Tres Delicious: Felici

Ahh, Felici. Long time visitor, first time reviewer. 

Felici has been around as a staple cafe for me ever since I moved to Adelaide. It used to be modern, chic, and clean - and has always made great coffee. In recent times, it seems as if they have tried to incorporate the 'hipster' aesthetic into their otherwise mainstream cafe. And unfortunately, have not quite succeeded. I think part of the problem may be because they haven't fully implemented this style; it only hints towards it, and partially holds onto its' old roots. There are elements which are simply beautiful, but altogether it doesn't quite work. The main improvement which could be made would be to change the feature wall from being wallpaper to a simple black or white paint job. This would help to tone down the store and allow it to narrow down the target audience more decisively. The fit-out by no means makes it a bad place to dine, but from a design perspective it hasn't quite hit the spot. 

Regardless, the coffee was, and has always been great. Both times I visited I ordered iced soy lattes. 

Felici's bean of choice is Di Bella, and they use Bonsoy for their soy milk. The coffee is bold and delicious, and to be honest, even though I actually visited this place twice for a review, both times it was just as good. I have no choice but to give them a well deserved 10 on the coffee front (and for all those wondering how I am giving so many cafe's such high ratings - this project is about listing the best places for coffee in Adelaide, so anywhere below standard has been disregarded). The only downfall with the service was the time it took for my coffee to be made. Both times, with only one order (with 3 coffees or less) ahead of mine, I still had to wait about 10 minutes for my coffee to be ready. 

As a side note for anyone who might want to visit, they had a sign advertising breakfast and lunch for a very reasonable $10.00.

Despite the strange taste and application of decor I would recommend this to all of my friends, and their friends too. 

Felici is located at 261 Rundle St, Adelaide.

The one for everyone: Rymill Park Kiosk Cafe

I always try and go to new places when I can, but sometimes I can’t help but return to my old favourites. Rymill Park Kiosk is definitely one of those.

Situated on the edge of the lake in the middle of Rymill Park - one of Adelaide’s most beautiful parks – is the little Kiosk Café. While not much can be said for the overall appearance of the store, what it lacks in design, it makes up for in charm.

On a Sunday in summer this café is often found packed to the brim, especially with cyclists, as we found out this particular morning. The staff were friendly and working hard to complete the orders as quickly as possible, as 30 odd cyclists in a group had ordered before many other café patrons. Though I did have to wait 20 minutes for my coffee, on previous experiences, sans the lycra-clad army, my order has always been called out promptly.

My partner, Jon, a connoisseur of all things sweet and mainstream(especially when they come from a certain purple and white brand) stepped out on a limb and tried the comparatively – that is, to his normal diet - exotic muffin which was Raspberry and Banana. The muffin was fresh and light, and Jon gave it a 6.5/10.

Once my coffee was called, I made my way through the army of cyclists and brought it back to our ideal table position, just by the lake. The coffee was smooth and well made. The temperature was just right, and the milk was frothed to perfection. The only things that let this coffee down from scoring a straight 10 was the bean used (Rio – not my favourite) and the brand of soy milk, which was Vitasoy. Non-soy drinkers may never understand why Bonsoy is leagues ahead, but trust me when I say that it is.

This cafe holds a certain charm that will always keep me coming back. A large part of that is its location. While you sit by the lake, you are surrounded by hundreds of trees and plants, and large open areas of grass. In the lake are families of ducks, and you can even hire row boats out from the kiosk. The only time I wouldn't recommend coming to Rymill Park Kiosk Cafe for a coffee date, would be for a business catch-up. There's something so relaxing about the setting that it seems cruel to bring hard work into it. Along with the great location, the staff have always been friendly and work very efficiently to keep their customer's happy. 

Overall, I gave the coffee and experience a solid 8.5/10.