Zac Mucklow has opened brunch spot Yolk in a section of suburban Adelaide in need of a quality café offering.

On Wednesday, 20 January, Yolk café officially opened to the public, in a space on North East Road recently converted from a physical rehabilitation centre.

The building is owned by the family of the cafés founder, Zac Mucklow, who has worked previously at Richmond café and bar Karma & Crow and Glenelg’s Fourth.

Zac counts the former as a huge influence on his understanding and appreciation of Adelaide’s café scene.

“I got the most experience from there,” he says.

“They’re just the pinnacle café, really, in terms of service and food. Even how busy they are, it’s just mental.

“I just love how you get to be a part of people’s days, and regulars, they rely on you for that hit of conversation. I just love the industry in general. It’s just a good environment, once you get a place how you want it.”

The idea of putting a café into his family’s building came from Zac’s dad, who was pitching to the broader hospitality industry.

Zac had developed such an affinity for the industry that, despite feeling quite young in his hospitality career, it made sense for him to consider taking on the tenancy.

“I thought, Well, I’m going to do that one day. If we can come up with an agreement of some sort, I’ll happily fill it,” he says.

Yolk’s coffee comes from McLaren Vale roasters Dawn Patrol, with espresso and filter options on pour.

As for the food menu, Zac brought in former Bird in Hand chef Cory Geddes to create an array of brunch favourites while introducing elements of iteration and evolution.

“It’s an all-day breakfast and lunch. We’ve still got the classics on there, so eggs on toast, add your sides, whatever. We’ve got some nice waffles,” Zac says.

“Instead of avo on toast, we’ve done smashed pumpkin and smashed avo on toast, creating a different element to it. We’ve got some bagels that we’re doing. They’ll be good takeaway options, too

“We’ve got a crumbed eggplant and crispy leek, we’ve got a seasonal poke bowl. We’ve got a curry roasted cauliflower. A nice reuben toastie, [which will be made using] pastrami that we’re curing at the moment. And the fried chicken katsu – I reckon that will be the main winner. Tonkatsu sauce, buttermilk fried chicken.”

Zac and Cory have opted to keep the menu broadly appealing at this early stage, as they get to know the local clientele.

North East Road is mostly used as a thoroughfare, making it less conducive to café-style eateries than fast-food outlets. Entrance to Yolk is at the back of the building, which will also soon have an outdoor section that will seat 50 people.

Zac hopes Yolk’s location will see him win over some quick takeaway customers in the morning as people head into the city, as well as drawing dine-in customers from the deeply suburban area directly behind the café.

“There’s some schools behind [us], too, so that could play a big part too,” Zac says. “And… it’s close to a lot of things, so hopefully the location turns out alright.”

Yolk is located at 42 North East Road, Walkerville, and is open from 6:30am ‘til 3:30pm Monday to Friday, and 7am ‘til 3:30pm Saturday and Sunday.

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