Photos via Lipson Street Collective
It’s an unassuming blank canvas hidden between body shops and surrounded by tin sheds, but as the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover.
The only giveaway that a delicious bakery lives inside the concrete structure in Port Adelaide is the small, humble sign that sits just outside, letting passersby know the Lipson Street Collective is, in fact, open.
Stepping into the two large wooden doors on Lipson Street (if that wasn’t already obvious), the facade of a run-down, unused building falls away. Bakers and workers are busy prepping, creating and serving the many customers who come for the irresistible treats, doughs and pastries.
Right about now, we’re all thinking of the mouth-watering smells that come from a bakery, but Lipson Street Collective might have a one-up on others. With their homemade sourdough rising and baked on site, there’s a warm, doughy scent that sticks around.
The venue is essentially two bakeries in one building. The sourdough specialties, packed sandos and filled baguettes are in the hands of Team Bread Joy led by Paul Tierney.
Sourdough options range from Country Style, Jalapeno & Cheddar to Cranberry & Walnut, and Super Seedy. The variety speaks for itself, and we’ve heard not to knock the Jalapeno and Cheddar flavour until you’ve given it a red hot crack.
The sweet treat credits go to Butter: Canteen & Provisions, who offer a range of scrumptious snacks on Fridays and Saturdays, usually selling out quite quickly in the morning on your favourite days of the week.
Although the options change from week to week, with no set menu, they offer a range of savoury pastries (pork and fennel sausage rolls, meatball hot pockets, savoury scones) and sweet treats, think Swiss rolls, cakes by the slice, and a cabinet full of brownie and blondie slices.
Butter Canteen started in the owner, Diem’s, home kitchen, and she wanted to see what she could do with a bigger space. “(It’s a) place for us to experiment and grow our offering,” Diem shared.
“We bake the products we want to eat,” she said. “The menu is diverse and ever-changing, and our regulars are so supportive of us trying new things, especially if we’ve been overseas and seen something we’d like to try and recreate when we get home.”
“We’re a very small but passionate team, and take a lot of pride in the fact that all of our products are handmade, in-house.”
“After Paul started opening the doors for bread sales on Thursday to Saturday, we complemented this with sweet and savoury treats, which have since grown into a much larger cafe/coffee offering.”
A fan favourite is Paul’s inside-out toasties, grilled golden cheese coating either side of a freshly sliced sourdough loaf, filled with a choice of ham or jalapenos and cheese. Our mouths are watering just thinking about the warm, cheesy goodness.
One fan wrote on the Lipson Street Collective Facebook page that the cafe was a revelation. “The inside-out grilled cheese and ham toasties are innovative and delicious, as is the sourdough bread. Very much enjoyed the Portuguese custard tarts as well. It’s worth the trip down to Port Adelaide just to go there,” they shared.
Another wrote it was the “best bread in Adelaide,” so you’ll have to test the theory yourself.
Although the team took a well-deserved break over Christmas, they are finally back to normal trading hours and ready for customers to hunt down the big wooden doors in front of a chalk-written sign.
Lipson Street Collective
When: Thursdays to Saturdays, 7am to 1pm
Butter: Canteen & Provisions: Fridays and Saturdays from 8am
Where: 49-51a Lipson Street, Port Adelaide
For more info, click here.
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