March 26-27, 2022
We spent what might have been the last summery weekend of the season at the beach, in Dromana, celebrating our friend Kristy's birthday. We interspersed lots of time in and near the salt water with great vegan food - beachside takeaway pizza, fish-less chips, birthday cupcakes, Steph's famous home-prepared hot pot, and two brunches at Wombat Café. We were delighted to snag the same picnic table out front of Wombat on both occasions and soak up the morning sun.
Wombat's all-vegan menu is a bit shorter but no less fun than when we visited four years ago. It follows an all-day-brunch theme, which I cheerfully disrupted by ordering the hot dog ($14.50) for my first meal of the day. The bun and sausage were good, and the toppings were great - as you can see from the photo, it's an over-the-top spread of cheese, sauerkraut, mustard, aioli, tomato sauce, chives and sesame seeds. My vanilla milkshake ($8.50, made with macadamia milk) offset the acidity of all those condiments very well.
Meanwhile, Michael and others revisited the tofu scramble ($17.50) and it received high marks all round. It's the primary gluten-free option available, with a surcharge to swap the toast.
Our second visit on Sunday allowed everyone to optimise their orders. For the big savoury breakfast lovers, the burrito ($15.50) was arguably a level up on the scramble plate, because it offers scramble plus black beans, rice, spinach, and salsa.
Clever Toby ordered both a pie and a kid's sized pancake on the first day, while Steph chose a cheese toastie side by side with a sausage roll on Sunday, with a wedge of banana cake to take away. This crew sure knows how to squeeze variety out of a café visit.
My mini-optimisation was to skip the pancake stack - I'd tried a little of Toby's and it was pleasant but extremely sweet. Instead it was the BRAT wrap special ($15.50) for me: the tempeh bacon was a bit thicker and less intensely seasoned than my approach, but it was well supported by avocado, rocket, tomato, and drizzled aioli. I liked the Raja chai too.
Wombat has gone from strength to strength, with lots of fun café meals to choose from and a few specialty groceries on the side. (A few more options and labels for gluten-free and other diets would be even better.) I'm impressed that the staff keep it so bright and friendly on weekends, which always seem to be bustling with blow-ins like us as well as the loyal locals.
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You can read about our first visit to Wombat Café here. Since then it's received a shout-out on Fire & Tea.
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Wombat Café
230 Boundary Rd, Dromana
5987 1193
Accessibility: There's a flat entry way and reasonably spaced interior. We ate outdoors at a picnic table on slightly uneven ground. We ordered and paid at a low counter.
