato rosti.
We choose “The Crispy”, pictured. These rosti are actually super little balls of finely shredded potato with a light crispy outer and devilishly soft centre that’s totally more-ish. They are a great vehicle for the other elements – bacon, gooey poached eggs, hollandaise, an eggplant and tomato relish, plus pops of sweetness and more texture in strawberries and pistachios.
“The Botanical Queen”, comprising a fresh scone, dollops of four botanical jams and whipped cream, is the perfect sweeter treat to share.
G+GRACIN ON RUNDLE
78 Rundle St, Kent Town, 8363 4353
A cosmo feel oozes from the bones of this suburban gem.
At a footpath table – a bench and pew amid a mix of high and low tables, plus a cute seat under the window – we’re not unhappy with the traffic noise, the passers-by, other diners and their dogs, and rustic tables wrapped around the corner cafe occupying a lovely repurposed bluestone building.
Inside it’s quieter, in rooms opened up for an airy feel. Blackboard specials range from a fruit plate to a burger and a beer. The all-day brunch menu takes you on a tour of everything you might imagine at this time of day. Along with the usuals there’s a French toast sweetie sandwich, chilli eggs, and lemon/thyme/garlic roasted mushrooms plus cured ocean trout.
The croque madame, promising fried eggs, ham and hollandaise, temps me. It’s a fair version of the French toastie.
A shared brownie provides the sought-after choc fix. It’s rich, moist and one of the new brigade of truly good gluten free slices.
LA CREMA
14 Denis St, St Marys, 8299 0948, lacremacoffee.com.au
An old factory in an industrial pocket of St Marys has been cleverly repurposed, the latest function as the roasting base for La Crema coffee.
The big surprise is that what seems a small cafe out front, with mod black, timber and greenery façade plus covered outdoor seating, opens into the old plant.
It’s actually a giant eatery with plenty going on, so the feel is busy rather than barn-like.
The morning menu errs to the classics. Pancakes are popular. We spy plenty, all large, psychedelic, messy destroyers to anyone “trying to be good”.
The winner this morning is a bruschetta-like serve of smashed avo. It’s spread on Turkish bread, topped with haloumi and a scatter of chopped tomato and red onion, crowned with a lovely soft-poached egg. Unsurprisingly, the coffee gets top marks.
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