Lenox Avenue $1 Dumplings | Adelaide | Review

Few foods are as comforting as dumplings, especially on a cold winter’s night. Better still, you can tuck into these little pockets of flavour for just $1 each every Monday at one of Adelaide’s buzziest city eateries.

Review by Carla Caruso

Monday nights at our house are usually reserved for collapsing on the couch, watching trashy TV and mentally preparing for the week ahead.

Not so one recent winter’s Monday.

That’s because we’d heard about the $1 Monday dumpling deal at Rundle Street eatery Lenox Avenue, available from 5pm to 8pm. (There’s also a Lenox Avenue in Blackwood, but the special is only offered at the city venue.)

So, what’s the deal? Choose from vegetarian, pork or chicken dumplings for just $1 each, with a minimum order of six. The catch? To access the offer, each diner must purchase a drink worth around $10, such as a milkshake or an alcoholic beverage.

The special isn’t prominently advertised at the venue, so you’ll need to ask for it too.

Even with the drink requirement, it’s still excellent value and goes a long way to explaining why the restaurant was packed on a Monday night. Word has spread quickly on social media, so a wait for your food is to be expected.

Curious about the café’s name, I looked it up before our food arrived. It’s inspired by Harlem’s famous Lenox Avenue, officially co-named Malcolm X Boulevard in 1987 to honour the civil rights leader.

The café owners say the name pays tribute to the iconic New York City neighbourhood, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and their vision of creating a place where people can connect over food, coffee, music and conversation.

The Big Apple influence also extends to the décor. The logo features a cartoon bulldog wearing a hip-hop-style bandanna, while framed Biggie Smalls lyrics adorn one wall and R&B fills the room.

Our slippery dumplings arrived with a flavoursome dipping sauce and didn’t disappoint, hitting the spot on the chilly winter’s night. We sampled all three flavours, with the pork proving the clear favourite.

Dumplings aside, the menu features a fusion of Mediterranean and Asian flavours, with touches of other cuisines from around the world. We also ordered the Mexican wings and a chicken burger, which was gloriously messy in all the right ways.

Our waitress might’ve memorised our entire order – a move that always makes me a little nervous – but she got every dish spot on.

It’s worth booking ahead at the venue. With its long, narrow layout and smaller tables, it fills up quickly, so without a reservation you may need to wait or settle into the pet-friendly alfresco area.

Although dessert is on offer, we headed a few doors down to San Churro for a chocolatey birthday treat for our twins.

It was the perfect ending to a Monday night – and far more memorable than another evening on the couch. Safe to say, we’ll be making early-week family outings a more regular occurrence.

What we liked about it:

The lively eatery’s deal is a great excuse to head into the city early in the week and soak up the buzz, good tunes and tasty food.

Things to consider:

The venue is better suited to older children, with a vibe that’s likely to appeal more to tweens and teens than younger kids. 

Prices quoted are current as at July 2026 – please note this deal could change or end without notice.

Coffee and food options nearby:

The rest of Rundle Street is right on your doorstep if you’d rather head elsewhere for dessert or a coffee.

Location:

Lenox Avenue, 278A Rundle Street, Adelaide

Find Lenox Avenue on Instagram and Facebook. 

See our Top Parks & Playgrounds Around Adelaide

For more information and all enquiries, please visit the Lenox Avenue website.

All photos by James Elsby for Play & Go Adelaide. 

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently. All photos are by Play & Go (unless specified).

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