It’s no secret that Adelaide’s coffee scene is incredible, probably (and I’m sure there’s a little bias here) rivalling that of Melbourne and Sydney.
And we all have our preferences, whether you’re a piccolo aficionado, a latte’s more your speed, or maybe your go-to is a small cappuccino with soy milk, half strength, chocolate on the top and bottom. Still, we can probably all agree that a flat white is an absolute classic. And the data agrees. A 2019 industry report by Square revealed the go-to coffee order for 25% of Australians was a flat white.
But have you ever wondered where to go for the best one?
Crew member of rave-reviewed Adelaide Fringe show Infamous, and artist and photographer in his own right, Adam Clancy, has started documenting his favourite flat whites in Adelaide.
Each coffee he rates out of 10, with no external considerations. Just that: the flat white that he’s served then and there on that day.
So, you’re probably wondering which cup of coffee takes the cake. And I won’t keep you waiting. So far, Adam’s highest ranked cuppa, is from Bank St’s Alley Brew, receiving an illustrious 9.1.
“It was just that. Pretty much the perfect tasting coffee,” Adam said. “I just walked past one day and thought, I need to try this out.”
Closely trailing, is Rundle Street’s Kaf:n, with 9.0, then EPO on Flinders Street, with 8.9, and Market Plaza’s Noru at 8.8.
But why are we trusting Adam with this list? Well, it comes down to his initial approach. About three months ago, he realised how tricky it was to find an honest review of a cafe’s coffee. So he took it into his own hands and began creating a list that was brutally honest. No matter how much he liked the venue, he would rate each individual cup of coffee without bias, and without holding back.
“I’m just gonna go out there, and if I get a sh*t coffee, I’m gonna rate it sh*t,” he laughs. “That’s the whole point.”
Half of the cafe’s Adam visits, he tells us he walks into by chance. “I just walk around the city, maybe I see a comment, so I’ll just go check it out.”
“Some cafes try to reach out to get a ranking, but I just don’t really do it for that.”
The ratings aren’t exactly arbitrary, but there’s also a certain intuition to assigning each score. “It’s mainly taste. It’s gotta be flat, obviously, but not too flat. Just a tiny bit of froth.”
“Straight away, when you see it, you should be able to know that’s gonna taste good by the dark crema on top.”
“Since it’s got two shots in it, and it’s usually in a small cup, it’s got to be pretty strong. If it’s not too strong, then they did something wrong.”
The ratings aren’t coming from a technical standpoint either, and that’s most likely why so many people are resonating with this list online. But that doesn’t stop the scrutiny.
“I get a lot of people saying, no, you have to try it again,” Adam says. But he knows list is mostly just fun, and the most rewarding part anyway, is when he’s able to shout out some of the smaller Adelaide cafes.
Adam said one of his Funk Flinders videos gained traction after he jokingly checked the froth on top of a flat white right in front of barista James, only for viewers to assume he was being rude. In reality, James is a friend, and the whole thing was meant as a laugh, which feels pretty in step with Adam’s broader approach to the list: opinionated, yes, but ultimately just a bit of fun.
“The best part about these coffee reviews is there are a couple of the small cafe owners up the top of the list that have got a lot of business out of it. Which is pretty rewarding.”
Adam has always said he’s only rating the coffee, and not the cafe itself. In fact, he says some of his favourite venues didn’t receive a high score on the day, simply because their coffee wasn’t as good as others. And separate to the coffee, there are still a few standouts for atmosphere.
The best atmosphere, Adam says, is an easy choice: Gilbert Social, on Gilbert Street. “I sat down in this nice leather chair, and the girl that served me was really nice.”
His other pick is Noru Coffee, which also ranked right in the top group of best coffee, meaning they must be doing something right. The cafe opened its doors on Grote Street last year, and they also serve up a ripper iced matcha.
So after visiting an impressive list of coffee spots across the city, there’s a noticeable attribute to this list: there’s still no perfect 10.
“I don’t really think it’s possible,” Adam laughs.
Of course, if you hand out a 10, you can never rate anything better. So right now, Alley Brew’s “near perfect” 9.1 is the coffee to beat.
Adam Clancy’s Best Flat White in Adelaide List
- Alley Brew — 9.1
- Kafi:n — 9.0
- EPO — 8.9
- Noru Coffee — 8.8
- West Oak Hotel — 8.7
- Likuid Espresso — 8.6
- Mascavado — 8.6
- The Lion — 8.5
- Funk Flinders — 8.4
- Coffee — 8.4
- Any Given Sunday Coffee — 8.3
- Exchange Coffee — 8.2
- Heat — 8.2
- Elementary Coffee — 8.2
- My Kingdom for a Horse — 8.2
- Cotto — 8.1
- Fratelli Italian Deli — 8.1
- SOHO — 8.1
- Bottega Bandito — 8.0
- Veneziano Coffee — 8.0
- homeboy — 7.9
- He Said She Said — 7.8
- Gilbert Social — 7.7
- Johnny Come Lately — 7.7
- Mitico Coffee — 7.6
- Loaded Corner Cafe — 7.5
- Script & Bean — 7.5
- Zuma — 7.1
- Attention Seeker — 6.9
- Peter Rabbit — 6.7
- Perfect Cup Central Markets — 6.6
- Tell Henry — 6.5
- Caffe Da Marco — 6.5
- Grind Roast Masters — 6.4
- Mekko Prospect — 5.8
- The Coffee Bean Shop — 5.7
- Lucia’s — 5.1
When he’s not drinking flat whites, Adam is also an artist, creating large figurative charcoal works that found an audience while he was travelling with Infamous as crew. These days, alongside running media for Infamous from Adelaide, he’s still balancing photography, art and creative work whenever he gets the chance. You can check out more of what he does through his Instagram.
Instagram: @admclncy
