Adelaide may be one of Australia’s smaller cities but it’s certainly not asleep. Whether it’s your first visit or your tenth, there are lots of things to do in Adelaide. The capital of South Australia is growing into a multicultural city with hip pockets developing close to the CBD. One such spot is Queen Street Croydon, which has character cafes and stylish boutiques selling vintage fashion and furniture.
Queen Street Croydon
Actually, the shops and cafes are on Elizabeth Street, which is a block along from Queen Street, but the Queen Street moniker (yes, there’s a Queen Street Café there) is here to stay.
Good food, friendly service and a homely feel draw a regular weekend crowd.
Lovers of vintage stuff will delight in the selection of furniture, clothing and home decorations for sale.
Here’s where to eat, shop and hang out in Croydon, Adelaide.
Queen Street shops
Vintage Hype & Seek
One of the first shops to open on the street, Hype and Seek (3 Elizabeth Street) sets the tone of this suburban hub.
The shop started selling quality vintage fashion and furniture over a decade ago.
Vintage furniture, racks of clothing and shelves of jewellery are sourced from all over the world.
Hype and Seek also stocks locally designed products made in South Australia. If you’re looking for a professional styling service you can hire them too.
Quirky One Small Room
Named for its modest beginnings, One Small Room (6-10 Elizabeth Street) is no longer so small. The shop now has three interlinking rooms packed with lots of beautiful things.
Rooms are artfully arranged, with the bigger room displaying a constantly changing collection of designer furniture.
The newest look at One Small Room has pieces shipped from UK and Europe. Designers include Peter Hvidt, Ercol and Gordon Russell.
Depending on when you visit, the other room might have swatches of vintage-style textiles, Australian clothing labels and quirky gifts. Sometimes the items on sale are modern interpretations of old concepts.
If you’re thinking of making a movie (or a YouTube video) they have props for hire too.
Places to eat in Croydon
Classic Queen Street Café.
Soak up the sun while sipping a hot chocolate at one of the alfresco tables of the Queen Street Café.
If you prefer to sit inside, there are 1960s diner-style red bench seats beneath a wall-length mural of a figure lazing on a lime pastel blanket.
The breakfast menu is the star attraction and deliciously South Australian. Think Ruradene free range eggs, Shulz bacon and Harris smoked salmon.
Red Door Bakery
On Saturdays, the queue at the Red Door Bakery (22 Elizabeth Street) is a testimony to the quality of its pies and pastries.
Everything sold in the bakery is handmade and artisan baked.
The bakers use local ingredients such as Wakefield Grange beef in their pies, organic flour to make their sourdough and fresh seasonal local fruit from around the region.
You can’t go wrong.
Queen Street Grocer
The Queen Street Grocer (20 Elizabeth Street) is the place to stock up on quality South Australian nuts, currants, sultanas, dried beans, lentils and grains.
Health fans will love the scents and sights here.
The shelves are packed with all sorts of organic and healthy food and products like handmade Willunga pasta, Brokenhead Cacao coconut milk and organic raw snickers truffles
Do you have a restaurant, shop or gallery in Queen Street Croydon (or Elizabeth Street) that we haven’t mentioned? We’d love to know about you. Please leave a paragraph in the comments section below. A photo would be great too!
Discover South Australia
What’s close to Queen Street Croydon?
A few years ago, a major redevelopment of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh has sparked growth around the city’s north-western fringe.
The centre accommodates a crowd of 12,000 and has cemented Adelaide’s position as a desirable destination for major international performers. Not surprisingly, the streets around the centre are abuzz with pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes.
A few blocks away from the bright lights of Port Road, a tree-lined street of blue-stone houses and tidy gardens is also generating buzz.
For more places to visit in South Australia, how what to do in Coober Pedy. Also, see www.southaustralia.com
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