Bar 9 Central

I so want to love this place. I’m a keen-​as-​beans fan of Bar 9 on Glen Osmond for a while and I’ve tried this place for breakfast, lunch and just a good-​ol’ coffee to disappointment each time. A lot of this has to do with my constant comparison to their other counterpart, but also my expectation for price, quality and service in the CBD.
The coffee never quite hits the mark for me and the food choices are standard café fair, except a bit pricier than others in the area. Specials are where its at for a shake up but priced above $ 18 more often than not, makes them pricey for a meal in the mall.
Maybe its my personal preferences, but I’m not to keen on the location or presentation. I never shake the fact that I’m in a food court and the lighting is dark maybe to give a bit of atmosphere, but means I struggle to read the paper.
Am I having a whinge? For sure, but with the name, comes expectations, which have consistently not been met and in Rundle Mall, I’d rather eat somewhere else.

Bar 9 is your Ol’ trusty destination for coffee in Rundle Mall. I’ve never had a bad coffee here. They have a range of bean and brew methods you can choose from. So, depending on your mood you know that your coffee cravings will be catered for.
As for food, they always have lovely daily specials. Check out the board for what they have on offer. The other day I saw them grilling some watermelon for a summer salad special for lunch. Shame I was there at breakfast, because that just sounded so yum!
The cakes here are always fresh. One of my faves here is the almond and orange GF cake. Wow! It’s really fluffy here. This is one of my all time fave cakes. When I see it I have to order it. This one is one of the lightest versions I have had and not too sweet.
The café itself is not massive. I don’t really like the high chairs and tables. I find them a little uncomfortable. So I tend to try and get the arm chairs at the front or small tables in the middle.
Great service here. The staff are fast and friendly. If you need a quick break from shopping in Rundle Mall, you should stop here!

Bar 9 is a somewhat hidden gem, tucked away in the basement food court downstairs from David Jones. The location might not be as hip as Adelaide’s laneway gems along Peel, Leigh and Bank Streets, but don’t let that fool you — all that changes when you cross the threshold. Bar 9 has some of the best coffee in the CBD. The pour over is gorgeous. They also do single origin and cold drip, and house brewed iced tea.
Great vibe, consistently good music, small but tasty menu and friendly and attentive staff. Great to see that Bar 9’s second location had matched the standards of the original. Highly recommended.

I had high expectations because Bar 9 on Glen Osmond Road is one of my favourites, so my disappointment over B9 Central was was probably exacerbated. Despite that, the coffee at B9C retained the very high quality I was used to at B9GOR.
Coffee — It’s really, really good. It is reason you would stop in at B9C.
Food — Good quality food sourced fresh and locally. And I enjoy the clever menu format and dish names. I ordered «a fun guy» which was mushroom, haloumi and pickled onion on a bun for $ 12. It was delicious. However the options on the menu are a bit slim — nothing like the variety at B9C.
Venue — Even though it’s basically in a shopping centre, they have done well to try to help you forget that. It’s cosy, dimmed lighting and a little hip. The music was a bit loud though — it made it tricky to have a conversation without saying «Pardon» or «What?» fifty times.
Service — This is where B9C really let me and the other patrons down. There is no table service, despite having menus out and the practice at B9GOR. And by no table service, I mean they didn’t even come over to clear our plates and coffee cups even though we sat there for ages. Finally and probably the worst thing — we didn’t get a smile the whole time. No matter how nice we were or how much we smiled at them — we only got frowns or indifference. We noticed it was the same with other patrons. I also felt like the staff couldn’t have cared less about me or the other customers. Come on Bar 9 — that is not cool. Have a chat to your staff.
I’m not giving up on B9C though. I’m going to come back a few more times to see if it improves.

In my last review I mentioned that Bar 9 Central and I could become closer friends. So I have started going more frequently in the hope this would work, and have been enjoying myself much more.
Coffee is still excellent and I’m finding myself there more and more often.
Order a flat white (or your beverage of choice, it’s a free world), take advantage of the free WIFI, or chat with friends.
(If you can eat gluten, unlike myself, they have some stunning cakes in the display cabinet… I would be taking advantage of that too)

Finally! I got to experience the second Bar 9 and I’m so damn glad I did!
The five star rating was planted on this baby for these reasons:
— the service was lovely, with people behind the counter you can actually hold fantastic conversations with.
— at first the brekky menu did appear a little plain/​boring BUT let me tell you, when you order the ‘bacon & eggs’ you are really ordering crunchy bruschetta with a large side of smoked bacon, with perfectly poached eggs and topped with rocket and parmesan — pure amazingness!
— Coffee? Nothing short of amazing.
— And lastly, but possibly the best moment was choosing your own cartoon figurine table number setting AND choosing from menus that are printed on old school Disney books. just goes to show, its always the little things!
Thanks Bar 9! See you soon!

Today was my second trip back to Bar 9 and this time I decided try out the breakfast menu.
I had the bacon and scrambled eggs which were great. The eggs were cooked perfectly, fluffy and creamy. There was so much bacon I almost couldn’t finish. Almost.
The rocket and shaved cheese on top just finished the meal off.
Seriously great value food that tastes amazing.

Congratulations to Bar 9 Central for becoming my new regular coffee location in the CBD!
The resonably priced coffee’s taste fantastic and are available both take away and dine in. However I seriously suggest you take some time out of your busy schedule to dine in a enjoy Bar 9’s great atmosphere.
The vintage couches at the front and rear of the store make it the perfect setting for coffee catchups with your close group of friends whilst the two-​person booths make Bar 9 the perfect location for an intimate coffee date.
Simple additions such as the delicious food being served on a wooden chopping board and Iced coffees being served in jars make Bar 9’s dining experience more enjoyable than your average coffee store.
The accessible free wifi and serene setting make Bar 9 Central a great place to grab a coffee whilst you fire off work emails or complete the final touches of an assignment thats due date is steadily approaching.
Sadly the only reason Bar 9 Central doesn’t score 5 stars is because I simply can’t seem to ignore the fact it resides in the David Jones food court. The racket from the busy food court can kill the mood almost instantly. Bar 9 Central has limited seating so you may actually find yourself missing out on the Bar 9 atmosphere completely as you are forced to find a seat amongst the common dining area of the David Jones food court.
Like I said at the start, Bar 9 Central is fantastic and it has safely secured the position of my regular coffee spot in the CBD. However, from now on I might just plan to avoid it during the busy lunch hour of 12 – 1 pm.

This is the only bastion of decent eating /​coffee in the entire ford court. Walk through the wafts of deep fried, tray-​warmer take-​away joints and head to Bar 9…
I didn’t eat anything today but I was facing directly into the kitchen as I had my coffee; it’s immaculately clean and the food used looked fresh and appetising. The pictures up here on Unilocal definitely capture this well — take a look.
The signage inside at the rear of the shop is a bit dorky and the wood shelves along the side use up more space than they justify (and may be a hangover from T-​bar that was here previously…) but it’s quiet and chilled out otherwise. The lounges up the back and front look comfy and inviting.
The coffee was good, not spectacular. I didn’t even capture how they made my filter to be honest. Fairly subdued, slightly over-​extracted Costa Rican. Miles ahead of anything you’ll find in this centre of town still, without a doubt.
My espresso was really solid; I saw the dude manning the Synesso dump the first one he made — pretty good indication he gave a crap about what he was doing. The final result was a creamy delight.
I’m definitely going to return here to sample the food and would recommend Bar 9 to anyone wanting a great coffee around the Rundle Mall shopping area.

Bar 9 is a rare treat among coffee shops. Not only is the coffee really something special but the staff come across as extremely knowledgeable and passionate about coffee. Thankfully, they are more than willing to share that knowledge and enlighten the rest of us so that great coffee can be enjoyed at home, between visits, with their range of freshly roasted beans.
A side note: the custard tart I had was THE MOST AMAZING custard tart I’ve ever enjoyed (and I’ve enjoyed a good number in my time).

I visited one Sunday for breakfast. Very expensive and not very exciting range of food and drink available. I paid $ 16.50 for an iced chocolate (which came in a very strange looking jug) and a ham and egg roll with tomato sauce (presented on a board, with a garnish of rocket — yuck!). I won’t be returning in a hurry.

My prayers were answered when Bar 9 Central opened its doors a couple of months ago because finally I could get a good coffee on weekends (yes that also means Sundays) in the center of the CBD. Who would have thunk it?
Everyone knows how good the coffee and teas are. Single origin coffee and teas are available both dine in and take away. But with intimate bench seating for two, vintage lounge chairs to enjoy and free wi-​fi this makes for the perfect working morning tea or meeting spot.
I have dined here a couple of times now on their beetroot salad, ocean trout salad the orange semolina cake. Meals are left simple and let the fresh ingredients and secret sauces and salad dressings do the talking.
All I pray for now is that they were open later on weeknights because who wouldn’t want one of their coffees at 5pm on hump day?

This place is a pickle to find in the food court of Adelaide Central Plaza. The staff are young guys, who like listening to their Fresh FM. That’s ok because I like it too. I got their about 6PM on Friday night, so they don’t serve anything else other than their cabinet cakes and coffee/​tea/​hot chocolate at that time but that’s ok. That’s all I wanted to try. Their lemon cheesecake was tangy and light. Their hot chocolate was very good. Apparently they got a great machine that does the job. I am loving that more places are getting the good stuff. It’s hard to go back to bland hot chocolate from the downstairs café at work. I also love the cool décor. Very chic. Will have to come back for lunch one day.

A Friend and I decided to check out Bar 9 Central late one Saturday afternoon, after I had mentioned that I had heard nothing but good things about their sister store on Glen Osmond Road. Well we weren’t disappointed!
We were greeted as soon as we walked in and I noticed that they served breakfast until 3pm everyday!!! (they had me at Hello).
The drink menus are presented in Dr Seuss Books and the food menus in Little Golden Books. Such a great idea as it takes you back to your childhood. I had fun finding my favourite books in the stack.
Once we had ordered we took a seat and our drinks and cutlery were brought over to us.
The coffee was delicious, one of the best lattes I have ever had.
What can I say about the food other than OMG! So yummy, such great serving sizes and both our breakfasts came served with a rocket and Parmesan salad as part of the dressing.
I will definitely be back, it may just become my «local» when I’m in the CBD on the weekends.

«Excuse me, but can I touch your machine?»
That’s what I really wanted to say when I saw the custom Synesso sitting on the bench. Instead I said «I’ll have a long black to go please. And a shortie while I wait.» Then I stood, and drank my espresso and eyed off those beautiful group handles and the sleek blue lines of this beast of a machine and smiled happily knowing my coffee was in good hands of a well trained barista.
The fact that this place is in a food court should not deter you. The brews are amazing and the cakes and cookies will have you wanting to risk diabetes.

I had brunch/​lunch with a friend here yesterday, and I would have to say I was VERY impressed!
For a start, they serve breakfast til 3pm — which is VERY rare in the CBD.
Secondly the food, coffee, tea and atmostphere were GREAT!!!
When we walked in, we were greated with a smile, and pointed towards the menus. This was the first pleasent surprise, the food menus were in the front of Golden Books and the drinks menus in Dr Seuss books.
I chose to have scrambled eggs, bacon and tomatos. Now, I am VERY fussy about my bacon. I like it very crispy — in fact I commonly refferr to it as Dead Bacon :) However, the majority of places that you go these days are more interested in getting the food out to you as quickly as possible, and not in what the customer actually asks for, so needless to say, I often dont actually get «dead bacon» but in this case… I did :)
The food was made with the highest quality ingredients, RSPCA eggs, Birkshire Bacon and fresh full vine tomatos, finished off with a fresh rockett and parmesan salad on top :)
I cannot highly enough recommend this place. The only negative I had was that they did not yet have EFTPOS and we had to go get cash out, but I am certain that will be fixed soon. :)
Seriously — if you have not already checked this place out — do so :)

Bar9 Central in where I found myself this morning. Bar9 aren’t new and have now expanded to a second store in the city (yay!) centre with a level of expectation. I wanted a filter but they are still organizing everything that is to do with this style of coffee so I decided to grab an espresso. They use 5senses beans and my spro was a Ethiopian Yirgacheffe– natural. In my cup was Fruit, nice mouth feel, caramel aftertaste and pleasing to drink. The viscosity lifted this coffee and made it super nice. Really great first impression and a continuation of the quality we can expect from Bar9. #tasty #sensorypleasure