Update 21/01/2023: Kale Mary has now closed.
September 18 & October 22, 2022
Kale Mary is a vegan café recently opened in residential Albert St, where a Lentil As Anything outlet traded for a while. Although it's not near any other shops, it's right on my favourite quiet route for cycling and walking through Brunswick, so I spotted it rapidly and made it in for brunch on their opening weekend.
The menu is moderately sized, includes a couple of gluten-free options, and is really distinct from the usual brunch menus around town. There's granola, toast and smashed avo, but also gado gado, soba salad and a soup of the day.
On that original menu, the smashed avocado was the secret superstar. For just $10, it was a decent serve on a single slice of sourdough, generously augmented with tomatoes, radishes, seeds and a black tahini and yoghurt dressing.
The smashed chickpeas ($23) were tasty, filling, and equally original. Here the sourdough toast was battered in chickpea flour, as well as being piled with whole chickpeas, broccolini, kale, and a fermented harissa dressing.
Full but still curious, our table of four split two of the Chinese doughnuts ($6 each). I'm more familiar with these as a savoury food (e.g. in jianbing or hot pot) and this sweet version didn't improve on those experiences. Though their rose petal and sesame seed garnishes were pretty, the doughnuts had been on display in the open and were tough to chew.
Having established how much we liked Kale Mary's savoury food, we returned for lunch a month later. Without really planning to, Michael and I switched orders! He loved the spiciness of the smashed chickpeas. Meanwhile, the renamed bruschetta avocado had risen in price to a very defensible $18. The avocado bruschetta served to neighbouring tables looked enormous, and the staff kindly allowed me to order a half-serve at a discount. This still seemed to include half an avocado atop my half-toast, lots of blended basil sauce, a bit of lettuce, and a dollop of cashew cheese. I loved how citrus-bright and herbal it tasted.
There were a few interesting cakes and muffins at the counter, but this just wasn't the day for it. We'll revisit their sweet options at some point, but for now we're impressed enough with Kale Mary's all-vegan savoury meals, relaxed atmosphere, and friendly service.
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Kale Mary
207 Albert St, Brunswick
0493 572 466
Accessibility: Entry is flat and and two doors wide. Furniture is well spaces throughout the café, mostly regular-height tables and chairs with backs, although a couple of high tables with backless stools and low lounge chairs are visible in the top photo. The toilet is an ungendered spacious cubicle with handrails and menstrual products available.
