A tale of two cafes

Those of you who follow my Instagram and Tumblr will have seen that recently I have been lavishly indulging my love of cafes. I have just spent a month in Adelaide, Australia’s food and wine center. Best known for its churches and festivals, Adelaide is a small but exciting part of the country. Currently it features a population of just under one million and several different sandy beaches. It is the perfect relaxation destination for anyone who is tired of the city’s hustle and bustle.

I went to two different cafes both were very unique choices.  Although the intention was not to rank these cafes. The difference between these two places was fascinating and I thought you might be interested to read the difference as well. 

As we were in Adelaide, the capital of festivals and Art it seemed fitting to find cafes that followed these themes. I connected quickly to a blog that listed eight of the best cafes in Adelaide and I picked one of those from the list. The other choice was recommended to us by a family friend who had been there previously.

The first café was called SAD café – although the name is intended to connect to their partnering hair salon DAS, this café seems to match its title. When we first walked down the street to find the café we saw what looked like another customer resting on a bench taking photos of herself – which is a very good sign if you’re looking for a hipster café.

We all know that the selfie culture is perpetuated by these alternative and non-conforming photo takers. Therefore, we were thrilled to see this taking it as a good omen.

The café is quite small and features a monochrome appearance with light brown uncovered tables. I’m sorry to say I accidentally deleted the photo that I took of inside the café – but it is fairly standard. Although the layout was unusual in that the hairdressing salon connected directly to the café. At first, we thought this was an extra seating area- but once we saw those hair cutting chairs we realized that wasn’t quite right!

After shuffling around the inside of the café for a bit we determined that we’d rather wait outside and enjoy the sun that filters through onto the outdoor seats. It was a nice warm day – perfect weather for outside sitting. The tables hadn’t been cleared off yet and so we made ourselves useful and began moving the dishes – now I only mention this because as we did so the girl who we thought was a customer sitting on the bench jumped up and took the dishes to the kitchen.

Realizing that the girl was not a customer but in fact a silent and disinterested waitress we began to understand why the owners had felt that ‘sad café’ was an apt name for this little joint.

The menu is short but well laid out and provides some fairly tantalizing options for lunch and coffee. I chose the simple gluten free granola while my coffee partner inquired about gluten free bread. – Be aware they do not have gluten free bread (but they have gluten free granola?)

Lunch was very charmingly laid out with fresh fruit and greek yoghurt accompanying the granola and my friend’s lunch was also fresh. I am no food critic so I’ll leave that to the experts – but as for the coffee, it was clearly an organic blend. The type of bean was bitter and but not burned. It was made reasonably quickly and settled in a plain black cup.

The appearance of the food and type of plates used weren’t anything exciting. Certainly for a hipster café connected to a hair salon I had hoped for something a little upbeat – but perhaps the silent uniform requirement of all shaved heads should’ve told me that I don’t quite understand the image that this café presents.

The next café that we went to was out of the city in a smaller townside area of Adelaide called Lost in the Forest. Adelaide towns are well known for their boutique coffee and cake places – so I was keen to see why this café stood out to so many.

It is set in an old church on the side of the hill. There are only six parking spaces reachable off a little side road. The café itself, however, is very popular and requires you to book online in order to be seated for one of their meal rounds. The tricky thing about booking yourself in is that it is only open a few days per week and not for consistent meal times. You can find out about Lost in the Forest’s opening times and booking system [here].

Much like the previous café that we visited the staff are not dressed in the traditional black so they blend in with the patrons of the café as well (Be wary when asking someone which way to the bathroom – they may not be staff!) However, they are very friendly and we were greeted immediately upon entering the door.

The church is still clearly a church although it has been renovated with plain white walls, a recycled timber and glass bar and a pizza oven.

Pizza is the main feature of this café so forget about this café if that’s not what you’re looking for. Instead of coffee and cake we chose to select two of their gluten free gourmet pizzas to sample. While we were waiting it was impossible not to admire the art work that was sketched from the wall to the ceiling. It certainly matched that artistic/rustic feel that I had been hoping to find somewhere around Adelaide.

Overall the two cafes both provided decent food and match that artistic vibe that you want to find when you eat somewhere like Adelaide. The problem was that the level of service at the SAD café was actually ‘sad.’ You’ll have to forgive the puns – but when a name describes the object so perfectly one can’t help but use it. Customer service is the epitome of a café, especially in a city like Adelaide where cafes and wineries face strong competition.

I look forward to hearing your favorite café spots around the world and what makes them special! Leave a comment below to tell me what you think.