Cafés in Kent Town

Rundle Street, Kent Town

Tell Henry began in a fitted-out old garage in Kent Town, spent a year in the former Beaurepaires on The Parade in Norwood, and returned to 39 Rundle Street in 2022, with plenty of outdoor seating.⁵ Owners Brad Bonor and Sharon Mackay serve coffee from Melbourne's Industry Beans.⁵⁶

The same block holds J&O Cake Lab at 39a, open Tuesday to Sunday 08:30–17:00, and Seventy 8 On Rundle at 78, which opens daily 08:00–14:00 and has tables outside. The Lunch Bag at 41, Simply Coffee at 43A and Tin Cat Cafe at 107 complete the street, and Cafetal Coffee Co. is around the corner at 10 College Road.

Pogo and the King William Street roasters

Pogo Coffee Roasters' Kent Town espresso bar, at 107a King William Street, sells beans that are air-roasted in a fluid bed rather than turned in a drum.⁷ The blends are named Flow, Bounce, Rush, Spark and Dash, and pastries come from Prove Patisserie.⁸ Founder Fraser Monfries roasts in a warehouse in Magill and opened the brand's first café, on Ifould Street in the CBD, in March 2020.⁹

Further along, Homeland at 1 King William Street keeps weekday hours, 08:00–15:00, and has outdoor tables and vegan dishes.

College Park and the Payneham Road edge

North of Rundle Street the area runs into College Park. The Gator Club, at 33 Payneham Road, occupies an old corner store and is known for vegan and gluten-free baking, loaded toasties and bagels.¹⁰ It opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 07:30 on weekdays, and has air-conditioning and outdoor seats.

On the eastern boundary, Comissary Cafe at 160 Fullarton Road opens weekdays, 07:30–14:00. Most cafés in Kent Town close by 15:00, and the earliest, The Gator Club and Comissary Cafe, start at 07:30.

Getting there and the weather

From the East End it is a walk of a few minutes along Rundle Street and across the East Park Lands, which separate the city center from the suburbs.²¹¹ The Kent Town weather station records average January highs of about 30.0 °C, warmer than the airport's 28.6 °C.¹²