Corner Store Café

The Corner Store Café has taken over from Three Benches at 23 Swift Avenue, Dulwich.  The place has been tastefully renovated and the eponymous three benches have been removed.  While you order at the counter, the service is still friendly and the menu of light breakfasts and lunches has good variety.  There is plenty of seating in a couple of rooms inside or under the verandah.

The hot chocolate came in a white ceramic cup and saucer.  The drink was topped with a white froth and liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder.  It was a sweet milk chocolate flavour which did not excite your reviewer.  The cost was $3.50.

St Louis House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert

This shop at 19 Gouger Street has been running since 2012.  This café takes its name from a town in France near the Rhine rather than the big city on the Mississippi in the USA.  It serves ice creams and desserts such as crepes, waffles and churros.  There is comfortable seating inside and on the Gouger Street footpath.

Merkel ordered the St Louis hot chocolate which came in a dark brown ceramic cup and saucer.  A pink and a white marshmallow were provide with the drink.  It was topped with a brown froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder.  The menu had suggested it should be topped with chocolate shavings which would have been nicer but did not detract significantly from the quality of the drink.  The chocolate was creamy and had a good Belgian chocolate flavour.  The cost was $3.90 or $4.90 depending on the size of the cup.

Bond and Lane Canteen

Bond and Lane are at 1 Salisbury Cresent, Colonel Light Gardens.  This cafe has taken over from the previously reviewed Gardens Coffee Rooms.  The old coffee rooms have been completely renovated and a younger group are running it.  The decor is more minimal featuring timber tables and floors.  There is plenty of seating in the rooms, out front or out back.  Bond and Lane are hosting a Fringe art exhibition of abstract mixed media works by Sophie Button.  The café is serving a range of light meals and providing friendly table service.

The hot chocolate came in a glass and saucer.  In the saucer was what appeared to be a Rolex heirloom teaspoon.  The drink was topped with froth and chocolate powder with a splash of white froth on top.  The drink had a dark chocolate flavour.  The cost was $4.00.

Oak on Unley

A new café has recently opened at 227 Unley Rd, Malvern at the corner with Wattle Street a few doors away from Jin Patisserie.  Oak on Unley is has a huge landscape photo across one wall and a distinctive coffee bean spiral on the floor.  There is a variety of bench seating, bar seating and individual tables.  Oak sells coffees, teas, juices, crepes, cakes, breakfasts and some salads and sandwiches.

The hot chocolate came in a red ceramic cup and saucer with a marshmallow.  Marshmallows seem to be getting rarer as hot chocolate extras, so it was good see this included by a new café.  The froth was finished with a heart shaped latte design.  The chocolate flavour was creamy but not chocolaty enough.  The cost was $4.60.

Steven ter Horst, Rundle Street

Steven ter Horst has moved his shop to Rundle Street from his previous location on Unley Road.  The new location will be very popular but will also put in him competition with Cocolat, Chocolateria san Churro, The Birdcage and the Chocolate Bean.  Steven ter Horst however has the chocolate creations to compete in this neighbourhood.

The new shop has nice timber tables and a good counter area but the floor and one wall still looks unfinished.  I am not sure whether this is an intended part of the ambience.  In the counter are Steven’s normal array of magnificent chocolates and desserts.

I ordered the chilli hot chocolate which came in a small black ceramic cup and saucer.  It was topped with an even brown froth.  The taste was rich and consistently spicy through the whole drink.  It was not too sweet and cost six dollars.

Astonish Patisserie

Astonish Patisserie is a late night dessert Café which opened at 393 King William Street in 2012.  Astonish is warmly decorated with wooden tables, comfortable chairs and old books.  It is a licensed venue and is dimly lit.  It provides a range of wonderful dessert and also a cheese platter.  My chocolate and cherry mess was delicious.  A new Astonish has recently opened at West Lakes.

The hot chocolate came in a Grinders glass and saucer.  It was a dark colour with a splash of white froth on top.  The chocolate was a rich dark flavour and not too sweet.  The cost was $4.50.

Bakers of Unley

Merkel and Myrtle had visited Bakers of Unley some time ago soon after which they had a fire which put them out of operation for a few months.  They are now back in business and doing a good trade at 7/259 Unley Road Malvern.  This is a large bakery producing a whole range of food, including pies, cakes and quiches.

The hot chocolate came in a red ceramic mug and saucer, topped with a white froth and a dump of chocolate powder.  It was a creamy drink and pleasant on wet afternoon.  The cost was $3.50 or $4.00 but did not include a marshmallow this time.

Boulangerie

Merkel visited the Bolangerie on 113 Goodwood Road recently.  This is a French bakery, with French counter staff, selling croissants and desserts.  There is seating inside and outside but not a lot of choice when it comes to something savoury to eat there.  Still, their croissants are good and the desserts look great.

The hot chocolate came in a black ceramic cup and saucer.  It was topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.  The chocolate flavour was dark but not rich.  It was a pleasant enough drink but nothing special.  The cost was $3.50 or $4.00.

Chocolate Taperia

Merkel and Myrtle visited Chocolate Taperia late on a Sunday afternoon.  I am not sure why we have not visited this place before since it is just the sort of place we love to visit.  It really hits the sweet spot.  It can be found at 5/168 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide just west of Cibo opposite the Old Lion.

Chocolate Taperia has been under new management for the last three months.  The dim lighting and plush décor makes it a very comfortable place to dine.  It has a good menu of chocolate delights and a display of high quality chocolates available.  The table service is attentive and friendly.

Merkel chose and orange flavoured dark Belgian hot chocolate.  It came in a tall glass with a handle and saucer.  There was a dark chocolate button provided with the drink.  It was topped with a brown froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.  The cost was six dollars.  The Belgian chocolate was creamy and delicious.  The orange flavour was weak to start with and more concentrated at the bottom.  Merkel and Myrtle were provided complimentary Valentines Day chocolates.  This place will be worthy of some return visits.

Torrens Arms

Merkel dined with friends at the Torrens Arms recently.  The TA has been renovated since the last visit.  There is a plenty of comfortable seating, attentive table service and a variety of meals on the menu.

The hot chocolate came in a glass with a handle and a saucer.  The marshmallows had disappeared since the last visit. The drink had a chocolate syrup design on the inside of the glass and on the white froth on top.  There was also a sprinkle of chocolate powder on top.  It looked great, but the drink did not taste as good as it looked.  From the taste point of view, there could have been less sweet syrup and more chocolate.  The cost was $3.80.

Whisk, Iced

Merkel and Myrtle returned to Whisk Patisserie on Goodwood Road for a light lunch.  While the hot chocolate had been excellent at Whisk, Merkel felt obliged to try the iced chocolate for his readers.  It came in a tall glass topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and plenty of chocolate powder.  The drink was an even dark brown colour so it was not as decorative as some iced chocolates but the chocolate flavour was good and not too sweet.  The cost was $5.90.

Lunch on 9

Merkel and Myrtle had lunch at Lunch on 9 recently.  This is at 9 Goodwood Road, Wayville over the road from the Wayville Showgrounds.  It is a big modern lunch venue selling sandwiches and salads.  There is plenty of seating inside and a couple of table on the footpath.

There was “Hot Swiss Chocolate” on the menu so Merkel chose to have this with his sandwich.  It came in a glass with a handle and a saucer.  The drink was topped with a brown froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.  The drink was indeed in the Swiss chocolate style and nicely creamy.  It could have been more chocolaty though.  The cost was $3.80, $4.00 or $5.00 depending on size.

Tart Café and Catering

Tart Café  has moved from its location in King William Road to Shop 3, 21-23 Old Belair Road in the Vogue Shopping centre.  It is a small shop with only two large cable spools used as tables outside and four bar stools inside for those wishing to eat in.  There are a number of  tasty sandwiches and pies ready to eat.  The place is nicely decorated with plant growing in pots and boxes.

The hot chocolate came in a glass with a handle and saucer.  It was topped with a brown froth with an elegant piece of latte art on top.  The drink was nicely creamy and chocolaty but was far too sweet for Merkel’s taste.  The cost was $3.50.

Colin&Co King William Rd

Jones the Grocer has disappeared and been replaced by another outlet of Colin&Co.  The new Colin&Co Café is at 123 King William Road, Hyde Park.  It is the same layout as Jones the Grocer but they do not sell the groceries of the previous owner.  It is now a table service Café with attentive waitresses.

Your reviewer ordered the iced chocolate.  This was served in a thick glass in fairly rough style.  It was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a dump of chocolate powder on top.  The chocolate sauce tasted good and was not too sweet.  The milk was nice and cold.  The cost was $5.60.

Bakery Girls, Iced

I recently returned for lunch at the Bakery Girls on Duthy Street.  Unfortunately they had no air conditioning in the heat wave but they found a nice table in breeze on the path under the verandah.  The quiche and pasty were quite tasty.

Your reviewer ordered the iced chocolate.  The costs for the iced chocolate were $4.50 and $5.40.  I am not sure which I paid but the drink came in a fairly small tall glass.  It had no whipped cream and came with a scoop of chocolate ice cream.  The presentation was disappointing as there was a lack of variation in the colour and the taste suffered from milk that was not sufficiently chilled.