There's been plenty of praise for Particle circulating veg*n social media for the past year or two, but it's not readily accessible by public transport from our place, so it's lapsed a long time on our 'to-visit' list. It's thanks to some mates with a car that we were able to stop in for brunch last weekend. The cafe seems to be plenty popular with locals and car-havers, as we had a 20 minute wait out front before a table for four was free.
Ahead of time, we knew Particle to be vegan- and instagram-friendly. The menu told us more: it's 100% vegan, 100% gluten free, 100% refined sugar free, and it's fryer-free too. There's a smattering of eager text and talk about veganism and animal cruelty, which will delight some and put off others. Foodwise, there's a surprising number of burgers and sangas for a gluten-free spot, then a bunch of savoury and smoothie bowls, novelty lattes with 8 kinds of non-dairy milk, juices and mylkshakes.
We were all mightily intrigued by their vegan haloumi ($5 on the side of Michael's meal, above). It didn't quite have a squeaky density of the real deal, but we were still very impressed by it! Michael's Jack Black burger ($20) was a mixed bag, with some of the best BBQ jackfruit he's ever eaten, a pleasant handful of salad, some unnerving-looking activated charcoal aioli, and a deeply disappointing bun. The accompanying potato discs were delicious, but not crispy as promised.
The toast used on my BLAT ($16) was better but still, ya know, gluten free bread. The drippy chipotle mayo was great, again the salady bits were in good shape, the avo was blended with green peas and lemon (pretty good!), and the mock bacon was based on rice paper. I was really interested to see how the rice paper played out, and it reminded me a bit of a prawn cracker - crispy and soy-salty, with lots of potential as a snack, but not exactly bacon-y. I enjoyed the overall effect, but this is a distant cousin to a bona fide BLT.
Some of the smoothies at Particle look really over-the-top, but I liked their pared-back mini mylkshake options ($7). My Not-ella version was chocolatey and nutty, with a sprinkle of cocoa nibs, a sweet treat I could handle alongside my sandwich.
With light streaming through the windows and enthusiastic staff on hand, we had a lovely late morning at Particle. The food had some bright, tasty and inventive moments, but other components fall flat as fads. This cafe will be best appreciated by people with restricted diets looking for something new, and not the more traditional bacon-and-eggs crowd.
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Particle Cafe
1/47 Military Rd, Avondale Heights
0430 475 043
menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
facebook page
Accessibility: There's a step up on entry and a crowded interior. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. The toilet is a single, narrow non-gendered cubicle around the side and down a slightly uneven path; a key from staff is required to access it.
Hmmm.... gluten free bread is just a real problem. I guess they want to keep a gf kitchen, but it is a shame that they don't offer regular bread and buns for those of us who are gluten full. I've had a few good gluten free buns, but they are very few and far between.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun menu, though pricey! The cost of some of those add ons! Yikes. But enough silly things (ridiculous drinks and the charcoal aioli is just the sort of hilarious food I would want to eat), that if I had to go there, I'd probably still enjoy it. Just stay away from the bread!
Hi Susan! We didn't know in advance that the cafe is all gluten-free, and I support that. It's interesting, though, that there are so many burgers and sandwiches on the menu in the face of that!
DeleteI agree that it's expensive, but probably fair enough given all the fancy ingredients and substitutions they're into - these are the fun parts. :)