House of Donkey

Made a big trip here with vegan daughter, as I live a long way from city. It is a lovely café with a bohemian atmosphere. I really enjoyed the fact you could see people strolling with dogs in tow, how quaint.
I had a cappuccino with almond milk and daughter had the vegan brekky wrap, she really enjoyed it and it looked very good, hard to tell it is vegan. Coffee is smooth no bitterness and the service is speedy and friendly.
I looked a bit out of place here, however I really enjoyed the experience and It is disappointing to know they are closing. Adelaide needs more places like this. It is cash only, no cards.

I cannot rate this place high enough. I just wish they were open every day of the week so I could live here.
Set on the quieter side of the city on Sturt street, The House Of Donkey is nestled away between a mixture of red brick townhouses, small businesses and tiny art galleries. The inside feels like you have walked into a loungeroom, with the pillows on the window seat hand sewn by Julie Andrews and the von trapp children. If you don’t want to eat inside there is a beautiful back garden you can sit in and smell the herbs and vegetables they grow (and then ends up in your meals). Like the rooms in this ‘restaurant’ the staff all act like you are a friend visiting their home. Always relaxed and smiling.
The food is sensational, healthy and well priced. The cakes are delicious and the tea, coffee, smoothies and juices make you feel like you are making some good choices in life.
Food, Atmosphere, Service ¹⁰⁄₁₀

Recommended to me by several people (including Unilocalers) but hadn’t managed to try due to opening hours. Managed to go in for lunch today with husband on a rare weekday off work sans small people!
They do all day breakfast and lunch, it’s all vego and can be optionally made vegan /​GF (presumably both) on request. They also have a range of juices, smoothies, tea /​coffee and other libations (including an Iraeli minted lemonade thing that sounded kind of interesting). The pricing is very reasonable. Wanting to try a range of things we ordered what we thought would be an entrée sort of thing and 2 mains (one from the bfast and one from the lunch menu).
The «entrée» was a roast veg /​olive tapenade /​greens melt on sourdough. Very nice but a bit rich for me to finish even half and made the mistake of not getting a GF option as there was lots of bread — delish mind you but made my tummy not so happy even after half a slice. The kitchen initially delivered the cheese version but quickly and apologetically returned with the vegan version. Husband at the burger (tempeh /​satay). I had a little taste. The burger and accompaniments were tasty but the bread uninspiring — husband said it looked like woolies bread roll and tasted same (ie white burger bun). I had ordered the tofu scramble. I managed about half as the serve was enourmous. Again it came with ample bread and I had another half a slice to sog up some of the pesto infused (on the oily side for me but tasty) scramble which was served with a grilled tomato half and some greens. Fortunately my husband had is A game on and was able to help out with my meal. I also ordered a chilli juice (had kale, beet, carrot, ginger and chili)…it was full on but virtuous.
Overall the food was tasty and if my tummy wasn’t so sensitive to changes in what I put in I would have enjoyed it even more. Even though I didn’t eat a whole lot I didn’t need anything until 9 hours later when I ate a salad. I think I would probably go back and see if I could order something with less bread (eg one of their salad offerings with dressing on the side probably as they seem to be liberal with the oils).

I wasn’t blown away by House of Donkey. I can’t really say there’s any customer service; the whole place seems a bit confused. The food was fine, if a little conservatively portioned, the coffee was ok, and they have an outdoor area for my dog.

This is my new caffe in Adelaide, the food and service was amazing and probably one of the best coffees I’ve had in Adelaide! Make an effort to check it out, I did and I have found a new love. Oh, make sure you try the Vegan Peanut Butter Mousse Cake it was heaven!

Delicious vegetarian food and great coffee. Walking distance from the Adelaide Central Markets, and definitely worth the walk.
The House of Donkey is a renovated town house on Sturt Street, the other side of Whitmore Square for Café Troppo. The 3 lovely ladies running this café/​flower shop are absolutely delightful and create a warm and welcoming environment.
The food is amazing, and you will feel nourished after having a meal here. The assorted sweets, gluten free and vegan are a great, guilt-​free treat.

When you see the bicycles, flag and kooky signs out the front, you know you’ve arrived. Step inside and you’ll find 3 tables and a breakfast bar in the main entrance. Venture further down to find another small room of tables and then walk past the kitchen to the garden. There, you’ll find four or five mis-​matched tables, wooden palates up-​cycled into herb gardens and a whole lot of serenity.
I originally ordered a vegan version of the pesto mushrooms but there was only a half serve left. I changed my order to the salad special (kale pomegranate, baby spinach, walnuts and black rice) with the half serve of mushrooms on the side.
In all the confusion of my initial order, the salad I received was finished with blue cheese and the mushroom had melted parmesan melted on top. It was quickly remade and came back with apologies and smiles — I wasn’t all that bothered. I don’t normally dress my salads (and I forgot to ask them to hold the dressing) so it was a little oily for my liking but I’m sure it’d be fine for most people.
I finished every mouthful of my salad and washed it down with a pot of loose leaf chai tea. We stayed a while longer and kept chatting because we were in no rush and felt completely comfortable to sit there all afternoon. Had it been a nice day, I reckon we would’ve moved out to the garden where (I believe) dogs are made welcome.

They do oat milk and almond milk, which I’ve only discovered now on my 3^rd visit. Love this place. They even let me borrow a book from their lil bookshelf at the front for an assignment at Uni.
One thing I will say is that there seems to be a few flies around the place… It doesn’t bother me enough to knock off stars or not go there, but I feel like helping them.

It was so great to see a new café open up in the south-​west corner of the city. I’ve been to the House of Donkey a couple of times for tea and cake a few times, each time being greeted by friendly staff. I love the window seat, the cushions make it feel really homely. Having a selection of vegan & GF cakes is also a winner.
On a hot summers morning I ordered a mango iced tea and it was one of the best drinks I’ve had in my life.

The thing about vegetarian food is that broadly, it’s shit.
It’s often difficult to escape the feeling that you’ve been served the kind of food that YOUR food should be eating.
House of Donkey has a rare quality amongst vegetarian places: it’s not shit. In fact, if nobody told you, you would happily believe it wasn’t even vegetarian.
They do eggs. I like eggs. I especially like House of Donkeys eggs. They taste cloaca fresh and they’re poached in such a way as you’d order it twice.
There’s always delicious cake next to the register and its nigh on impossible to order anything without a slice. The cake is a thing you want. Also the coffee. Get the coffee. And the juice with the ginger in it which makes you feel like you’re making healthy choices in your life and that really, your mum needn’t have worried in the first place.
There’s a florist in the middle of the restaurant and they make bouquets that women respond positively to. That’s what your want from a bouquet.
The general vibe is that you’re at a friends place and that friend has a band of hippies over and everyone is just pumped to share a meal with you. The backyard (seems inappropriate to call it a dining area or beer garden. It’s a yard.) has a kind of camping feel to it somehow too.
Downsides? Cash only and no ATMs for miles. Also, if you turn up in a suit, you will feel awkward and out of place.
Why not five stars? I don’t know man, write your own damn review.

Excellent baked beans, hash browns & coffee. Great for a West End Sunday brunch.

In a land far, far away at the western end of the Adelaide CBD sits a little cream house with a little red door and 3 little donkeys in the window. The House of Donkey may feel somewhat like a hippy commune with barefoot children and dogs running around in the backyard and books about «how to make your own socks*» filling the bookshelves but it is a welcoming little home away from home in the centre of Adelaide.
The 3 girls running this vegetarian café are enthusiastic and passionate about sevring up good wholesome food and in a space open for anyone and everyone. The menu of veggie burgers, cold rolls, salad plates, poached eggs with hash browns, juices and coffee are all incredibly tempting and I experienced many a «special moment» as a gazed at the «food porn» that other diners were enjoying.
My coffee was smooth, the poached eggs were cooked to a gooey perfection and the bean and tomato pot added a sweet, and filling, topping to my homemade hash brown and toast.
The café is tiny but it has an indoors and outdoors area decorated with plant filled teapots, bunting, a veggie garden and of course many a picture of donkeys.
One of the girls will soon be opening up her florist inside the house and doing styling and arrangements for clients who approach her. Hopefully some public classes are involved too!
So do not be one of those anti-​vegetarians who thinks the term means only eating mung beans and fruit dropped from a tree. Go and spend a morning or a lunch filling your body with freshly made, wholesome goodies from The House of Donkey.
*There may or may not be a book about how to make your own socks on the bookshelf at The House of Donkey.