Cafe Troppo is located on the corner of Sturt Street and Whitmore Square, on the ground floor of the Troppo ecohousing complex. While this city location is notoriously seedy, the local council is trying to revamp this area, however, I did see a handful of homeless people walk past the venue.

The cafe itself is definitely quirky, although, the architecture has a lot to do with it. The polished concrete floors, the exposed ceilings, the hessian seating, the timber crates, the sliding door entrances and the chalk blackboards give this place a very cosy and cool vibe. I wasn’t familiar with the music playing the background but it was definitely easy to relax to.

A unique feature of this place is the presence of a barter board. They list the produce that they need for the kitchen, and if you have them handy, I am presuming you can swap it for something in return. I think it’s a fantastic idea, although I’m not sure whether there are any tax implications in doing this.

The focus of this cafe is about sustainability, the environment and the community. The produce that they use here is locally sourced which is reflected in their seasonally based menu. Their coffee is ethically sourced, their milk is biodynamic, their soy is organic and their teas are single origin. Yes! All the healthy buzz words were used in the last sentence!

Today, I ordered the Huevos Troppo; a poached egg in a spiced tomato sauce cooked with vegetables and ricotta, served with sourdough bread. The dish arrived 20 minutes after ordering and was nicely presented. The meal was perhaps a little bit too exotic for breakfast, but it was pretty good none the less. The vegetables were fresh and I could taste the strong hint of curry powder in the sauce. The sourdough had pepper in it which certainly livened up the morning.

If I could be critical about this place, I would say that it is a little bit cramped. They’ve tried to fit as many seats and chairs into a small space. Not a problem this morning when hardly anyone was there, but I can see this place getting very cosy during peak periods.

The service was good, although they didn’t smile too much. The pricing is very fair with the most expensive meal being just over the $10 mark. The serving size was decent and satisfying.. The atmosphere was relaxed, even with the morning traffic driving past. This place does everything pretty much right. Definitely worth checking out!

WHERE: 42 Whitmore Sq, Adelaide