This is a little gem of a place in Port Noarlunga ... if you can find it! There is an antique shop…read morein the front - you can enter from there after having a bit of a browse, or from the 'hallway' area next door. We've been here a few times for lunch and dinner, and it never disappoints! Yesterday we came here for coffee and cake, which was amazing ;) The menu is chock full of gluten free and vegetarian options - and they are fantastic choices, not just 'token' menu items (the vegetarian lasagne is to die for!). Their kids meals are great too, since they are all served with mash potato instead of the usual fries, making them a much healthier choice. There is a vast array of interesting desserts on offer too - yesterday I had the chocolate and orange cake, which included an array of nuts and seeds, and my partner had the sticky date pudding (possibly the best I've ever tasted!). They sell amazing protein balls too, which look incredible - I'm looking forward to coming back and having one next time ;) Nice wholesome food, which makes you feel like you are making a healthier choice! The setting is like an old-fashioned summerhouse - very charming and relaxing. Service isn't super-quick - they need extra staff during busier periods. I would have given them 5 stars, but their opening hours are a bit limiting (we usually dine out on Sunday nights), and they aren't opening on Saturday nights "at the moment" either (not sure if this will change in the near future?). Gawler Street in Port Noarlunga has become a bit of a foodie haunt - so while you're here, make sure you pop in to The Fleurieu Pantry!

Fleurieu Pantry is unique, from the moment you approach it. Which is off Gawler St either via an…read morealley or through a homewares store - much like a secret speakeasy. The Fleurieu Pantry is part of the Eat Local South Australia movement, supporting local produce. They also support all different types of dietary requirements, including gluten free, vegan, raw and paleo. Once you make your way through the entry door at the end of the alley, the cafe opens out and up. It almost feels like a garden party at your eclectic aunt's house. It feels fun and buzzes with chatter and energy. Table service is friendly and attentive but not at all intrusive. As well as a menu of regular favourites, there is always a substantial specials menu. Vegan and gluten free options are well marked. The smoothies and juices come served in mason jars with handles and wide straws. The serve is large enough to have you sipping before, during and after your meal. Local favourite Goodiesons Beers are also available, as well as organic wine from Battle of Bosworth. The wait for meals is under ten minutes, even when it is very busy. To pass the time there are cookbooks to browse or card games on the tables to keep you entertained. Mr Wino's green curry looked really impressive, with fat, fresh prawns (tails on) and a mixture of black & basmati rice. The sauce was flavoursome with Thai basil, a hint of chilli and lime juice and the veggies still had bite. The Veggie Slice special was a frittata of sweet potato & zuchinni plus black rice. It was a large serve and tasty napped with a generous portion of basil sauce. The side salad was napped with tasty balsamic dressing and a crunchy seed & pepita mix. The choc-orange cheesecake is raw and vegan and totally delightful. A date & nut base gives way to a so smooth chocolatey interior and a rich choc-orange ganache scattered with cocoa nibs. Each time I have dined at The Fleurieu Pantry I have been impressed by it's garden party atmosphere, table service, luxe handwash & cream in the bathroom, eat local / low waste philosophy, vegan options and secret hidey-hole access way. There's a lot to love here.

I have driven past this little cafe a few times and always been curious to what it's like. Today I…read morewent for a quick morning coffee and cake. Unfortunately coffee isn't the best I've ever had but it's not the worst. I tried the cinnamon tea cake, it was okay but I'm not sold on it. Customer service out standing, lady who served me was friendly and welcoming and informative of the selection of cakes (side note - they have delicious GF options for those who live GF). The shop itself, I see what they are trying to do with the vintage look and it's kinda cute and quirky. I will come back mainly to try their all day breakfast menu on offer! I'll add to my review when that happens.

A bit daggy and not the best coffee ever, but their homemade cake and biscuits are always yummoread more

Maxwell's Organic Grocery was awesome. The food was awesome, I had their baked goods and no…read morecomplaints. Service was quick and friendly. Would recommend.

The friendly service combined with fresh, mostly local fruit, veg, and meat make this a delightful…read morecafe and grocery. While the food selection is small it is very fresh and cooked to order. The staff are friendly snd engaging, cleaning constantly so that there is no wait for the outdoor seating. If you are seeking a wholesome meal after morning spent at the nearby beach you should definitely pop in for a snack or sweet treat. You will not be disappointed. The middle size portion of cauliflower "fried rice" salad was perfect for a hungry girl (me)! My hubs was completely satisfied by the organic, grass fed hamburger and even raved about it the next day (!!), this from a man who is hard to please when it comes to burgers, if that tells you anything. If visiting Aldinga and wanting something fresh, delicious, and different than the usual fish and chips stop in and give it a go.

I enjoy coming here. It has a lovely ambience... just the building and grounds alone are inviting…read more It's a quieter style of cafe which I enjoy. Great for catching up with friends or alone to do some study or paper work. The breakfasts are expertly prepared and don't disappoint. I like the offering of fresh local salad greens with brekky, from the famed bickfords organics who also have a stall at the farmers market. They are second to none and add a nice piquancy to the palate. Perfect with eggs! If you are after a big Aussie style of brekkie it's not here or it will cost a fair bit with all the extras! There is also a scarcity of bread with the breakfast here I have noted, and perhaps this is a french thing? But there is definitely not enough to mop up that lovely egg juice, and then I reason, "less carbs my girl! You will survive another day!" And I do! The coffee is good but can be patchy on occasion. You forgive them because they are so sweet and we all want them to succeed! There are definitely not enough good looking sweets on offer to have with coffee or tea but, these are new owners and they are bound to hit their strides soon enough.

Very lovely historic setting in a restored heritage building. Outdoor seating overlooking High St…read moredown to Aldinga. The coffee (long black) was very nice. A step up from other options in the area. The food (light lunch) was also very nice and chocolate croissants very decent. I feel this will be my new favorite coffee spot in the area ...

We had the Benedict Diablo and the Breakfast Burrito. They we both delicious. Good value for money…read moreand the coffee was good too. Definitely worth a stop for a bite to eat.

First time in McLaren Vale. We chose this Cafe due to a number of people inside, seemed to have…read moremore than the other cafe's in the area. We enjoyed a very nice pepperoni pizza, with a well made tasty coffee. We found the service was friendly and helpful. Understandable a number of customers enjoying lunch, as the menu had good affordable options. We left very satisfied and pleased this was the Cafe we chose.

Go here. There are three dining options at d'Arenberg - the expensive $200 per person cube, the…read moretraditional full service restaurant and a bar with make your own cheese and meat boards. Go for the bar.

Polly's wine lounge is just outside of the D'arenberg cube. You build you're own platters. The was…read morean absolutely amazing experience. We shared between 3 people and had huge serving of meat, cheese we chose the focaccia which was delicious. Since I don't eat meat he recommended the mushroom pate which was to die for a must get spread on the focaccia. Dessert we had the Jaffa brownie best thing ever. The whole meal was a wonderful experience. Thanks to a Lachlan who served us and was a great guy.

Wow - all I can say is wow!…read more It took us a while to visit Carmel's Cafe Bar And Grill, mainly because I remember this place when it was the magnificent silver service restaurant Limeburners, then Awganix. I pine for those restaurants, especially the former ... but I digress ;) Carmel's is a more informal affair, but the food is magnificent - I'm not using that word lightly either! We started with warm house-made bread served with olive oil, olives and dukkah - absolutely delicious. For main I ordered the Kansas Style slow smoked red gum 'Pulled Pork' - here's the description: 'Smoked over red gum for hours, served with a fennel, apple & mixed nut slaw, cheese and spring onion potatoes and a fluffy buttered roll. A sure favourite!' Oh yes, I'm already dreaming of when I can have this again - the pork just fell apart when I skewered it with my fork, and had a spiciness which wasn't too overpowering, but gave it a bit of a kick. I'm not normally a coleslaw person, but this was delicious - the potatoes served under the pork were an unexpected treat! This meal was seriously mouth-watering - and only $26! The serves are enormous (I think they are competing with The Barn next door), and way too much for me ... but I made a valiant effort, and made sure I ate all that pork!! My partner had Dave's American Pork Ribs - dunno who Dave is, but he sure knows how to cook ribs - yummy!! This is definitely not a place to take vegetarians - there are a few token veg menu items, but the meat is definitely the star of this place. I would have given Carmel's 5 stars - but there was a very loud table of 12 seated right next to us, and they were so loud and obnoxious that we couldn't really have a conversation between ourselves. I noticed that there was a separate room nearby, and think that the staff should have moved them into there so the rest of us could enjoy our meals in peace. Apart from that, I am very much looking forward to coming here again and sampling more menu items ... that's if I can get away from that amazing pulled pork ... hmmmm ... ;)

Today we were at Carmel's in McLaren Vale. A restaurant in the heart of South Australian wineland…read more Hubby and I have been here many times before although it had been at least a few years since our last visit. Although we arrived fairly early - 6pm - on a Thursday (steak specials night) I was surprised that there weren't many people there. Last time we came was on steak specials night too and it was packed! When I got the menu I understood why. While the steak specials are ok, they are not what they were last time I was here. Last time I'm sure they were under or around $20 each, this time they were about $5 - $7 off the regular price. Still, I knew the quality was going to be good so I didn't mind too much. I love the ambiance inside this place. Music playing softly, dim lighting, lots of wooden tables, an enclosed and added on paved outdoor area and a lovely fireplace going right behind us. I thought the menu had lots of great options even for non meat eaters. I was intending to eat steak tonight seeing as I was here so I had a look at the specials and noticed a 300 gram black onyx rump. I probably don't get out much but I hadn't heard of black onyx before so I asked the waiter. He was very lovely and said he'd go and check with the chef as he didn't want to misinform me. The waiter told us simply that it's a cross between Wagyu and Black Angus beef. That sold it for me so I decided to go for that. Now every time I've ordered steak I've asked for it medium-rare but always thought it was cooked too much. I was just a little afraid of what I'd get if I asked for it rare. I mentioned this to the waiter and he said they could always put it back on the grill if I thought it was too rare so I chose to have it cooked rare. Hubby went for the 350 gram scotch fillet which he chose to have cooked medium rare. We also ordered some bread with a trio of butters. The bread was really nice. Very toasty warm and crispy and those delicious butters just melted on it when we buttered it on. My only complaint was there was not enough bread to the butter! We were hungry and went through those few slices very quickly. The butters were seeded mustard, tuscan herb & garlic and bacon jam. I liked the herb and garlic one the best. The seeded mustard was ok but I didn't notice a strong taste. The bacon jam was also ok but it had a strange sweetness to it. It was a great starter though, accompanied by a delicious house cabernet sauvignon. The mains looked soooo good when they came out! The Black Onyx is on the left and the Scotch Fillet is on the right. I'm not going to review them separately as we both were in raptures with our meals. The meat was just so gorgeously tender and I definitely made the right choice in ordering it rare. The waitress who brought the food out to us came back a few minutes later to make sure it was ok but the original waiter who'd seen us at the door, also came back a little while after that to make sure it was ok for me and that I didn't want it cooked a little more. I thought that was really great service. I honestly wanted to go into that kitchen and shake the chef's hand. I don't have steak very often so I want it to be good when I do and this was really exceptional. I didn't try any of hubby's but gave him some of mine and he said they had similar seasoning but mine tasted "meatier". I'm not sure what that meant but he liked it. The fries and salad were really good too. You can tell they source quality ingredients and are proud of what comes out of their kitchen. As mentioned, this was not our first trip to Carmel's and I have to say we have been impressed every time we've gone, whether we've had steak, pasta or pizza. The food and service have always been great and I would definitely recommend this place if you are wanting a nice night out.

Modish5 is perhaps my new go to coffee shop. Apart from offering good value, they source quality…read moreingredients which are much fresher than other coffee shops that I have been to. The strawberry cheesecake was so soft yet packed full of flavor. It was served with whipped cream and was topped with fresh strawberries and jelly. In terms of presentation, the piece of cake was well placed and was of good size for $6.50. The base of the cake was also not too thick either making it perfect for cutting using a desert fork. They also provided appropriate cutlery given the cake was to be shared between two people. This was without having to ask and was rather thoughtful. Staff were friendly and service was pleasing. Wait times weren't too long either even though there were quite a few people there. Their hot chocolate is good. It doesn't taste too watery like other coffee shops I have been too. Tucked away in the corner of the Woodcroft Plaza, this coffee shop is a gem that you definitely wouldn't want to miss.

Awesome cheese shop selling both imported and local adelaide hills cheeses (Woodside Cheese Wrights…read more& Udder Delights). Coffees are also great. Atmosphere is nice and relaxed with nice art work on the walls. There is a big open space good for groups and kids and some more secluded areas out the back if you need a quieter space to chat.

What a lovely spot! We came here on a Saturday afternoon for coffee, and were not disappointed…read more Delicious long black (yay!), another of our party reported that their cake was fantastic too. They stock a lot of cheese (duh!), as well as a lot of local produce - we stocked up on cheese and sourdough bread ... but will definitely have to come back for lunch, since the menu looked very enticing. Brekkie looks good too, but I have heard that it gets very busy!

I'm not sure what this place was before, but it now has a really lovely little cafe retrofitted…read moreinto it. The coffee is at a solid good level but not outstanding. Importantly though they're one of the few places open on public holidays who do all day breakfast. I was there late - around 3pm when they close at 4 - after a very late New Years party. They had unfortunately run out of the beans for a fantastic sounding Moroccan breakfast, so I went for the big breakfast. The price difference was on the house, which sets the tone for this place - they care about their customers. The food is very obviously good quality, and while the breakfast was more than large enough, the quality is what really stood out. With the exception of a pre-processed hash brown, every piece was perfectly cooked and utterly delicious. A final stand-out are the staff. This is how staff at every cafe should be - energetic, smiling and super friendly. I'll definitely be back whenever I want to treat myself :)