The Pantry on Egmont

This would have to be my favourite café in Adelaide. Tucked away in the burbs, next to a train line, the atmosphere is fantastic! And the food and coffee are ALWAYS amazing. I have never had a bad experience at The Pantry. The only downside is that it gets so busy and there aren’t many tables (but The size of the space adds to the charm)

Don’t try their smoothie, it’s worthless.
I’ve ordered a mango smoothie and it just tasted like milk with a little bit of yoghurt mixed up.
Fresh juices were fine their foods were good.
One of their today’s special, pumpkin sauce glazed chicken with salads were so nice.

Well this will be an easy short ‘n’ shiny review. Top notch, bonza, great!!! Seriously, I thought long and hard and came up with a couple of negatives. One and unavoidable, The Pantry is quite small and when crowded, like on our visit, it feels a little ‘full’. And two and avoidable, whilst I like to see cakes out on display/​on counters close to where customers hang around, having them right next to the cash register where people cough and touch is not appetising. I did (politely) bring this to their attention. This however was not enough to drag them down to 4 stars.
Basically they seem to be doing everything right. The coffee was not particularly robust but had a great flavour and mouth feel. I could have had 3. The milkshake (comes in kids and adult sizes) was a hit as was the raspberry rosewater gelato lemonade (house specialty). And the poached egg breakfasts were cooked to perfection, every bite delicious.
Décor is nice, a little old and a little new, interesting prints on walls, not overdone but clean and simple and kind of homely. Most importantly, the service was spot on — efficient, easy, helpful with a smile, and that went for all staff. Prices were reasonable too.
In summary, they serve great food in a beautiful setting with a smile. You can’t go wrong.

I am definitely on a quest for finding Adelaide’s best brew! My search lead me to this lovely neighbourhood café. Pantry on Egmont is everything that I want in a café. It is charming, friendly, simple, homely and has that vintage vibe to it.
This is the type of café I imagine would have been around more in the 50s-​60s around Adelaide. I think they died off a lot a long time ago, but there is a revolution of using old corner store space in Adelaide. I love it so much!
The coffee here is definitely one of the best in Adelaide. So easy to drink, the flavour is full and nutty. No bitterness. Beautiful latte art and cups!
And don’t we all know that coffee is best matched with cake? Oh yes we do! I ordered the Orange Almond GF cake. It had some apricots on top of the cake that had been cooked down. Almost like a jam? So yummy! The cake was moist and not too sweet. I just wanted more!
My best advice if you are going to visit this café, is to get there early! It is popular and busy. But for good reason.
The brekkie menu looks awesome, I was in immediate regret in eating food at home first! Why, oh why?! I will return to sample the menu.

Fantastic fast service on a busy Sunday. Food and coffee was excellent. Definitely recommend the pineapple, orange and pear juice too! I’ll be back again and again and again!

I’ve been here for coffee (great!) and cakes with my two little ones every few weeks and they have been consistently good, esp the lemon tart. I’ve peaked many times at the meals on other tables and they look delish. And they got their pricing right, and a good laid back vibe with pre-​loved tables and chairs.
Two small tables outside on the footpath for dog and pram owners.

Perfection! Normally late the Sunday breakfast/​brunch period is a struggle at popular spots such as this. However, despite the place being busy there was plenty of seats (comfortable retro chairs not stools or benches) and the service was amazingly quick. They had plenty of staff and the chef who works in full view behind the counter is quick and got a complicated order correct. The waitress was totally switched on.
Great coffee and fresh juice and a great menu. You name it, they have it and it was all perfect. From the house made baked beans to the fruit salad and wood oven toast, everything was great. They also had great brunch and breakfast specials like Italian eggs etc.
It’s a quiet tree lined street so sitting by the window or outside is lovely.

Edit: this is a vastly superior café.
Second time round — the coffee is still amazing, the food is still stupidly good (like ‘why isn’t every meal I eat, this meal’ good) the service is always awesome.
Even the music is on point. I think they’ve renovated or had a reshuffle as this time round there was more room for general chilling.
It’s definitely worth the drive oh my god it’s worth it

Firstly the coffee lived up to the high expectations all the Unilocal reviews instilled. Absolutely delicious, we were lucky to get one of the two outdoor tables and were treated to a serve of the veggie burger and banana bread. The burger was pretty different and was nice and firm even though veggie patties usually end up a sloppy mess so great taste and texture for that! The banana bread came in a large serve too and was super filling. Its a bit hard to find but worth the hunt!

The Pantry on Egmont is one of those cool little hidden cafes tucked away in the trendy suburbs of Hawthorne. The streets are lined with gorgeous jacaranda trees currently in full bloom — it was gorgeous! This place attracts a cool cat crowd of young, hipster type and their respective four-​legged friend is also welcome to sit outside.
In my last visit, we secured a table outside and manage to skip the busy rush as we observed the steady stream of patrons either stop in for brunch or order coffee on the go. Service was attentive, friendly and prompt. They even noticed when we finished our coffee and offered us another — sure why not?
I like the flexibility with the brunch menu, you get your egg and bread base but choose whatever sides take your fancy. I had my eggs scrambled with a side of haloumi and bacon. Just a few of my favourite food on a plate. Nothing beats walking away with a happy belly.

I love this place. And I love its location. Its such a fun, quirky, cosy atmosphere.
I like that its small and intimate. Its awful trying to get in and out when you have to shimmy your curvaceous self between closely packed lovely people, but, then you only go in or go out when you need to… right??? So its worth it. Or, you pounce a quick escape when people move up to the counter to place their order.
The collection of op-shop-or-grandma’s-home inspired tables and chairs are just perfect for adding colour and variety. The bar seats at the window not only offer you a view of the world, but you can spy on those sitting outside and discuss what they are eating or what you think they are talking about. Favourite!
The fun atmosphere comes with the mix of people chattering, the kitchen cooking, the staff taking orders… its wonderful. Chaos in beauty. And wonderful.
If you haven’t been, you should definitely get yourself there. And early. Or if not early, then you can wait for when a space opens up. Its totally worth it!

Service was great considering how busy it was for a Saturday morning. Great coffee and food. Will I return? Yea! Once I know how to get here hungover then I’ll remember :)

After a trek across Southern Adelaide to find something delicious and quirky, my friend and I ended up at The Pantry. From the moment we walked up the footpath we were welcomed by the awesome staff who were friendly and eager to help.
We were lucky to find the café almost empty on our visit, but I’ve heard it’s generally pretty packed. I can understand why — table service at a café blew us away!
Coffees were great — could have been a touch hotter, but that’s really my only complaint of the whole experience. The kitchen was closed by the time we arrived, but I was still able to order from the cake selection. Do yourself a favour and make sure you try the apricot and almond cake, which is potentially the best piece of cake I’ve ever eaten. You won’t regret it!
The winning moment was when the barista approached us to tell us she was about to turn off the machine, and enquired whether we’d like another coffee. I’m sure she was keen to go home at the end of a long day, but the offer was very appreciated. It also served as a nice gentle reminder that they were shutting soon, rather than the «turn off all the music and complain loudly behind the counter» technique that I’ve witnessed elsewhere.
The Pantry on Egmont is seriously good. Seriously, seriously good. So good that I’m investigating real estate in Hawthorn to make sure this can become a more regular occurrence…

The folk at The Pantry are the real meety (not meaty) greety friendly kind. They sing and dance around to all sorts of beats — disco was on the menu during my visit.
They serve delish De Groot coffee, but it’s never really been hot enough when I’ve visited. I’ve been able to drink it in about three gulps, which is less than satisfying on a wintry morning.
My dining partner’s poached eggs were perf but more toast was needed to soak up their sweet, yolky goodness. Other people around us had two full pieces of toast rather than the two little sticks that she got… Disappointing.
On the plus side: they can substitute toast in any meal with Enzo’s gluten free bread for just 50c! They also do all day breakfast. Also also, the selection of baked goods looked gorg — meringue and honeycomb pastries, muffins, brownies, lemon pistachio cake… My sweet tooth was so, so tempted. Maybe next time?!

Delicious, fresh, well prepared food matched with friendly and efficient service gives The Pantry 5 stars from me!
I love going to The Pantry. The décor and aromas create an atmosphere that is the perfect café vibe. Although a small, I’ve never had to wait too long for a table.
The pantry caters to everyone with an extensive brekky menu, yummy burgers and shoestring fries, soup, delicious flavoursome salads and more. The Hawthorn Salad with Haloumi! Portions are generous and the menu is thoughtfully constructed. So good! Also great coffee, and a range of smoothies and juices.
With so many boutique quirky cafés popping up around adelaide the staff at The Pantry are polite and attentive, ensuring you’re looked after and never kept waiting. For the unley area this is the café to go to!
You are probably looking at a group of 6 max if you’d like to go with friends.
Walkers with dogs are also welcome out the front and frequent the café.

Delicious coffee! This place is one of my local joints where I know I can always get a fantastic coffee on those mornings where caffeine is not just needed… it is NECESSARY! The food is great here too. My partner does think the serving sizes are a little too big — but hey — that’s good value for your dollar then. In saying that, prices are fairly reasonable across the menu. Last time I was there I had the breakfast leek omelette and it was very tasty, only thing was that they had a tonne of rocket on the top which I really didn’t like. Overall this place is charming — retro feel with mismatched tables and all the artwork that is displayed is available to buy. It is a bit small so on busy days sometimes you have to wait for a table, but they provide seating out the front while you wait.
P. S. Both the meat and the vego burger are delicious!

It was a long time since I had last had a meal here but it was just as good as I recalled. The spring tart was flavoursome and perfectly balanced by the artichoke purée. The purée was delicious with a tang. My guests enjoyed their bruschetta on olive bread with ultra fresh ingredients and the tastiest pesto ever.
My short black was perfect in terms of flavour, texture and heat. It was served in a hot cup which I think is essential. Looking forward to returning soon to try the breakfast menu again.

Breakfast being the most important meal of the day, seems to be one that lots of places either overcomplicate or simply mess up. Think tiny servings, cold eggs…
The Pantry seems to get it spot on every time. The servings are large but not outrageous and full of good quality delicious produce. Russel’s big breakfast is the fail safe option but if you are looking for something different try the breakfast tacos! I will note that you simply can’t leave without a cake. if you are too full ask for a cake takeaway because they are too good to leave without!
Its very busy on weekends but somehow the staff always manage to find you a table, and they have blankets out the front if you need to wait on a chilly winter morning!
This is probably my favourite breakfast place in Adelaide!

The Pantry is secluded in suburbia parallel to the train tracks, in an old set of shops and has a strong 50s/​60s retro vibe.
With only a small array of tables inside and out, getting a table can be a bit of a stretch but taking the time to wait is rewarded once you get your hands on the menu. With full table service, staff are delightfully attentive and will make recommendations left, right and centre.
They have a decent range of breakfast and light lunch options and for a non-​egg eater, I am quite well catered for unlike other breakfast joints. On my latest visit I decided to have the salmon and horseradish cream bagel and all was delicious except for the rock hard bagel which needed to be sawed through in order to be cut up. Although not a plus to have such hard bread, it did add texture to the dish, which I suppose is a plus.
I can’t recommend this place for lunch more though, their menu is so varied and offers tasty tasty food. Everyone must eat their spiced chickpea burger. Absolute perfection.
Prices are very reasonable and cheaper than quite a lot of other hipster hangouts, and I hope the owners don’t clue in on this.
The coffee was quite nice and the juice list is droolable but my short black was a touch too tart for my taste. I really enjoy my time here and am looking forward to tasting the rest of the menu.

I’ve always loved this little bank of shops and it’s great to see it finally thriving like this. The Pantry on Egmont is an absolutely gorgeous café, I love the retro décor, the art on the walls and the food is super yummy!
They do all day breakfast –always a big plus– and have a great selection of sweet and savoury dishes. Lovely fresh juices — great for relaxing on a hot day. The staff are very friendly too and take good care of their customers.
The only draw back I can see for the Pantry is that it is quite small venue and each time I’ve been there has been pretty crowded which can make it quite noisy too. If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t do well in crowded places then I would suggest taking one of the outside tables.