The Aviary Dessert Kitchen

Popped into The Aviary Dessert Kitchen just as they opened because they are packed on friday nights and weekends! Located on the Parade along with many other fantastic restaurants, Aviary is a must try if you are in the area at night.
As a big fan of ice cream, I love what Aviary had on the menu. I ordered a cup of match green tea latte because I’m a sucker for matcha. The matcha latte itself was rich in flavour and packed a strong matcha taste.
Along with the tea, I ordered the Mt Fuji, which is green tea (yay matcha!) and sesame seed ice creams mixed with fruits. I got to say, their sesame seed ice green is out of this world! It was smooth with the sesame taste that is not overwhelming, I would eat a bowl of it if i could! In addition the pieces of fruits that came in the bowl helped give the dessert a nice natural sweet, very nice!
Overall, Aviary’s ranks as one of the best desserts restaurant I’ve visited. I highly recommend them and would definitely be back many times (My dentist probably hates me).

[Sorry about the 750 word essay, I rarely get this excited about food.]
Okay, after deciding to go and not going for a long while I finally decided to go. Eggless is at the top of my dessert list because of the sheer creativity and low prices of the desserts and they haven’t failed me yet! So I was curious about how Aviary, another established dessert café, would stack up. It was packed on a Tuesday night which was encouraging, and our group of three had to wait 20 mins which is ok… better than 40+ mins at Eggless.
I used that time to scour the menu, and I got pretty excited when I saw the «Lychee Pearl»: Pink Guava Granita, Lychee Icecream, vanilla custard with raspberry coulis swirls and lychee jelly. This rarely happens, but I knew it would be good just from reading the description. My dining companions chose the ‘Snickers’ dessert and the ‘Fruits of Eden’. I won’t mention the other two because I don’t want a 2000 word essay, but they’re awesome too!
The real star of the show was the Lychee Pearl. As I predicted, it was freaking amazing. I tried the granita first and it had such a fragrant and fresh guava flavour and that nice shaved ice texture. The i tried the whole thing together and it got even better. The custard was more like cream bit it acts the same, giving a thick creamy richness. Again, the granita was fantastic because its temperature and texture complements the creaminess well. The lychee icecream was a tiny ball found at the bottom and didn’t have much impact overall (tasty but not enough of it). The raspberry coulis is raspberry coulis but it works. There was a little bit of sliced lychee but I could instantly tell it was the canned variety, but I can’t blame them because fresh lychee is extremely expensive, seasonal and hard to find (I just really miss the taste of fresh lychee). The lychee jelly was very soft and quickly melts in the mouth, but it didnt have that smooth homogenous texture but that’s no biggie.
So, the dessert is phenomenal and well, well worth the $ 9.80 but the portion size was a bit small due to this (but I ate it really slowly and tried everything else on the table). What really impressed me about it was the balance. Okay, desserts are sweet and sugary which can usually result in sugar overload (when you can’t eat more than two bites at a time). You can tell they put quite some effort in this because every element taste good separately, but they also work together. Nothing was too sweet on it’s own and the coulis had the tartness to tone down the overall sweetness. There’s the contrasting icy and creamy textures, the bits of lychee and the soft jelly. I rarely have a dessert done this well (except at Eggless, they follow a similar pattern of creative desserts with good balance).
I also have to mention the drinks because I always need something to wash down the richness of desserts. I couldn’t decide on a drink but time was ticking so I randomly chose one. It was from Mariage Freres (had no meaning to me until after I tried it), the Earl Grey French Blue with milk on the side. So at first I thought it was just tea right?
When I had a sip it was a revelation. It’s hard to describe the fragrance but it definitely had a floral aspect to it and it was a flavour I never experienced before. It made me feel so warm inside, as good tea does. Could French tea be that good? I might order some online to taste it again and make panna cotta or something with it. My companions tried it and couldn’t understand why I was raving on about it but they’re coffee addicts while I’m more of a tea person.
(I saw someone drinking a bottle of coke but why would anyone do that???)
Sorry for the long review, it reads like crap and probably doesn’t make sense half the time but it’s a true gem. The Snickers and Fruits of Eden deserve their own review but this is way too long already. Acceptable service and speed, great taste and textures and decent price! I’ll be back!
[This sounds like a 5 star review but I’ll have to go back a few more times first]

Revisited this little gem of a dessert bar after a year or so to find the much loved gorgeous interior and a menu full of old and new delicious treats! I treated myself to a banana caramel cheesecake which was all sorts of deliciousness; so fresh & the right amounts of each component! You definitely can’t go past the $ 11 coffee & cake deal.
I would say it would be good if they could have more cakes in stock as a lot of the cakes in the display had sold out by 8:30pm on a Thursday night — that’s what the people are coming to the aviary for!

Small & quaint romantic desert bar.
The seating area is up stairs and they do take bookings so whether or not you have booking browse the menu downs stairs… order… and then sit down becuase you have to come back down to order.

Peanut butter hot chocolate. Need I say more? Unquestionably delicious!!!
There was a little bit of a wait to get a table, but plenty of seating downstairs while painfully waiting & watching all the amazing desserts go past. As a first timer here, I needed every minute of the waiting time to change my mind about 10 times about what to order!
The Aviary definitely had a special feel about it — from the cute & enchanting décor upstairs to the unique menus & most importantly, the scrumptious desserts (I ordered the ‘Eton Mass’) — this place definitely had me hooked.

I don’t have a favourite dessert bar to be honest because I’m not the biggest sweet tooth but don’t get me wrong I like a sugar hit now and then but I am definitely no dessert queen.
However, The Aviary Dessert Kitchen probably comes the closest to being ‘my favourite dessert bar in Adelaide’. What I love about The Aviary is the great ambiance and warmth this places gives off.
There’s no doubt about it. This is one hell of a cute dessert bar. Upstairs you will find vines on the ceilings, dim lights, and bird cages. What I love about this place is that it’s fantastic for groups of friends and seems to be more popular place for groups than couples which is fantastic (but not so much for couples wanting a quiet, romantic night out).
Everything on the menu is cute (and very affordable) featuring their famous macaron flower pot.
A small group of us went here last night and we wanted something light and refreshing after such a big meal and I opted to share with a friend the lychee icecream. Light, refreshing and just plain tasty at only $ 9, win win!
Also you must try the green tea match latte if you haven’t already! it is to die for! You would love it if you are green tea obsessed as much as I am.
The only thing I do not like about The Aviary is that you have to pay first at the counter but the staff are quiet warm and friendly so that makes up for it.

Very enjoyable, yet a few improvements could be made. The atmosphere was lovely, the decorations making the place look very pretty. There was a small excited crowd outside before the shop opened at 8pm and we queued to gain entry. It seemed very popular. The lights were a little dim inside but that doesn’t matter, however some of the chairs seemed a little rickety. I did expect that they would have a few more than the few out-​there selections (rather than the standard fare) but perhaps this comment is not very fair because some dishes which sounded ordinary to me came out looking & apparently tasting fantastic! I had the «at the movies» dessert which consists of a creaming-​soda-​spider shooter, a mini peanut butter choc top, & a profritteroll filled with chocolate custard and topped with plenty of caramel popcorn. The 1^st item was surprisingly yummy, the 2^nd was overpowered by the strong flavour & thickness of the choc-​top chocolate & overpowered the peanut butter ice cream. The 3^rd was lovely, although all who ordered it said the profritteroll part was a bit too crispy (as apparently were the waffles too in another dish). However what was Truly scrumptious was the hot peanutbutter-​chocolate! Next time I think I’d order the drink again but either go for something like a macaroon flowerpot, or something a bit more different & out there; but it was still very enjoyable.

Aviary is just around the corner from home which makes it handy for a quick «hit» of sweet goodness.
We had to wait a little while and there was a large lined up, was unaware that it would have been a good idea to make a booking.
The décor is nice, a little «different», it is like you are sitting in an indoor garden with vines on the roof, the seating a little uncomfy (maybe a way to get people through quicker?). It would be nice to see some couches or comfy seating.
We ordered the macaroon flower pot, mille crêpe cake, the rocky road and a latte.
The Macaroon Flower pot was «Your choice of macaroon set in a pot of rich Belgian chocolate mud cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate soil and pistachios» (the surprise is this dessert is sprinkled with popping candy).
The mille crêpe cake was layer upon layer of handmade crepes stacked together with a berry cheesecake filling, served with fresh seasonal berries and strawberry jam ice cream.
And the rocky road was frozen aerated chocolate ganache and strawberry ice cream, topped with almond and hazelnut praline, fresh strawberries and mini marshmallows.
They were all very nicely presented and enjoyed by everyone at our table.
The staff were very friendly and we didnt feel rushed.
I would highly recommending booking if you want to get in straight away (or if you are going along with a large group) but the waiting isn’t usually very long.

This is a cute little dessert place on The Parade. It’s often quite busy inside, but never too loud.
The desserts are delicious with a wide variety of options. Although, for the price of each dessert I would expect larger servings.
Eton Mess is one of my favourite desserts and Aviary puts their own spin on it with an amazing Nutella mousse.
The only annoying thing is having to walk upstairs to your table, then walking downstairs to order and pay, and then returning upstairs to wait for your order. Table service would be so much more convenient.
Overall, a great dessert place to try in Adelaide!

The Aviary is 5 minutes walk from my doorstep, and I pass by it everyday on the way home. So I’m proud that it took me some months to try them out, and in the past 4 months I’ve only been there 6 times. I call that amazing self-​control.
I’ve had the Mille Feuille, Rhubarb Trifle crumble, Chocolate Fondant, Shiratama Zenzai, Roti Bakar (Pandan flavoured coconut jam yaay!), and… I mean I could list them all, but that wouldn’t be fun.
On every visit, there hasn’t been a single disappointed face at our table when the desserts come, and then the desserts disappear pretty quickly. The desserts are also beautifully presented, and the raspberry coulis comes in a dropper that lets you spread as little or as much coulis as you want. The coulis usually ends up straight in someone’s mouth rather than on the dessert. A new creation is added to the menu every couple of months or so, and with it comes a new delightful desert to try out.
There are a range of drinks to choose to accompany the desserts as well. On top of the usual tea and coffee, there’s flavoured tea, iced tea and shakes. The Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate and Green Tea Matcha Latte are the long standing favourites for now.
If you’re planning on The Aviary for dessert after dinner, best to make a booking as there’s usually a full house and about a 20 minute wait or so for walk-​ins.
My only complain? I can’t get a spot with good lighting to get a picture that justifies the dessert. So I’m on a mission to trial the different tables for the best spot for pictures.

This place holds a special place in my heart! It was where I got proposed to and they did the desserts at our wedding and it was just beautiful! The owners are lovely and have picked Stella staff to cater for your every need! Alway feel welcome and of course the food is off the hook everytime! The only thing that would make me so happy is I they bought the strawberry bouquet back! Hint hint! Thanks guys we will forever remain addicted to your desserts! x

Located somewhat perculiarly towards the Portrush Rd end of the Parade the Aviary is simply a delightful little place to enjoy a late night dessert.
It’s style is eclectic, having once obviously been a family home. The service is nothing to write home about as you do have to order at the counter, but I’m far more interested in the food of a place than the service (unless they’re just plain rude, which they’re not).
The Lychee Pearl dessert is one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever had. It is somewhat unexpected from the description, but eating it is like something from another planet.
They make very nice hot chocolates and coffees too which is of course an essential. The added bonus is that they accept reservations which is a rarity in the world of dessert bars.

Food ³⁄₅
Service ³⁄₅
Atmosphere 4.5÷5
I really love so much about The Aviary, theres so much potential but unfortunately it just hasn’t quite come together. I’ll start with what I love about The Aviary. The greatest thing about The Aviary is there fun loving & adventurous approach to food. The food is playful, mischievous & exciting and they are taking deserts down the «rabbit hole» which is exciting to see in Adelaide. The food styling is amazing, everything dessert on the menu looks amazing. However is behind the plating up of their desserts really knows what they are doing. The decore is wonderful and the space is great for big groups or for more a more intimate night out. The shame is that the food is a bit hit and miss, often lacking flavour. The customer service is also fairly poor, it appears that they have gone for cheap inexperienced floor staff and it shows.
Overall The Aviary has potential to be one of the best dessert bars in Adelaide but there not there at the minute.

I am trifle mixed about this little eatery in Norwood.
I can see why the things I have heard about this place have been so mixed. They certainly don’t fail to attract a crowd but at the same time there are many other places that do the same for a lot higher quality desserts. There is so much of me that can see the «potential» in this place because of the «greats» they have going for it…
1) The Macaron Pot — a stand out dessert where every mouthful literally popped in your mouth and managed to make my jiggle in my seat each time I took a bite. This is their «showcase» original dessert item and I can see why.
2) As Tash said, you can book a table at this place and that is refreshing in a dessert bar — as very few Adelaide dessert bars allow this.
3) The atmosphere is light, majestic and makes you feel like you are hiding out in a bit of an Alice and Wonderland home.
BUT
And that is a fairly big but…
1) There are only a few stand out desserts on this menu and you expect going into a dessert bar that every dessert would be a specialty. For example 2 out of 4 people at our table were impressed by the desserts.
2) The macarons are not of the flavour and style I am used to — ie. mixing chocolate into a lemon and a salted caramel macaron means you end up loosing the essence of the flavour of the macaron for chocolate.
3) The service is a bit ordinary. You have to order at the counter, minimum order is $ 15 and service a bit abrupt. That said, the service of food was very quick for how busy they were on the night.
Overall, I wouldn’t say don’t try Aviary — it has so much going for it — and I hope to see more «popping» desserts that shake up the norm of what is served on the menu!

I was holding off writing a review of the Aviary. It had been a while since I’d been there, and I wanted to do a review with the place fresh in my mind. Thankfully after our second Unilocal Dessert UYE (get on it!), I had plenty of new memories to pen a review.
The Aviary is a really lovely space, it’s got a very light ‘cute’ feel to it, a bit different from the dark and sultry feel that some dessert bars have going on. The Aviary theme is continued through everything, from the lifelike little birds that decorate lampshades to the egg shaped mugs that your hot chocolate comes in. All in all it’s a lovely space to be in.
While atmosphere is a big thing when it comes to dessert bars, it isn’t the be all and end all. At the end of the night you want the food to be something pretty special. Unfortunately I don’t feel like Aviary has quite hit the mark. Their desserts are fun and interesting, and they can put together a bloody fabulous looking menu. But all too often their desserts are piled high with potential, just lacking that real wow factor.
I want to love this place, I really do, but I think it’s still got a small way to go.
Definitely give it a chance, and chances are you’ll find something nice or maybe even something fabulous (there are a couple of menu items that could fit this category), I just feel that this place could be so much more.
They do offer bookings (yay) which is a rarity in some dessert places. Great if you want to bring someone along who isn’t used to lining up outside just to get a sweet feed.
One tip — they might want to work on perfecting their Salted Caramel macaron recipe… because it just ain’t quite right.

What a little gem. This place had brilliant service and a lovely vibe as well as a creative and delicious menu. It took my friend and I about ten minutes to decide what to have because everything sounded delicious. In the end I chose to have the Chocolate Fondant with salted caramel icecream and fresh strawberries, as well the peanut butter hot chocolate. My poor hips.
I will definitely be coming back here until I have pretty much devoured the entire menu. Only minor issue was waiting time for a table but I think that’s just a small thing that us Adelaidians will have to overcome as our little city gets bigger.

This place is one of the few popping up around Adelaide in the face of the dessert café craze. Everyone has given comments about the décor and the shop but I am going to focus more closely on the food and what you can expect in the way of sugary goodness from Aviary Dessert Kitchen.
I went there with a couple of friends and we all ordered different things to experience all that the menu had to offer. I had the ‘Passion on the Rocks’ which featured the most amazing passionfruit sorbet with chocolate ganache and this chocolate bark stuff which I am still not quite sure was edible. The whole dish was not served on a plate but on a rock. Very inventive and quirky but I really liked it.
A friend had the apple crumble which comes with treacle melted over the top of a drinking glass. The chefs here get full marks for their inventive presentation and it is really a highpoint of the dessert experience. Another dish we ordered was a macaroon on a stick in ‘soil’ of chocolate mousse with bits of chocolate biscuit stuff amongst it. SO YUMMY!
Try to get in early if you can as it is very popular. It opens at 8pm but there was a crowd of people waiting outside before then to get a spot, and as there isn’t many tables I would rate that as a good plan!

The Aviary is adorable. The interior looks like you are in a cute birdcage, plants, dark wood, quirky seats and an actual birdcage. There is a strange but really cool moose head on the wall that is made out of wood.
Now the food is amazing. When looking at the menu I had absolutely no idea where to start. Do I get ‘at the movies’ (a dessert combo that looks like a combination of movie snacks), the ‘macaron flower pot’ or the ‘lychee pearl.’ There were just too many delicious options! I settled on the ‘macaron flower pot’ and it was delectable. It was a macaroon on a chocolate cake with chocolate moose. Mmmm so good. The Aviary also has a large range of gluten free options, which is great and rare for dessert kitchens. It is also a lot classier. I love Spatz, but it is starting to look a bit worn and old. The only downside of The Aviary is that it isn’t too romantic for couples that want to cuddle up and share their desserts.
The service here is brilliant. The waitresses are friendly and helpful. This adds to the overall amazingness of the dessert kitchen. I would definitely recommend going here, but don’t get too stressed attempting to decide what amazing dish to purchase.

The Aviary is the only ‘dessertery’ in the eastern suburbs, as far as I’m aware, and has only been open for a few months now.
The interior décor is very interesting. Quite alternative and unique.
A lot of vintage bird cages and other bird-​based art pieces are placed around.
After walking around it seems the place is a house modified into a gorgeous little ‘dessertery’ (I enjoy making up words). There are multiple rooms, some obviously old bedrooms or living rooms.
The desserts were tasty, I’ve had multiple chocolate based ones, and they were rich and scrumptious.
Serving sizes are a little small, my girlfriend and I ordered some kind of serving for two and it seemed just a little undersized, but I suppose we were there for the taste, not for a full feed.
They have interesting range of warm beverages.
I had multiple chocolate chai teas and they are just amazing and velvety and delicious!

The Aviary — as it is normally called. On of the newer dessert places in Adelaide, this is not always my first choice when it comes to dessert’s however it has nothing to do with the desserts they serve. The place is starting to get so popular it can be hard to find seats in the evenings, but such is the case for most popular dessert places around town.
Walking in, the first thing you will probably notice is the décor. The place has a very light and cosy feel to its interior and you have the option of sitting either upstairs or in the room in the back. I personally try to get a seat upstairs whenever I go simply because it feels less cramped, however the back room is good as well with a bird cage and cardboard moose head among the things decorating the green wall paper.
For their selection, they have hand made cakes and a broad selection of ice creams, desserts, teas and coffees. I have yet to try many of them, but I have to say for those I have tried, they really aren’t too bad. One thing I don’t really fancy is the fact that I have to pay an extra dollar to get a cup in order to share a small pot of tea. That said, their presentation of not just their food is quite appealing and the price of the food is justifiable if you take into account the attention to detail they give to their menu in order add to the congruency of the entire establishment.
There was one time we got a pot of tea that had a tea leaf «flower» in it. As you would sit there and let the tea steep, you could watch as the flower would slowly open over the course of your time there. Very zen and a cool idea. They also serve durian ice cream which is quite rare or dare I say impossible to find in pretty much an regular local gelato or ice cream place around town.
I’ll be returning to The Aviary again when I need a dessert fix. In the mean time, it’s one of the places to definitely check out in Adelaide and if you’re ever in the east site of town. An idea for an evening out? Head over to Hoyts which is just down the street, watch a cool movie then head on up to The Aviary to cap off the night. Simple, but a pretty sweet way to spend an evening.