You may have noticed some newcomers to Hawker Street. Taking over the former Taverna site, the team at Seven Grounds are determined to break some new ground.

The light, bright, cafe launched in early July with a focus on great coffee and a small, unexpected menu.

“We wanted to do something different for South Australia. Melbourne and Sydney have these cafes that aren’t just places to grab a coffee they’re a destination… we wanted Adelaide to have that too.” says co-owner Andre Penascoza. Andre has graced the kitchens of Adelaide favourites Shobosho, Devour Cafe and A Mother’s Milk; as well as doing a stint in Manila, his hometown in the Philippines.

He’s joined forces with high school friends Priestian Tudo and George Wong. The trio are bringing all of their Asian heritages to the menu with a limited and ever-changing range of dishes on offer. They’re pushing boundaries with mouthwatering options like bacon and egg breakfast dumplings in a smoked ginger broth, blue swimmer crab omelette with salted fennel and pickled corn, and even freshly baked miso choc chip cookies. A little left of centre? For sure. But trust us, you don’t want to miss these dishes.

They also take their caffeine very seriously. As shown by the ‘barista’s breakfast’- that’s coffee three ways on a platter, so you can sample all the hidden magic of the beans at hand. If that sounds like too much java for you – not to worry. There’s still your standard fare on offer, as well as some special smoothies juices and fancy signature options too. Setting them apart further, Seven Grounds is SA’s only stockist of St Ali coffee – which is coveted stuff from our friends over in VIC.

The guys spent significant time searching Adelaide for the perfect space to bring their ideas to life. Luckily for us, they settled right here. “It’s already such a cool community, we’re just excited to be a part of it,” said George. It sounds like we’ve made a good impression so far.

Their passion project has been nearly two years in the making, with frequent R & D missions interstate to really assess the state of the industry and how to bring the best to Bowden. A stunning new mural from local artist Justine Crisp has graced the outside wall to really add to the new kids on the block vibe.

Perfecting the fit-out took some time but the end results speak for themselves. The cafe seats 65 under current restrictions and has a lofty mezzanine, which will hopefully be able to be used as an event space in the future.

For now though, the cafe is open seven days, with the kitchen closing at 2pm. Make sure you swing by to give them a great Bowden welcome.

Seven Grounds: Unit 1/28a Hawker St, Brompton SA 5007 or find them on Facebook.