Food Drink

Get Your Caffeine Hit With Our Guide To The Best Coffee Spots In Adelaide’s CBD

Caffeine addicts, this one is for you…

If you, like us, see coffee as both a warm and comforting treat for the tastebuds and a necessary daily replacement for a morning multivitamin, water and punching people, then it’s time to listen up!

Adelaide has some of the best coffee in the country. Yeah, we said it. We’ve travelled far and wide and still there are few that can beat what we’re serving up down here in South Australia.

So if you’re in the city for work or even worse Christmas shopping *shrieks* avoid the mass produced caffeine hit from a “barista” who couldn’t tell crema from cream and join us on the dark, yet exceptionally perky, side known as… the coffee snobs.

Here are just a few of our favourite inner city spots to grab a mean cup of java and possibly a tasty sweet treat too.

Abbots and Kinney– 78 Pirie St. If you’ve eaten an elegant looking sugar dusted pastry (that didn’t come from a bakery) in Adelaide in around the last year or so, it was probably made by these cool cats. But we first learned of their coffee skills while wandering the Adelaide Farmer’s Markets at Wayville, where they hand them out by the hundreds from their cute little caravan. Pirie Street is now their permanent residence and you MUST stop by for a latte with a Danwich or a Cronut. Trust us.

Avila Coffee– 22 Hindmarsh Square. Strolling past you might miss this one, as we often find ourselves distracted by the going’s on of the Crowne Plaza. But keep your eyes open! The friendly gals here make wonderful coffee and their lunch specials are often to die for.

Coffee Branch– 32 Leigh St. A tiny spot on Leigh Street that makes a killer brew. The morning pre-work peak hour is HEAVING, so be prepared to wait. But oh lord when you taste it, you may just never leave.

Coffylosophy– 198A Hutt St. They have a passion for coffee that may even exceed ours (shock horror)! They have it down to a fine art… did you even know that a macchiato is supposed to have 4 layers? We shamefully didn’t. But these heroes set us straight and got us perky again!

East of Norman– 48 Sturt St. Brand spankin’ new and serving up everything from food to alcohol and, of course, a mean coffee. Staff here are super friendly and can brighten any morning. They’ve put a spring in our step before many-a meeting and we’re loving their fit out.

Exchange Specialty Coffee– 12-18 Vardon Av. There’s so much going on down this tiny backstreet area both day and night now. We’d probably also suggest doing a coffee crawl down here. We love the street side dining (or sipping as the case may be) at Exchange and their funky coffee varieties like Finca Siberia from El Salvador.

Fair Espresso– 20 James Place. These guys are a bundle of laughs. Which is often what you need once you’ve ducked down an alley away from the madness of Christmas in Rundle Mall. Last time we were here they drew a poorly indicative almond on an almond milk latte. Let’s just say they aren’t experts at art, but they are artists at making coffee.

Handsome and the Duchess– 16 McHenry St. A reasonably new addition to the coffee scene, that although has small digs, has made a big impression. Not only do they make a mean coffee but they host cute little events too like ‘meet the roasters.’ Grab a Bourbon Vanilla Cheesecake while you’re there too.

Hey Jupiter– 11 Ebenezer Place. A wickedly bright shop front that you can’t miss. There’s also usually an array of folks strewn out the front sipping coffee with satisfied smiles on their faces. Their coffee is excellent but the only downfall is that there’s only one takeaway size, and really you just can’t comfortably fit four shots in one little paper cup. For this reason we’ve been known to buy two. WHAT?! You’ve got two hands for a reason.

Parsec– 80 Hindley St. This bright addition to Hindley has been a fave of ours from the start. Bright and breezy but super relaxed, this team will whip out your coffee in no time at all. Plus you’re not squished on the street surrounded by questionable smells and morning commuters while you wait. Read our full story here.

Peel St– 9 Peel St. Known for many things (just thinking of food here makes us hungry) but did you know they make a great coffee too? They’re open from 7.30am to get that early morning hit, proving that Peel Street really does have you covered, at almost any hour of the day.

Please Say Please– 50 Grenfell St. If their store front sign is anything to go by, the team here are comedians as well as baristas. Constantly giving us a giggle, all the while serving up some of the state’s best coffee. You can quote us on that. We also have a real weakness for their macarons like Christmas Pudding with Custard! Sorry waistline, they win this round.

Sad Café– 4- 10 Ebenezer Place. Like we said, this street is a coffee hub. It’s anything but sad here really. It’s actually so cool you’ll start doubting your own coolness. They’re joined to a funky barber next door, come on, how cool is that!? You can force your hubby or bearded friends to get a quick slick fix up while you wait for your perfect coffee to be poured.

If you’d like to try it all in one exceptionally alert and peppy hit we suggest you hop on board a Square Mile Tour. The new touring company are doing all kinds of food and drink tours across the CBD, but for the coffee lovers, you can’t pass the Coffee Ride.

Caffeine fix, sorted!

 

 

 

 

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