Sam I Am Cafe — Restaurant in Adelaide

If you're looking for a place for Breakfast or Brunch in Mclaren Vale you wont go wrong to stop in and eat at Sam I Am Cafe. We stopped in today for a brunch and as soon as we walked in we were greeted with a smile, wave and super friendly hello. The cafe was very busy but there was a table for us where we were invited to sit down. Very promptly a lovely lady came down to give us menu's, complimentary table water and take drinks orders. We ordered a fresh squeeze juice and smoothie both of which were decent in size and had a great flavour. We tried the 'Big Breakfast' and 'This lil Benny' for our meals which despite the cafe being so busy arrived at the table rather quickly. Both plates were presented very well and were a very generous serve. Each element of The Big Breakfast was cooked perfectly and all compliment each other well. There isn't a overpowering ingredient or flavour which is a great compliment to the kitchen team. There is just enough of everything that you aren't really left with too much of 1 thing on your plate at the end either and it's certainly big enough to satisfy the hungriest of diners. 'This lil Benny' is a great twist on your traditional eggs benedict using pork belly which was cooked really well. The flavours all come together really well and again it was a good amount of food on the plate. I would say that the dish itself is perfect for Brunch but might feel a bit heavy for a breakfast if you intend to have lunch later on. The total order came to only $64 so definitely value for money, especially in Mclaren Vale. It's great to see that after a few name changes and ownership changes there is a team here that are making it work and doing it right. The menu offers a good selection of options for everyone including vegetarians. The drink menu is more than just coffee and store bought items, there's shakes, smoothies, juices etc and you don't feel like you're breaking the bank. There is a extra element that the team have too, going a bit above and beyond by making the ordering and selection experience as effortless as possible. Understanding that a mother with a pram has her mind on enough so they come out to her with options and suggestions, that an elderly couple might want to sit on the street level so they separate tables and chairs to make a new spot or that a group wants to have a long catch up so they accommodate that too. These things stick out and stay in your mind and are the sort of things you tell your friends about the next time you catch up. As they grow and extend their time I would love to see some qwerky art work or something on the walls around Dr Seus and the name of the shop (there was a book at the coffee machine today which was a nice touch) Definitely worth putting this one on top of your list for the next catch up...

EDIT in response to Owner's response - the point of my review is that the attitude of your staff is the issue - treating me as though I was trying to trick them into giving me a drink that I hadn't already paid for was ridiculous - I was very patient, and certainly understand that things can take longer - but being treated like that is not nice. A simple "so sorry, your order didn't print - we'll make it now" would have a gone a long way!

Called in here on what would probably be their busiest day ever (second last day of TDU). We ordered one bottled drink and one iced latte. Knowing how busy they were, we waited outside about 20 minutes, expecting things would take longer than normal. After waiting that long, I figured I should check - I went inside to find no queue and no activity - so asked about my Iced Latte. They basically implied it had never been ordered. I explained that the rest of the order was a bottled drink that had already been handed over. Without any further communication to me, the person I spoke to unplugged something from the wall, and plugged it back in - which triggered a flurry of receipts. Seems there was something wrong with their ordering system - and it had never been printed! She said to her colleague "you wouldn't believe how often that happens" (!!!). The barista then started to make a coffee (I assumed it must be mine, seeing there'd been no prior activity), and when she started steaming milk I mentioned it was an Iced Latte. She said she knew, and she'd bring it out to me. Considering how rude they'd been, I didn't trust that 1. they wouldn't do something nasty or 2. that they'd make the drink anytime soon! I traded what was probably a $6 or $7 iced latte and 25 minutes of my time, for a single can of lemonade (and NO REFUND). There were plenty of placed we visited while in the area - this is one we'd...

I called the store simply asking to be able to speak to whoever handles the hiring process so I could ask if there were any employment opportunities that I could apply for and the guy who picked up the phone was incredibly rude. He was beyond condescending and talked down to me even though I was polite and understanding the entire time. I hope this cafe gets run into the ground 🥰 every other cafe I have talked to on the phone has been very lovely even if they had no open positions and we would have a courteous phone call, but this random guy was the rudest I have ever encountered. Just a warning, if this is how they treat you when you’re just asking if they have open positions, then they probably won’t treat you well while dining either. Besides, after finding out how rude the man on the phone was I realised that I have too much self-respect to work at a place like this and would rather live under a bridge and be homeless then have him as my coworker ❤️

Edit: after seeing the owners reply, I would just like to state that a phone call with a young person is ALSO not the appropriate place to vent your anger and stress issues, so I think making this review was extremely...