Rundle Street, while dripping with boujee bars and high-fashion retail stores, only has a few spots for coffee and brunch – until now. Room 19 is the latest speciality coffee shop with a modern design and delicious fusion food.
Husband and wife duo, Terrence Hung and Karen Zhong, hope to incorporate Asian elements to an Australian brunch menu.
“I’m from Hong Kong and I wanted to bring some Asian-style into Australian dishes,” said Terrence.
“At the beginning, we were looking into opening a dessert shop, but since we’re only going to be open during the day for now, we decided to change it into brunch.”
Room 19 will be serving almond hotcakes a little differently, accompanied with yuzu ice cream, hazelnut butter, cinnamon crumb, and dried citrus. Room 19 will also be dishing up benedict with crispy chicken thigh, gochujang hollandaise, pickled radish, and sourdough.
Half the menu is vegan and gluten free, so there will be a little something for everyone.
The little café nook is fitted out with arched mirrors and wooden finishes, making the space feel warm and inviting. Orbed light fixtures line the walls, above tan-coloured booth seating and laminate benchtops.
“Our interior design has a lot of curvy shapes. We want to make the space warm, so we used brown-cream colours with warm light,” said Terrence.
“We also inserted a custom design curvy mirror to make the space look bigger!”
Designed by Hyde Park design studio, Soko, all furniture faces away from the on-street hustle and bustle. A pastel green coffee machine pops in the see of neutral tones and will brew “the best coffee Terrence has ever had”, Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters.
Terrence initially wanted to name the space ‘The Room’ – an ode to its small size.
“When we tried to register the name, they told me I couldn’t use it because there’s a similar business name in Australia,” said Terrence.
“We then thought a name with a number is pretty cool. So, we landed on Room 19 as our cafe name… 19 is our anniversary date.”
While Room 19 is not a licensed venue, the café will be curating a seasonal mocktail menu and have hinted the possibility of opening late on Friday nights down the line.
Room 19 is located at 256 Rundle Street, Adelaide 5000.
For updates, check at the Room 19 website, Facebook, and Instagram.
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