Bottles of San Pellegrino water behind the counter, barista working the coffee machine, window into the kitchen. This combined with the mainly bare white walls hung with a few photos and the naturally well lit interior results in a café that wouldn't be out of place in Melbourne's Carlton or an upmarket beachside suburb like Brighton.
Tucked away on Wright Street, just off the main restaurant strip on Gouger Street, Jam the Bistro provides breakfast, lunch and dinner with a Mediterranean twist. For example, Hungry Pete's choice for breakfast was the Spanikopita omelette. This looked kind of plain when it hit the table, almost like a big egg pancake in the middle of a white plate. Based on the overall impression of the café I was expecting something which looked a bit more impressive, maybe a light, folded over omelette flecked with spinach, oozing melted cheese and some refreshingly dressed green salad on the side. Taste wise quite a fair effort though, lighter than it first looked and slightly salty but in a pleasant way.
Ms Ruby went for my first choice, the crab omelette. Again the same issues with drab presentation but a dish which tasted better than it looked. The addition of the crab added a nice sweetness to the omelette, although I would have liked some larger pieces of crab meat.
I ended up going for the menu equivalent of the big breakfast, the Jam breakfast. I am not normally a big breakfast fan, that’s more Hungry Pete's style, but I did think this was the breakfast of the morning. None of the elements were stunningly good but unusually all were consistently good. The sausages were nice, the eggs fluffier than the omelettes, the bread not over-toasted and the bacon tasty and a good blend of fat and meat. If I returned to Jam this is the breakfast I would choose again.
Overall
I know some people have commented about the service but we found the staff friendly and efficient enough. It was a nice place to sit and eat, the food was above average to good and the prices were reasonable. Attention to a few little things would improve the overall experience here: wait staff appearing a little more attentive, and some more attention to making the omelettes look more interesting. Still, after the disappointment of the bland experiences at other Adelaide cafes this is somewhere I'd think about going back to.
Rating
Food - 7.5
Service - 7
Ambience - 7
Price - 6.5
Address
114 Wright Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Tel: (08) 8231 7411
I'm a bit baffled that you keep complaining in your reviews of Adelaide breakfast places but you don't go to any of the good ones, of which there are lots. In particular Jones the Grocer, Chianti Classico which of all the places we've been visiting in Melbourne and Adelaide still gets number one for coffee as well as impeccable sophisticated breakfasts and Urban Bistro, of course. Just my favourites, but there are lots more.
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