Top 5 bookish cafes/bars this spring

Ah, spring – a time for bookworms to crawl out of their blanket burritos, venture outside, and rekindle their social lives.

But where to go? What bookish places in Adelaide are worth leaving your blanket burrito for?

Places with immaculate aesthetics, bookshelves, and delicious drinks, of course! Places that enchant and inspire.

Speaking of which, here’s the five best bookish hangouts this spring. Let’s take a look, shall we?

5 - Booknook & Bean

Tucked away in a corner of Topham Mall, Booknook & Bean is a homely little coffee shop with no shortage of reads.

Open 7am-12:30pm weekdays, it’s perfect for those early spring mornings before study or work, to wake yourself up with coffee, a book, and a cheery chat with staff.

Be sure to check out its pre-loved bookshop, where you can buy books at a price you deem affordable. Proceeds go to Kiva, a non-profit crowdfunding organisation which tackles poverty.

Booknook & Bean radiates warmth and certainly makes for some feel-good spring reading.

4 - Curiositeas

Up a hidden staircase on Rundle Street awaits Curiositeas (love the pun), one of Adelaide’s newest tearooms.

Curiositeas is young – having opened July this year – but its playful vintage décor, soft music and brilliant teas make it seem the opposite. It seems full of old secrets.

A teapot for one offers three cups of deliciousness, which you can drink while flicking through a book from their quaint little bookshelf.

And best of all, there’s plenty of chaise lounges and tables to sprawl across – perfect for morning tea with friends to study or talk classic literature.

3 - The Bibliotheca Bar & Book Exchange

Ah, Bibliotheca – the book lover’s night haunt. This bar-meets-book-exchange is not so secret – located just off Hindley Street – but it certainly feels that way.

Met with dark, mysterious aesthetics, walls of books, and enchanting cocktails named after famous literature, you’ll feel you’ve entered another world – one of mystery and possibility.

It’s the perfect place to gather with bookish friends, sip at drinks, and concoct fantastical schemes.

My favourite drink is the Golden Ticket, but I’d suggest taking the staff’s recommendations – they always seem to know your taste better than you do. Perhaps they can read minds…

2 - The Coffee Pot/Drynk Bar

For any Oscar Wilde fans out there, this is the place for you. He would’ve loved the aesthetics.

The Coffee Pot - another cafe hidden up a flight of stairs, just off Rundle Mall - features vintage armchairs, local art, and the best tea I’ve ever had.

But that’s not all! On the night of October 14, the Coffee Pot transformed into Drynk Bar for the first time – now a weekly occurrence on Fridays and Saturdays.

From the drink I tried that night, I can confirm their alcohol is nearly as good as their tea.

Whether you’re bookish by day or night, you’re spoiled for choice at The Coffee Pot/Drynk Bar.

1 - The Mockingbird Lounge

And now, for my favourite bookish place of spring 2022 (and all time).

Along Broadway, Glenelg, lies the fabulous Mockingbird Lounge – a cafe, second hand bookshop, gift shop, art gallery, and home of book clubs and artsy classes. It’s a booklover’s dream, truly.

Your eyes can’t help but wonder as you sip your coffee – between walls of books, vintage décor, and local giftware, it’s a place you could spend hours exploring.

Book club meetings are constantly running – an invitation to rekindle that bookish social life, if you so wish.

And, in true spring style, the back courtyard is adorned with gorgeous pink blossoms – now I know why the romantic poets so often wrote about flowers.

The Mockingbird Lounge is a place that makes your bookish soul happy.

There we have it, the top 5 bookish cafes/bars of spring. With such a versatile bunch, I’m sure there’s something to lure you from your blanket burrito. All that’s left to do is get exploring!