Just south of the CBD, the footpaths are wide, the trees are tidy and green, and it’s where you’ll spot a bunch of hidden culinary gems from the path less travelled. New cafe eatery Tovola is no exception, and it’s embracing the quieter community side of King William Street.
From its outset, the owners were clear it would be more than just another new opening. Led by Jameson Chiang and Kim Wang, the venue, previously home to Butayama Ramen, has been reimagined as a space designed to quietly embed itself into everyday local life.
“When reimagining the venue, we did not approach it as simply opening a ‘new restaurant,’ but rather as creating a community-driven lifestyle space,” they explain. The intention, they say, was always to create somewhere that could be returned to again and again, rather than a one-off destination. “Our vision is simple: to allow a cafe with Asian roots to genuinely integrate into local, everyday life.”
That sense of familiarity is reflected in both the concept and the menu. Rather than leaning into surface-level fusion, Tovola approaches brunch from a deeper perspective, one grounded in Taiwanese food culture and technique.
“The most exciting aspect of Tovola is that we are not merely adding Asian flavours to brunch, but applying Asian culinary logic to brunch itself,” they say. While Asian fusion is nothing new in Adelaide, they believe venues that truly reinterpret brunch through a Taiwanese lens remain rare.
To achieve this, two Taiwanese chefs were brought into the project, chosen for both their deep understanding of Taiwanese cuisine and their experience working within Adelaide’s Western dining scene. The result is food that avoids novelty in favour of nuance. “As a result, the food at Tovola is not a simple mix-and-match, but a form of fusion that has been thoughtfully absorbed, refined, and re-expressed.”
Much of the menu’s emotional core comes from time spent in Taiwan last year, an experience that reshaped the way the team thought about flavour and value. “That experience made [us] realise that what makes Taiwanese food so moving is not refinement or presentation, but time, patience, and warmth,” they say.
They point to lao lu, an aged braising stock, as a defining example, where a single pot of braising liquid can be used, replenished and, refined over decades. “Its flavour is not designed, it is nurtured over time.” Dishes such as braised pork rice and beef noodle soup follow the same philosophy, offering depth and comfort without excess. “This idea of food that is not expensive, but rich in depth and meaning, is something [we] strongly identify with and hope to express through Tovola.”
The breakfast menu covers all bases, from crispy pork egg Benedict and smashed avo on toast to a generous big breakfast loaded with halloumi, mushrooms, and deep-fried potato.
Lunch steps things up with hearty sandos filled with panko-crumbed pork cutlet, slow-cooked beef brisket, tempura chicken or spicy prawns, alongside noodle dishes like dashi cream salmon udon and a rich beef bolognese with Japanese ramen noodles. Of course, you’ll find braised pork rice and beef noodle soup on the menu as well.
Drinks span coffees, matcha, hojicha, and black sesame lattes. Or for a particularly unique order, you can opt for the yuzu long black.
Choosing to operate as a café rather than a traditional restaurant, as the location once was, was also a deliberate decision. “It was a deliberate act of cultural translation,” they explain. Presenting Taiwanese cuisine in a fully traditional format, they say, can unintentionally narrow the audience.
It’s Asian fusion, done with a deliberately different approach. Perfect for a slow morning brunch, or a bite to eat between meetings, Tovola is currently in its soft opening with plans to open at full-capacity very soon.
Tovola
Where: 421 King William St, Adelaide
When: Tuesday – Friday 7am – 2:30pm, Saturday 8am – 2:30pm, Sunday 9am – 2:30pm
For more info, click here.
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