Coffee Review: Taste Baguette

Located on Rundle street close to the mall, Taste Baguette sneaks in quietly near Cibo’s, occupying a tiny space in the area which has been transformed into a rustic café.

What I like about Taste Baguette is the way that it caresses the side walk so gently, with an open window displaying sweets and pastries acting as a portal from the outside world to the inside of their café. Also to be noted is the beautiful old door and rusted letters – the whole place is rather under spoken, but in a good way. Inside, they have made use of old scales and cash registers to add to the overall atmosphere, and I found myself intrigued by the decorative elements provided by these older times.

The overall interior layout is not fantastic due to their lack of space. The door space often becomes crowded and turns into a mess of people trying to place their order. But the staff are friendly so most people don’t make this into a problem.

The coffee was good and they used Bonsoy for their soy milk.

Taste Baguette scores an 8.5/10.

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 Hipster's Choice: Horner & Pratt

HORNER & PRATT

When all of my friends from varied groups begin to tell me about the same café, I know it’s time to go and see what all the fuss is about. I had Saturday off work and decided it was time to venture into the unknown, to a café which I had heard a lot about but had never been to. Horner & Pratt, situated on East Terrace with a surprisingly small street presence is not one to take your grand parents to – nor should you attend in your Lorna Jane or Nike clad workout gear, more specifically post-workout covered in the sweat from your greedy consumerist body.   

What it is though, is a small and under-spoken eatery in a prime location of the city, situated across from the beautiful parklands. Their breakfast menu consists of burritos, burgers and other delicious breakfast-like items. Though their staff appear to be in the elite levels of hipstertown – hipster to the bone and then probably more – they are also efficient and work together to make a great team.

After waiting for the customer before me to finish with their order, I went ahead to order my soy flatwhite. While I awkwardly stood in the albeit small and unreachable corner of the store, waiting for my take-away coffee, I made sure to give my toughest facial expression possible. Lions don’t listen to the opinions of sheep, I muttered to myself over and over, as I wished I had arrived wearing something different – perhaps even, pajamas would have been better. Perhaps even, my dad’s gardening clothes. Lions don’t listen to the opinion of sheep, I continued, trying to stand in the most nonchalant way possible.

The coffee was sweet and delicious, the wait wasn’t too long, and I think I can speak for myself and the staff members in saying that it was a welcome relief when I finally left. While the store was every little bit hipster but in no way a bad place to dine, an outfit change would certainly be required before returning again. I didn’t manage to catch the brand of the beans nor the soy milk (probably due to the repetition of my new mantra), but I can tell you that the coffee was great and I believe the milk to have been Bonsoy – the best soy. The bean had a little bit of tang to it, and although the milk was a smooth consistency and very well frothed, it could have ideally been hotter than what it was. The final score for a soy flat white at Horner & Pratt is a 7.5/10 – perhaps even an 8 if we exclude the lions and the sheep.

Horner & Pratt are located at 31 East Terrace, Adelaide.