Caffe Cena

Popped in there for dinner nice ambiance, very friendly staff, average food but overall was a good experience.

Pros: Decent pasta, reasonable coffee, great outdoor seating and a large and varied menu. Staff are friendly and service is quick!
Cons: A little overpriced compared to many equivalent cafes around the immediate area and Adelaide in general. The pasta is decent but not great, just solid middle-​of-​the-​road café quality that you aren’t unhappy with, but wondering what else you could have spent your $ 20 on…
It’s not a bad place by any means, but there are many more interesting places around Prospect Rd that can satiate your lunch and dinner cravings in a better and more specific fashion.

Popped in here for a quick lunch with Mum, toddler and a family friend who we hadn’t seen for a while after a brief stroll around Prospect Road.
Catching up on this and that meant we hadn’t even so much as glanced at the extensive menu on the first approach by the wait staff, however we made a drinks selection right away and were served quickly.
Eventually, I went for the entrée arancini which were sold out, much to my disappointment. But wait! A double check revealed there were actually some available, yay! My non-​toddler dining companions both ordered the bruschetta pomodore — first ascertaining the tomato was in fact chopped and not in slabs. The friendly water assured us indeed it was, which is «how it should be» and «we do things properly here!» For the toddler, a piece of toast with ham and cheese.
A high chair was procured and — as has been her habit lately — a trip to the change facilities was soon in order. Newly renovated and stylish bathrooms with a change table in the disabled toilet made this a breeze (it could never be a pleasure) and we were soon back at the table. My pumpkin and mozzarella arancini, served on a bed of fresh cos and with spicy capsicum dipping sauce were divine and I enjoyed every crumb. The bruschetta were also very satisfactory. The ham and cheese on toast took quite a while to come out but eventually she was tucking in to her «hem!» «chis!» «tost!»
Staff are particularly friendly here and the large outside deck and indoor dining area make for pleasant seating options.
I would like to try a main meal here one day as they looked very tempting but for the moment, lunch will have to suffice and it did.

I once was a frequent flyer at Caffe Cena. Those were the days that the staff spent time to know your name, sit with you for a moment while you ate, and made your time really memorable.
Then I realised I was only going to the same one place and I moved way out west (where the rain indeed does fall, thank you James Reyne!). After a few years of embracing other cafes on the western frontier, it still feels quite homely to go back to Cena now that I have a sweet friend working across the road. Anthony (the owner of Cena) is a great guy with a fabulous sense of humour — but unfortunately he is more often than not out the back in his office doing paper work. Yuck! However, when he does make it to the front end, his face lights up at everyone he makes eye contact with — just like old times.
Today the soup of the day (pumpkin soup) was such a hot request that when we ordered it — it had all run out. Talk about devastation! I didn’t even cast eyes on the menu because I already knew I wanted that soup! Its such great soup — and comes with garlic bread! YUUUM! However, it was great to enjoy the fabulous chips that come with the Schnitty (pair-​o-​pajamas) — and the coffee was done just right with just a little more upper lip foam than I’m used to — but hey, we all enjoy a little bit of extra foam now and then!

Café Cena
–An Italian styled café nestled along prospect road, it’s generally pretty busy here but I have wandered in countless times and have been able to be seated without need for a long wait.
The Décor is fairly basic, with wood furnishings, pristine floor and crystallized drop lighting over the front counter. I’ve always noticed the restaurant is pretty clean, I generally keep an eye out for such things as sticky tables and the dreaded trip to the public bathroom of horrors. This place has never been an issue for me, and this time is no different.
The service on this occasion was fantastic, generally — I’ve had to go up to the front counter to order, however our orders were taken at the table by a very friendly waitress.
I won’t waste time describing a drink, I ordered the lemon lime and bitters, and that’s exactly what it was. The drink was… refreshing? Drinkable? Bubbly!
I ordered the Polla Macadamia @ $ 26.90
The meal, was large I sadly couldn’t finish it, disappointing, but my eyes are always bigger than my stomach.
Creamy mashed potato (no lumps, there’s another plus!) topped with seared and juicy chicken breast, string beans that were nice and crunchy, spinach and oh so yummy macadamia nuts! All drizzled with a brandy glazed creamy sauce.
The Mash potato: As stated earlier, no lumps, total plus in my books, it was creamy, not grainy, oily, just creamy mashed potato.
The Green beans: Ever get overcooked rubbery beans that you just put to the side because they taste like burnt cardboard? Yes? Well don’t worry, these are the opposite, they are only just cooked, leaving them very crunchy and fresh.
The Chicken: Juicy, tender chicken breast. Lightly seared on the outside, which gave it a slight crunch. I only had one fatty bit on the chicken which I pulled off and put to the side.
The Spinach and Macadamia nuts: both wonderful — however for a meal that is titled ‘Pollo Macadamia’ it’d be nice to see a few more of the nuts in my meal, I’d also suggest more spinach, however I love that stuff so my opinion on that may be a tad biased.
The brandy flamed cream sauce: Full of flavour, it wasn’t bitter, sweet or salty. It was simply a creamy sauce. I can’t say much on the flavour as it is hard to put a finger on it, you can’t exactly taste the brandy in it, but it complements the meal rather well.
After being unable to finish my meal, I couldn’t help myself; I ordered a vanilla slice to take home, yum!

LATE NIGHT DESSERT
I’ve been to this pleasant little café for dinner a few times before, but after a terrible dinner at the movies last night we decided to stop in and cleanse our taste buds with a coffee and cake.
Yum! the vanilla slice was really good, the banana caramel pie was also good, but just really sweet, but that’s banana caramel pie for ya! :)
Unfortunately the coffee wasn’t great and they did forget us! :(Though the friendly staff were very apologetic. I never know why I bother with Vittoria Coffee, it always tastes burnt to me. One day I’ll find a really good coffee and I won’t let it go.
Anyway, I will be back as I really want to try the Marinara Risotto. it looked amazing!

In one word: pleasant. It’s a play-​it-​safe, middle of the road type place, with three notable exceptions:
1. Their large patio gets the late sun, which sets the scene for an agreeable, casual dinner.
2. Mouth watering menu. The King Prawn Salad ($ 22.90) comes with macadamias and a citrus and chili vinaigrette dressing. The Gourmet Pizza ($ 16.90) has artichokes, roast capsicum, sundried tomato and bocconcini… Are you picking up what I’m putting down?
3. Friendly and fast service. If you make a request, they’ll definitely remember to do it.
Other than that, average. The interior is modern and tidy, but plain. The food was well present and decent, but not exceptional.
It’s a reliable place, where you can focus on, and enjoy your company with very few distractions. Probably a little pricey for the average family outing.

Located on Prospect Road, Café Cena is a basic sort of café serving all the meals that you would expect to find at a location of its sort. Therefore expect Italian style selections such as pastas, focaccias and risottos; the Cena burger is also pretty good and what I usually get.
The café is home to a nice and basic environment with a recently buzzing Prospect Road providing nice surroundings for when enjoying a meal during the day. The café décor itself is sort of average but good for when requiring a bite to eat down Prospect way. Additionally, both indoor and outdoor seating is available.
Summed up Café Cena is a nice, clean, simple and an average sort of place, which will leave you more than satisfied. It’s worth trying when in the area.

Café Cena sits in a collection of restaurants and little takeaway places across from the Prospect Council building on the newly developed Prospect Rd. Since a new injection of money the area is looking really great and in a few months to come after attracting a few more vendors will rival the likes of King William and O’Connell St.
The best part about Cena is the balcony/​outdoor seating area at the front of the business which would be beautiful on a sunny Sunday morning. Having said this, the interior inside is also really nice with plenty of glass to look out onto the street beyond.
It is not table service which is no no in my book, but the staff are friendly. However, I did stand at the counter for a good minute or so before the girl making the coffee even noticed me, but was friendly after that. As I was only dropping for a quick breakfast, I had my classic favourite raisin toast which was cut thick like it should be (if you wanted plain raisin toast you would buy it from the supermarket) and I got a whole bottle instead of a glass when I asked for tap water.
Their bug management isn’t great though with a few flies hanging around my toast, they may need to invest in some of those zappy things, to kill the little flying annoyances.