Images: David Roche Gallery
One of Adelaide’s most spectacular hidden cultural gems has added another reason to visit, with a new courtyard café now open at the David Roche Gallery in North Adelaide.
Hidden behind the grand façade of Fermoy House on Melbourne Street, the gallery was established to showcase the extraordinary collection of the late David Roche, who spent decades amassing more than 3,500 pieces of European decorative art.
Roche ultimately gifted his remarkable collection and multi-million dollar estate to The David Roche Foundation, allowing what was once a private world to become one of Adelaide’s most fascinating public cultural institutions.
The late David Roche, who left his entire multi-million dollar estate and unparalleled private art collection to the public by gifting it to The David Roche Foundation.
Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the gallery is entering a new chapter.
The David Roche Café opened on August 12, creating a new place for breakfast, lunch and coffee alongside an entire menu devoted to scones.
“It has already created a wonderful buzz, with positive feedback from visitors,” gallery director Robert Reason said.
“Guests are staying a little longer after experiencing the current exhibition or taking a House Tour, enjoying a coffee and making the most of the new café space.”
The opening forms part of the gallery’s first major redevelopment, which has reshaped its outdoor areas and introduced a new shop and foyer, while work has also encompassed the historic 1880s maisonette, research library, meeting room and additional storage and workshop facilities.
The centrepiece is the Mediterranean-inspired outdoor space, designed as a natural extension of Fermoy House rather than a traditional museum café.
“David enjoyed European gardens and elements of formality in the plantings,” Robert said.
“I think we’ve achieved that, and a centralised courtyard has a European flavour. We also sourced a 100-year-old olive tree which has started to be cloud pruned.”
There is another detail regular visitors to Fermoy House may appreciate, he added.
“When David lived at Fermoy House, you would have been floating in the swimming pool where the café courtyard is now situated.
“We are bringing back some of the classical marble sculptures and urns that decorated his garden to distinguish this as an art gallery café.”
The menu is equally considered, with breakfast options including brioche French toast with seasonal fruit and mascarpone, mushroom toast with crème fraîche and parmesan, smoked salmon tartine and poached eggs. Lunch moves into soups, quiches and other light dishes.
The Gallery Scone Collection takes the afternoon tea staple well beyond jam and cream, with flavours including traditional buttermilk, Earl Grey served with clotted cream and bergamot glaze, orange and currant with marmalade, and parmesan and chive.
“The café is open to the public from 10am and closes at 4pm, with no exhibition or House Tour ticket required,” Robert said.
“Drop by anytime for a leisurely morning coffee, a relaxed lunch or an afternoon cuppa.”
For a gallery many Adelaideans are still yet to discover, the new addition offers the perfect excuse to wander through the gates, find a table beneath the olive tree and see what has been hiding behind Fermoy House all this time.
David Roche Café
Where: David Roche Gallery, Melbourne Street, North Adelaide
When: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm
Bookings: Walk-ins welcome
