Station City Café

Station City Café is in Station Arcade which runs from 52 Hindley Street through to the tunnel under North Terrace to the Adelaide Railway Station. The Café provides reasonably priced meals such has sandwiches and hamburgers. There a small number of tables inside and in the arcade.

The hot chocolate is on three dollars and comes in a tall glass with a handle. It had plenty of white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate on top. The drink could have been more chocolaty but had a creamy texture.

Bravo Espresso

This is an Italian restaurant offering a full range of meals in the food hall in the lower ground floor the Adelaide Central Plaza which is at 100 Rundle Mall. This is a busy lunch place with a choice of different foods. T-Bar and The Coffee Club have been reviewed here before which are also in this food hall area.

The hot chocolate is $3.20 and comes in Piazzo D'oro coffee cup. It has a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. There is a reasonable amount of chocolate in this drink but it is not particularly creamy. The drink was spilt by the time it got to the table but your reviewer cannot blame anyone else for this because he was required to carry the drink to the table.

Coffee Time

Coffee Time is in the middle of suburbia at 90 Winston Ave, Daw Park. It is nicely furnished with black leather upholstery on the tables and chairs inside and there is seating outside as well. This a traditional coffee shop with not much else but coffee and cake available. Both beverages and cake seem to be of good quality.

The hot chocolate cost $3.50 and came to the table in an elegant stemmed glass with a handle. There was a heap of froth on top and sprinkle of chocolate powder. A single marshmallow completed a good presentation. The drink itself was a little too hot and did not have the creamy texture of some other hot chocolates but chocolate was reasonably rich and tasty.

This venue seems to have closed and is now on the list of disappearing hot chocolate venues.

Goodwood Bakehouse

The Goodwood Bakehouse is a bakery selling a full range of bakery items but has a number of tables inside and outside for patrons. You can buy a bun, pie or pizza for a meal, but beware you will be given plastic cutlery and plastic plates to eat it.

The hot chocolate came in a coffee cup. It was topped with a heap of froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The drink was creamy but too weak. The cost was $3.20.

Strata Bar

The Strata Bar at 57 Flinders in the Adelaide CBD a couple of doors East of Kappy's, is a licensed premises with gaming facility although it does not look much your traditional hotel. It is well laid out with many wooden tables, stone walls and interesting ceiling fittings. The meals are fairly large traditional pub meals.

The hot chocolate comes in glass with a glass handle. It was a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate on top but it must have been one of the weakest hot chocolates that Merkel has drunk for some time. The hot chocolate was four dollars.

J-Hit Café

After viewing the new signs put up in this Cafe Merkel has concluded that the names is actually J-Hit Cafe. For some time this review was listed has T-Hit Cafe, but J-Hit seems to make a lot more sense for those java junkies.

This is a new Café at 279 Pluteney Street, Adelaide. It does not look quite finished but there are enough tables and provision to provide a good lunch. There are a limited range of sandwiches available and there are a couple of curries on menu. Most importantly there is an espresso machine. There was some advertising available suggesting organic, free trade coffee was served at J-Hit.

The hot chocolate came in a large mug. It was topped with a bubbly brown froth. The flavour of the hot chocolate was a little different than usual. I am not sure whether this was an organic chocolate or had been contaminated with coffee. It was not unpleasant. The cost of the fare was inexpensive the hot chocolate was probably only three dollars but the price was not evident on the menu.

Chris Jarmer@Air Bistro and Bar

Air is a fine restaurant with good table service. It has bright atmosphere with big windows overlooking the Museum and Art Gallery on North Terrace. In the main eating area Air has a circular hole in roof that goes up to the next floor which also gives the impression of space. The menu has a variety of Asian and European cuisines.

The hot chocolate comes in a glass topped with a white froth and a liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. There were two marshmallows provided in the saucer and these were pink and white. The hot chocolate was only three dollars and was reasonably chocolaty.

BB's Café, Iced Chocolate

Merkel returned to BB's Café at Castle Plaza recently. This time he tried the iced chocolate for $4.90. It was topped with vanilla Ice Cream and Cream. The iced chocolate was served in tall glass and decorated with a swirl of chocolate syrup around the walls of the glass. This was an excellently presented drink but alas, the drink itself was too milky and did not seem to have any chocolate flavour other than sickly sweet syrup.

Bean Bar, City Cross

I have reviewed a number of Bean Bars before. There are seven locations in the CBD. Interestingly the website still shows the one that was taken over by Piazza 99 some time ago.

I ordered the standard hot chocolate. This was not presented as well as the Waymouth Street Bean Bar. It was a creamy tasting froth on top but no semicircle of chocolate powder. The glasses still suffer the burning fingertip problem and the chocolate is not rich enough. I think the small hot chocolate was $3.40 which is small rise since last time.

Java Joint

The Java Joint is small Café on the North side of Hindley Street that sells rolls and sushi as well as coffees. It does a good takeaway trade but also has a number of tables inside.

The hot chocolate was served in a good sized coffee cup and had brown froth and plenty of chocolate sprinkled on top in a straight line pattern. The chocolate was rich and tasty and the best part is that it was only $2.90

Café Buongiorno

From time to time this blog contains reviews of iced chocolates rather than hot chocolates. This enables you reviewer to return to restaurants he likes and try some of their other fair. The Marmadukes returned to Café Buongiorno on Sunday afternoon for lunch. For five dollars Merkel received an iced chocolate in a tall glass. Topped with chocolate gelati. The taste was fairly sweet because of the chocolate syrup that went into it, and the presentation was not up to scratch compared with some other iced chocolates. It was thick and creamy though and was cool on a warm afternoon.

Whisk Patisserie

Whisk Patisserie is set up in an historic building near the tram crossing at 113 Goodwood Road. It has Café seating inside and outside. It has rolls and quiches available for lunch and a short breakfast menu.

The hot chocolate comes in an impressive tall ceramic mug. The drink is topped with a light brown froth and a sprinkle of cocoa with a hint of cinnamon. The drink is light and frothy and made with real chocolate with Belgian flavour. This was a pleasant and stylish drink.

Latte on Hutt

This coffee shop has expanded over the years. It is a fairly noticeable red brick building at 238 Hutt Street. It now has a big veranda over the Hutt Street footpath for its al fresco diners and an extra room for inside diners.

Merkel had a pleasant surprise when his hot chocolate came well presented with a white and a pink marshmallow. It has been some time since two marshmallows have been provided as extras. The hot chocolate also looked special because the chocolate syrup used showed a pattern the glass. The glass had a wire handle as was topped with a white froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder. The taste was reasonably chocolaty and obviously had been made with proper chocolate powder. Although syrup was probably just for show it still left Merkel with sweet aftertaste. For $3.70 this was a well-presented and reasonable tasting hot chocolate.

Favourite Fillings

Favourite Fillings is a small lunch bar at 111 Gawler Place. It does good range of traditional sandwiches and roles with long list of standard fillings. There are five tables inside and one outside. The décor is a little dated with its walls covered in brown and blue ceramic tiles but the big glass windows make it a pleasant place to sit.

The hot chocolate was $3.90 and came in a glass with a wire handle with a pink marhsmallow. The froth was heaped on top with a liberal sprinkle of chocolate powder. The drink was rich, creamy and chocolaty.

Xpresso on Flinders Street

At the quiet end of Flinders Street at number 281 is Xpresso. This does not look much from a distance but it has been nicely set out. There is plenty of seating inside and windows open right up so be open to elements just like in Amico. A good range of sandwiches and light meals is provided.

The hot chocolate is $3.50 and comes a small brown ceramic cup and saucer. Larger mugs are available. One complaint I have is that the cup handle was too small to engage my large fingers. The cup was spilt by the waitress and then again when I tried to negotiate the petite handle. The hot chocolate was reasonably chocolaty and was finished with a white froth and a liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. The powder was so liberal that it ended all over me. All in all this was a messy hot chocolate experience but still tasty.

Amico Cafe

Amico is a modern stylish Café at 333 King William Street. Its big glass windows open up so that patrons are open to the elements sitting in a big verandah style room looking over the picturesque Street, Amico does a range of elegant pasta and pizza dishes. It provides friendly table service.

The hot chocolate is $3.80 and comes in a tall glass with a handle similar to the one served at Eros Ouzeri. There was a white froth on top with a sprinkle of cocoa. The drink was long and pleasant without being a particularly rich or distinctively chocolaty.

Amico has joined the list of disappearing hot chocolate venues and has been replaced by Noshery.

Buskers Café

Your reviewer was alerted to Buskers Café by fellow blogger MMC at My Morning Coffee. This Café is at the far West end of Rundle Mall. This in the mirror image position to Briccone which is at the East end of Rundle Mall. I thought the accommodation at Briccone was more polished but Buskers was still pleasant. Buskers is fine café with good table service. The meals are a little more upmarket and expensive than the usual lunch venue.

Buskers Café had a premium hot chocolate on the menu which caught your reviewer's eye. It was served has glass of hot milk froth and a small saucer of shaved Belgium chocolate. All that was required was to pour the chocolate into the milk and stir. This was a fine chocolate indeed and flavour was characteristically Belgian. This was great way to drink a pleasing hot chocolate and only four dollars.

Urban Fare

Tucked away in the leafy suburbs of Linden Park is Urban Fare. This is a pleasant restaurant with a big window and view over the bowling club. Urban Fare does a full range of meals and has plenty of seating inside.

The hot chocolate comes in a Vittoria coffee glass with a wire handle. It was served with a pink marshmallow and mini biscuit on the saucer. Merkel does enjoy his extras with his hot chocolate and has been a long time since any had been forth coming in these reviews. The drink was not as rich as it should have been but Urban Fare was a pleasant place to have morning tea and the extras were delightful. The hot chocolate cost $3.50.

Sierra Snack Bar

This unassuming Snack Bar is at 18 Wyatt St. It does a good range of sandwiches and roles and provides friendly service.

The hot chocolate is only three dollars and comes in a Griffith's Coffee cup. It has the normal white froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder but is not a particular rich drink. Café Delicieuse next door is a better experience for hot chocolate fans.

Baretto Corte Caffe

Baretto at 302A King William Street is a long thin Café with seating inside and outside. The food is expensive with a short menu of fine looking meals but the starting price was $15.00 for a bowl of soup. Merkel spotted a schnitzel roll on display so chose this so that he could save his funds for his investment in hot chocolates. Unfortunately the roll was dry and tasteless.

The hot chocolate did not improve this horrible dining experience. The froth was not too bad but the drink had not been stirred and after sipping what was mostly milk from the top of the cup Merkel discovered a thick vein chocolate powder at the bottom of the cup. This was a disappointing waste. The hot chocolate cost $4.50.

Bocelli, Italian Hot Chocolate

The standard hot chocolate at Bocelli Caffe Ristorante was reviewed earlier this year. Merkel and Myrtle returned for breakfast on Easter Monday to find it doing a busy trade and obviously popular with cycling groups.

Merkel was pleased to see that Bocelli did an Italian hot chocolate as these drinks are rare in Adelaide. The Italian hot chocolate came in a Vittoria coffee cup. The surface was a little bubbly but not frothed like a typical espresso drink. It was very rich with a dark chocolate flavour, but probably not as thick as some of the other cafes on the Italian hot chocolate list. The costs was $4.50.

Eros Ouzeri

Eros is a fine Greek restaurant with table service and a full wine list. A couple of doors West of Cocolat it has plenty of seating inside and outside in comfortable surroundings.

The hot chocolate came in a tall glass with the handle like the one at Duthy Street Deli. It was finished with a brown froth and a semi circle chocolate powder on top. The Greeks are famous for their strong coffee. Unfortunately this does not translate to the Eros hot chocolate. The drink was too weak.

Sylvia's Café

This is a little breakfast and lunch place in the little arcade between 22 Twin Street and Hindmarsh Square near Citi Centre in the Adelaide CBD. It servers a few more meals that the normal Café and does a special "Cypriot Sandwich" which includes bacon and hommus in a lepinja role. There is plenty of seating and a nice view of the Hindmarsh Square sculptures.

The hot chocolate was available in small, medium and large sizes. The small, three dollar hot chocolate came in a glass with a handle and saucer. Two marshmallows were provided and the drink was finished with a brown for froth and sprinkling of chocolate powder. The hot chocolate was reasonably rich and not too sweet.