Cockles Cafe

Cockles Cafe

Location

Possibly one if the easiest cafes to find on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula, partly because it is on rhe main road in Port Elliot on the corner of The Strand, but mostly because it is 3 doors down from and in the same building conplex as the renown Pirt Elliot Bakery, which invariablt has a line of hungry custoners snaking iut its door and down the footpath.

Bike Parking

i saw only one small, lonely bike rail on the Strand side of the cafe, but this will only hokd 2 bikes and will only be easily visible from seating on the western side of the cafe. Its far more practical to simply lean your bike up against (or hook your handlebars over) the wire railings on the footpath, and find a table just adjacent.

Wire rails lend themselves to bike parking

Food and Drink

We were in Port Elliot as part of a family summer holiday, and enjoyed breakfast here on two mornings. Our eggs were cooked to perfection, the hollandaise was delicious with just the right amount of tang, the smoked salmon was yummy and the bacon juicy. Servings were generous and quick to arrive with the cafe less than half full.

Coffee

Grinders coffee is splashed all over the market umbrellas, and turned out to be a dark nutty roast, just the way we like it. Our long blacks came with the perfect crema clinging to the cups. Our waitress took our coffee order quickly upon sitting down, so their was not long to wait for our caffeine hit.

Amenity

We really found this to ve a lovely cafe in an idel location. The majority of outdoor seays were plastic whicker abd very comfortable, with a few outdoor tables serviced by simple metal atools instead. Indoors you have the chooce of plishbemch seats, ir much less inviting metal wire chairs with thin mats for comfort. I found tge vibe of tge vaulted ceiling with exposed beams, and covered outdoor dining areas to be in perfect harmony.

Toilets

These are found by heading past the kitchen, behind the rear of the orher shops in the complex, at the far end of the hallway. It woyld be quite a noisy hike in cleats on the hard floors. The toikets themselves were clean and well stocked but i did not notice any clothes hooks in the mens.

Service

On the two occasions we were there the cafe was well staffed, and did a good job of taking and serving our initial orders, However after that I did get a sense of staff moving around with eyes down, clearing tables and resetting very efficiently, but missing the opportunity to ask us for coffee refills, extra water etc. All staff were very friendly and accommodating when we had their attention.

KOM Coffee

KOM Coffee Anzac Highway

KOM coffee is a newer addition to the Adelaide cafe scene, and as the name suggests, is definitely targeting customers on 2 wheels, although the nearest actual KOM climb is probably a good 25 minutes away by bike. Run by Colombian owners, this cycling cafe on Anzac Highway is also well situated to attract tradies and commuters heading into town, as there are several short stay parking bays right out front of the shop. National pride permeates this little shop, with photos of Colombian cycling heroes such as Esteban Chaves adorning the wall, the tricolours of the Colombian flag featured prominently, and even some KOM shop merch available, including casual tshirts and cycling jerseys.

Bike Parking

There is plenty of space to recline your steed against the cyclone fence adjacent to the shop, against the shop front next door (prior to opening hours- lets not offend anyone) or hanging on the racks installed in the vacant lot car park near the southern wall. If you are sitting outside, as most cyclists do, your bike will always be in view and close at hand. if you are inside the shop you might only be able to see your bike if you are seated at the window.

Food and Drink

There us a small kitchenette where fresh snacks are prepared, along with the staple of baked goods and cookies.

Coffee

So if you are going to name your shop KOM Coffee you better be serving a decent brew, and on the whole they deliver a delicious Colombian blend (beans available for purchase on site).

Amenity

In this small shop the furnishings are fairly simple, with very basic metal stools to perch on, leading to more of a “gulp and go” experience rather than a ”lounge and chat” vibe.

Toilets

To date I’ve never found or used the restroom facilities so i cant comment

Cleat Friendliness

Flooring is yet to be assessed

Service

So this is one area where KOM could definitely move from good to great. My cycling squad often stops here on weekday mornings, and can besiege KOM with up to 15 riders at a time. This seems to put quite a strain on their coffee output, with orders taking up to 15 minutes to arrive, which is an important consideration when fitting in a training ride before work. Members of my group have been left waiting an extra long time, more than once with their coffee order being lost.

Loyalty

KOM Coffee have an old school loyalty program where you collect stamps on a card and claim a free coffee when you get to 10 stamps. This is obviously a cheaper way to run a loyalty program, but i hope in time they can migrate to a phone app based scheme so there is one less item to remember and take with you on a ride.

Environmentally Friendly

When KOM get hammered by the arrival of big groups such as mine in the mornings, they understandably turn to take away cups to save on washing up time, however this leads to a bin full of paper cups. I’ve not seen a recycling bin for these, and they invariably will go to general waste and end up in landfill.

Cibo Hyde Park

As the long term post ride cafe for the Power On cycling group in Adelaide, Cibo is like a home base. Cibo itself is a South Australian success story, developing as a chain of cafes from the original Cibo restaurant on O’Connell Street in North Adelaide. There are now a multitude of Cibo cafes spread around Adelaide.

Location

Situated in the heart of trendy Hyde Park at 123 King William Road, this Cibo is easy to find amongst the upmarket boutiques and specialty stores.

Bike Parking

The local council recently renovated this entire stretch of King William Road, laying pavers to replace the aging bitumen, and creating multiple garden beds. As part of this renovation, they strangely decided to remove three quite functional bike racks that could support around 15 bikes in total, and replaced them with 2 very striking ornamental and far less functional racks that support only a few bikes each. unfortunately this generally leads to large cycling groups such as ours parking their bikes against the clothing boutique walk, under the ”No bike parking” sign. The good news however is that your bike is highly visible from all outdoor seating and most of the indoor seating as well. Bike thieves and opportunists will also be deterred by the local police that frequently drop in for their morning cup of Joe.

Food and Drinks

Originating from a restaurant and with proud Italian ownership, Cibo was always going to have great food. How could they not, with a name that means ”Food” in Italian. They have a wide variety of savoury and sweet snacks, which mostly arrive each morning from a centralised kitchen. They offer a number of imported Italian drinks, such as Chinotti.

Coffee

Cibo coffee has a great reputation in Adelaide and is consistently excellent. They offer the full range of milk alternatives at no extra charge.

Loyalty Program

Being a larger player in the adelaide scene, Cibo have their own app <link> which retains your order history in order to accumulate points towards your next purchase. You can also order in advance via the app, although they only show a small selection of their overall food menu, and their is no provision to customise a standard order, so you couldnt order your long black ”with a dash”. buying a coffee Monday through Thursday on the app will earn you a free Friday coffee!

Toilets

Toilets are positioned at the rear of the shop and are council operated. The single unisex loo has electronic button controlled door locking and are generally well supplied with soap and loo paper but on one occasion i needed to ask in Cibo for sanitiser as the soap had run out. Sadly there are no wall hooks so if you need to disrobe, your best bet is to lay your kit over the sink.

Floor Surface

Here we have polished concrete which is a tad slippery in cleats.

Bike Tools and Repair Facilities

There are no bike tools on premises. The nearest bike shop is My Ride on Unley Road, about 1500 m away.

Cycling Gourmand score

4.5/5

Wattle Park Bakery

This lovely suburban bakery is run by cyclist and Fatboys member “Lance”, and is a favourite post ride recovery stop for many local Adelaide cycling groups. Recent renovations have substantially increased outdoor seating spaces and the overall amenity in general.

Food and Drinks

There is a wide selection of yummy treats baked on the premises

Coffee

The coffee is dependably good, if not a smidge more expensive than other local cafes

Location

The Wattle Park Bakery holds a commanding position at the top of Kensington Road at the corner of Stonyfell Road. it is an easy place to find if your ride includes Greenhill Road, Norton Summit, or if you have chosen to test yourself on some very sharp local climbs <Top of Kensington Road> or <Coach Road> or <Heatherbank>. If you are a bit of a mountain goat and can handle a few minutes of climbing measuring in the high ’teens, the view from the Skye lookout at the very terminus of Kensington Road will repay your efforts.

Bike Parking

You are on a winner here, as owner Lance (no, not that Lance), has included vertical hanging bike storage on the outside of the new large verandah and can accommodate 12 bikes in this fashion along with many also leaning against the wall. In all but the most inclement weather you will be comfortable sitting outside, within metres of your precious steed.

Toilets

Unfortunately toilets are a bit of an afterthought, and all patrons need to make do with the less than salubrious facilities at the back of the bakery.

Flooring

Timber floors?