12 of the best cafes in Adelaide

From hipster hangouts to breezy beach brunch bars, we’ve got your caffeine covered while you’re on Kaurna country.

Coffee culture is a serious business in Adelaide and there are an abundance of world-class cafes for you to sit down and enjoy a top-notch brew. Whether you’re catching up with a friend or looking to refuel before exploring the city, here is our guide to the best cafes in Adelaide.

1. My Kingdom for a Horse

Best for: Locally sourced dishes

Southwest of the city, this family-friendly cafe is still going strong after nearly a decade on the scene. An on-site roastery allows the ever-evolving coffee menu to cater for even the most caffeine-conscious connoisseurs. You’ll be spoilt for choice with the seasonal menu, but don’t miss the Kingdom Huevos Rancheros with smokey house-baked beans.

the cafe interior of My Kingdom for a Horse, Adelaide — My Kingdom for a Horse has an on-site roastery with a coffee menu to cater to caffeine-conscious connoisseurs. (Image: Raven Mead Pty Ltd.)

Address: 191 Wright St, Adelaide

2. Peter Rabbit

Best for: Secret city escapes

Escape the grittiness of Hindley Street in Adelaide’s West End at this dreamy garden oasis serving generous brunches and lunches to those in the know, as well as the best puppuccino in town.

al fresco umbrellas outside the Peter Rabbit cafe in Adelaide — Settle into a garden oasis at Peter Rabbit.

Winters are spent cosying up to the fire with a plate of Nonna’s gnocchi, while summer is the ideal time to sip a gin and jam cocktail in the garden while you disappear down the rabbit hole for an hour or two.

an al fresco dining setup at Peter Rabbit cafe in Adelaide — Sip a gin and jam cocktail in the garden.

Address: 234 Hindley Street

3. Karma and Crow

Best for: hipster boozy brunch

Inner west favourite Karma and Crow recently unveiled a new location in Brooklyn Park that shares space with onsite brewery Yellow Matter.

a breakfast and brunch meal at Karma and Crow in Adelaide — Power through the day with a hipster boozy brunch at Karma and Crow. (Image: Kelsey Zafiridis Photography)

The pastel tones and curved lines juxtaposed with industrial chic make for an Instagrammable interior and if you’re too early for a schooner of the house ale, try the lemon ricotta hotcakes with matcha labneh.

people dining at Karma and Crow in Adelaide — The pastel-hued Karma and Crow cafe is a chic spot for coffee (Image: Kelsey Zafiridis Photography)

Address: 18/108 Marion Rd, Brooklyn Park

4. Dutch Coffee Lab

Best for: Carb-loaded cheese toasties

Run by Dutch expat Tom de Flaart, The Dutch Coffee Lab brings European shabby chic to Port Adelaide, all the way down to Oma’s authentic beef and veg soup. If you’re after a sweeter start to the day, try a stroopwafel with your freshly roasted De Groot coffee while you browse the vintage clothing racks for a bargain.

Address: 255 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide

5. Joe’s Café

Best for: Ocean view

You can’t beat the views from this popular seaside beach cafe established over thirty years ago.

the dining interior of Joe’s Café in Adelaide — Soak up ocean views at Joe’s Café.

A midday mimosa with slow-cooked pork benny might kickstart your weekend after a long week.

a close-up shot of a seafood dish at Joe’s Café in Adelaide — Refuel yourself with fresh seafood.

You’ll find plenty of tables outside for four-legged friends and if you look up you’ll also spot the resident rooftop dachshunds.

the exterior of Joe’s Café in Adelaide — Take a seat outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Address: Corner of South St and Esplanade, Henley Beach

6. LUMA Coffee Club

Best for: Health-conscious foodies

Located on a suburban strip just a minute’s drive from Henley Beach, Luma Coffee Club attracts an image-conscious 20-something fitness crowd.

a hand holding a toastie at LUMA Coffee Club, Adelaide — Start your morning right with a toastie at LUMA Coffee Club.

So it’s no surprise that you’ll find a healthy menu of acai bowls, toasties with ‘good fat mayo’ and coffee from ethical Mclaren Vale coffee supplier Octeine.

acai bowls at LUMA Coffee Club, Adelaide — Enjoy refreshing acai bowls at LUMA Coffee Club.

Address: 60-62 Mitton Avenue, Henley Beach

7. Bloom

Best for: Cast iron baked pancake, poached quince, house vanilla ice cream, orange syrup, macadamia

This family-friendly cafe with inside/outside dining offers an appetising seasonal breakfast and lunch menu. The clever design by Sans Arc Studio has transformed a former tram shed into a light-filled space perfect for a lazy brunch.

the entrance of the Bloom cafe in Adelaide — Step into the Bloom cafe for a lazy brunch. (Image: Bloom)

Choose the Bloomin’ banquet if you can’t decide, then cycle to the city or the sea along the nearby River Torrens to burn it off.

the light-filled interior of Bloom cafe in Adelaide — Once a former tram shed, Bloom has been transformed into a light-filled space. (Image: Bloom)

Address: 38 Winwood Street, Thebarton

8. INC Café

Best for: Working

As a social enterprise employing people of all abilities, INC café has inclusivity in its DNA. With a bright space full of natural light and sofas, the simple menu delivers value for money, with $10 avo on toast. Perfect place to work for a few hours with enclosed gardens for our four-legged friends

Address: Jack Fox Drive, North Brighton

9. Yuna Restaurant and Café

Best for: Casual Asian flavours

Matcha lattes and milk bread are the vibe in this unassuming Japanese-inspired cafe in the western suburbs. The traditional breakfast set with shiozake (salted) salmon, tamago, miso soup and a house-made pickle will start your day with a bang.

a hand holding an egg sandwich with coffee at Yuna Restaurant and Café — Dine casual Asian flavours at Yuna Restaurant and Café.

Visit a bit later in the day and you might be able to persuade owner Mia to share some sake over lunch, or wash your ramen down with a list of local small-batch wines including Yetti and the Kokonut.

a hand pouring a bottle of sake at Yuna Restaurant and Café — Share some sake over lunch.

Address: Shop 7 34 Henley Beach Road Mile End 5031

10. My Grandma Ben

Best for: Sustainable vegan and vego brunches

My Grandma Ben is an ethical eatery offering an impressive range of vegan and vegetarian brunch options with sustainability at its core.

a hand garnishing a meal at My Grandma Ben cafe, Adelaide — Sample vegan delights at My Grandma Ben. (Image: Josie Withers)

Omnivores will be tempted by the roo crumpet stack, an Aussie take on traditional breakfast fare, but you can’t go wrong with the stracciatella on garlic grilled sourdough sourced from the adjacent Lost Loaf Bakery (which attracts epic lines on weekend mornings).

a staff walking inside the My Grandma Ben cafe, Adelaide — My Grandma Ben slings delicious vegetarian brunch options. (Image: Josie Withers)

Address: Plant 4 5 Third Street, Bowden

11. WORK

Best for: Midday grab-and-go

Owner Matthew Raymond’s background in design is evident in the slick look and feel of this CBD cafe , where office workers fuel up with his signature coffee blend.

a hand holding a hot pastry at WORK, Adelaide — Grab a WORK pastry and coffee. (Image: WORK)

At lunchtime, you can build your own sanga or keep up your carb intake by ordering a WorkBurger.

breakfast and brunch at WORK, Adelaide — Fuel up with a satisfying brunch. (Image: WORK)

Address: 100 Pirie St, Adelaide

12. The Pear

Best for: crafting with locals over cake

This is a small space with a big impact run by Alberton locals Christie Anthoney and Joost den Hartog in the front room of their 100-year-old house. From crafting to fruit tree grafting, a daily program of workshops welcomes locals and visitors to connect over coffee and cake. And the location next to the Alberton train station makes it easy to reach from the CBD or Port Adelaide.

Address: 49 Sussex Street, Alberton

Need a dinner spot? Check out our list of the best restaurants in Adelaide.

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat , now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate , whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor , who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will , who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods . “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield , embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House .

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument , which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds .

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens , hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)