Cafeography
Adelaide

Bakery cafés in Adelaide

Bread, pastry and frog cakes, with Hutt Street and the CBD at the center.

Photo: Rachel Claire, Pexels License

South Australian bakeries have their own canon. The frog cake, sponge with a jam center, artificial cream and fondant icing, shaped like a frog's head with its mouth open, has come from the Balfours bakery since about 1923, and in 2001 the National Trust of South Australia listed it as a South Australian Heritage Icon.1 Before espresso, the traditional bakery was known for fritz sandwiches and Bienenstich, and the new coffee shops had to win custom from it.2

The CBD has the most bakery cafés, from Biga on Hutt Street to Astonish Patisserie on King William Street; elsewhere they are scattered, with a pair on Belair Road in the inner south.

Local tip: Come to Idle Hands early for the finger buns, or on Friday evening, when the bakery runs a wine night from 17:00 to 22:00.8

Where these cafés are: CBD (5), Inner south (2), Western suburbs (2), Kent Town (1), East End (1), Thebarton & Mile End (1), St Peters, Stepney & Walkerville (1), Unley & Hyde Park (1).

At a glance

14Cafés listed
4With opening hours
07:30Earliest opening
23:59Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: The Gator Club, from 07:30 (Mon Closed · Tue–Fri 07:30–15:00 · Sat 07:30–14:30 · Sun 08:00–14:00).
  • Closes latest: Caffe Buongiorno, until 23:59 (Daily 09:00–23:59).
  • Most listed streets: Belair Road (2), Payneham Road (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (29%), open late (14%), brunch (14%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Adelaide.

From Balfours tearooms to bakery chains

Eating cake with your coffee at a bakery is an old Adelaide habit. Balfours began in 1853 as a bakery at 130 Rundle Street, run by the Scottish immigrant James Calder and Margaret Balfour, and from 1914 the firm opened cake shops, cafés and tearooms.3 Its café in the T&G Building on King William Street was an Adelaide institution for half a century.3

St Georges Bakehouse, a South Australian bakery since 1989, runs cafés serving coffee, cakes, breakfast and lunch.4 Two of them are at 161 The Parade in Norwood and 81 O'Connell Street in North Adelaide, the second with outdoor tables. In the CBD, BTS Cafe at 33 Pirie Street and Smoking Fish at 7 Carrington Street also bake.

Hutt Street bread and pastry

Biga Panificio, at 200 Hutt Street, is a family business serving breakfast all day with coffee from Coffex.5 A short walk away, The Sugar Man at 197 Hutt Street is a patisserie known for pastries and croissant chocolate bars.6

Mascavado, a patisserie at 175 Hutt Street, bakes miso cookies, chai blondies and quiche with foraged porcini.7 Further south, The Old Croissant Factory keeps Tuesday-to-Sunday hours at number 242.

Sourdough and Italian pastry in the city

Idle Hands, on Gilbert Street, bakes cardamom sourdough, custard tarts, dark chocolate rye cookies and Milo-dusted sourdough finger buns; owner Lewis McDonald runs the shopfront with his sister Ella.8 Abbots and Kinney makes Italian and other pastries fresh each morning and is known for sfogliatelle and its own croissants.7 Its Pirie Street shop, at 76, opens weekdays 07:00–15:00.

Pastries from Prove Patisserie turn up in the specialty bars: Pogo in Kent Town and Whyld in Prospect both sell them.910

Evening pastry and suburban bakeries

Astonish Patisserie, at 393 King William Street, keeps unusual hours: lunch 11:00–14:30 from Tuesday to Friday, then evenings from 17:30 until 23:00, and until 23:30 on Saturday. On Belair Road, Saudade bakes Portuguese custard tarts and opens Monday to Saturday, 08:30–17:00.

In Glenelg South, Market 33 at 33 Hastings Street sells pastries, sourdough, glazed cinnamon buns and Danishes in a retro setting.11 Bodri's Hungarian Artisan Bakery & Cafe adds Hungarian baking, and Devour Cafe Patisserie is on Davenport Terrace.

Sources

  1. Frog cake, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. The best cafes to hang out in Adelaide, Traveller, The Sydney Morning Herald (Mark Chipperfield, April 1, 2015), accessed October 2026
  3. Balfours, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. St George's Bakehouse, Rundle Mall, accessed October 2026
  5. Scrumptious breakfasts on Hutt Street, City of Adelaide, accessed October 2026
  6. Our guide to Hutt Street, CityMag, InDaily (Joel Sugars, November 7, 2024), accessed October 2026
  7. The best cafes in Adelaide city, Broadsheet (updated March 20, 2026), accessed October 2026
  8. Where to find the best coffee in Adelaide, South Australian Tourism Commission (August 3, 2026), accessed October 2026
  9. Pogo Coffee Roasters, Kent Town, Broadsheet (updated March 15, 2023), accessed October 2026
  10. 5 places for coffee, SALIFE, InDaily (Lisa Woolford, May 28, 2025), accessed October 2026
  11. The best cafes in Glenelg for brunch by the beach, Sitchu (Lauren Thomas-Nehmy, updated July 23, 2026), accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Adelaide

Specialty coffee

19 cafés

Outdoor seating

87 cafés

Vegetarian options

20 cafés

Brunch

11 cafés

By area: East End CBD Kent Town Unley & Hyde Park

FAQ

Bakery cafés in Adelaide: questions

What is a frog cake from Adelaide?

A frog cake is a small South Australian cake of sponge with a jam center, artificial cream and fondant icing, shaped like a frog's head with an open mouth. The Balfours bakery has made it since about 1923, and in 2001 the National Trust of South Australia listed it as a South Australian Heritage Icon.

Which bakery cafés are on Hutt Street in Adelaide?

Biga Panificio, at 200 Hutt Street, is a family business serving breakfast all day with Coffex coffee. The Sugar Man at 197 is a patisserie known for croissant chocolate bars, Mascavado at 175 bakes miso cookies and chai blondies, and The Old Croissant Factory at 242 opens Tuesday to Sunday.

Which Adelaide bakery cafés are open in the evening?

Astonish Patisserie, at 393 King William Street in the Adelaide CBD, opens for lunch 11:00–14:30 from Tuesday to Friday and again in the evening from 17:30 until 23:00, or 23:30 on Saturday. Idle Hands on Gilbert Street holds a wine night on Friday from 17:00 to 22:00.

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