B'stilla

January 2016: B'stilla has been closed, replaced by Enquire Within (run by the same people) a restaurant that will reinvent itself once a year. 

June 1, 2015

Moroccan restaurant B'stilla recently held a one-off vegan dinner to coincide with an exhibition of Julia Deville artworks. Rosalie was quick to organise a table of keen diners and I happily signed on for a seat. At first glance our table looked cramped and out of the way, but it proved perfectly cosy for sharing a conversation right across the table and we had no trouble attracting the staff's attention throughout the night.

The kitchen had prepared a multi-course vegan meal for $45 per person. All we had to do was alert them to extra dietary requirements (which they handled expertly) and pick some drinks! I skipped over the matched drinks and other alcohol, mightily pleased to see a couple of mocktails on offer. My house made rosewater lemonade ($8) had a strong rose perfume that overwhelmed the mint garnish but balanced the lemon well.

Our first table of food featured triangles of freshly char-grilled batbout bread served with a thin and tangy tomato citrus jam, crispy baby okra spiced with zhoug, and cups of harira soup. In contrast to the version we cook at home, this soup was light on the tomato; more brothy, with plentiful chickpeas and lentils.

For round 2 we were treated to a vegan alteration of their signature B'stilla. Instead of birds, this thick flaky pastry was filled with eggplant and pumpkin pieces, almonds, cinnamon and saffron. It was rather mild, for all that - I enjoyed the icing sugar and cinnamon dusted over the top but cursed our ineffectual knives as I plunged through the casing.

The accompanying salads were also terrific - roasted beetroots were served with walnuts and chermoula, and the refreshing coleslaw included almonds, apricot and chilli.

We had to work hard to find room for the final round of savoury foods - we really didn't do the root vegetable tagine or dill-garnished couscous justice.

As usual I perked up for dessert, spooning out my fair share of saffron rice pudding topped with tangy-crunchy-chewy bursts of freeze-dried strawberry, pistachio and dried barberry. It was encouraging to see a non-vegetarian restaurant convert a usually dairy-laden dish, instead of falling back on fruit or sorbet.

Nobody could possibly have left this dinner hungry! B'stilla were generous and thoughtful in their hosting of this vegan meal. One of their reps has previously contacted us stressing their willingness to cater to special diets, so there's a good chance that anyone could book ahead and receive dishes just as good as what we experienced at this special event. We can also vouch for the warm, attentive staff and relaxed atmosphere at B'stilla.

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Quinces & Kale and Green Gourmet Giraffe have already blogged the same event. B'stilla was also covered by vegetarian blogger northmelbournelife last year.

The restaurant has been roundly praised by omni bloggers, see The Very Very Hungry Caterpillar, Melbourne Food Files, Eve Lovelle, Melbourne Din(n)ing Blog, stuck in transit, The Sinful Organic Cook, Rachael's Crazy World, Peanut Butter Jelly, Wandering Mint, A Chronicle of Gastronomy, What's My Next Meal?, the hungry excavator, thehangrybitch, Let's Get Fat Together, Typical Food Blog, Petit Miamx, Adventures of a Melbourne Girl, Gourmet Chick, One Fat Cow, grazing panda, Jargon by Julia, the indolent cook, Venumob, MoMo & Coco, confessions of a little piggy, Eat Australia and Chef Masterclasses. Reviews are more mixed on De-brief Me, "Dammit Janet I Love Food" and A Sheepish Food Blog.

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B'stilla
30 Bray St, South Yarra
9826 2370
banquet menu, drinks
http://bstilla.com/

Accessibility: We took half a dozen steps up on entry and didn't notice a more accessible alternative. Tables are densely packed with clear corridors through the centre. We ordered and received the bill at our table, and elected to pay at the high counter. One of my dining companions observed that reaching the toilets required navigating crowded tables, and that they are gendered and relatively narrow.

The Sweetwater Inn III

January 2016: The Sweetwater Inn closed in October 2015, although there are promises that they'll reopen somewhere else in the not-too-distant future. 

March 8, 2014

We found ourselves in South Yarra on Saturday and took the opportunity to revisit The Sweetwater Inn. We got there pretty early and found things pumping along - the outdoor area was full, the bar loaded and every spare table was reserved. Luckily, they could offer us a corner seat provided we could eat and move on in a couple of hours. We were in.

The menu has changed since our last visit - the pie floater is sadly departed, as is the ham steak. The BBQ prawns remain, as do the fish and chips and the rissole sandwich, alongside the two new dishes that we sampled. First up the smoked BBQ chicken, char-grilled and basted with a BBQ glaze ($18). The chicken was very similar to the mock-meat that the Cornish Arms base their parmas around, but the glaze kicked things up a notch and the tangy bbq sauce was smoky and delicious. Each main comes with two sides (choose from chips, coleslaw, potato salad and garden salad) - we both loved the cup o' chips, which were perfectly crispy.

Our second main was the pulled mushroom blend lamb roll, a shredded mock lamb coated in a sticky BBQ beetroot sauce with coleslaw on soft damper bun ($15 - there's a double version for $20 too).

This reminded me of the lamb that Madame K use in their massman curry - it's quite a meaty rendition, with the stringiness of the 'pulled' version adding slightly off-putting realism. It was pretty great, although it's a bit much to be paying $15 for a smallish mock-meat roll.

The Sweetwater Inn do the Americana/Australiana combo pretty well - there's loads of hot sauce varieties, lots of kitschy decorations (including stuffed birds and bull horns, which might put some people off) and a menu full of classic mock-meat based dishes. The staff are lovely and the range of booze impressive (their own Sweetwater Lager is a pretty decent beer option), but it's busy, noisy and a bit on the pricey side. We're Sweetwater enthusiasts, but with the Cornish Arms much more conveniently located we'll probably stick to our current schedule of a couple of visits a year.

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You can read about our previous visits to the Sweetwater Inn here and here. Since then the vegan menu has had a good write-up Vegan Bullsh*t (twice!) and positive reviews from The Mob Review, Four Seasons of Food, Confessions of a Glutton and Fig and Walnut.

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The Sweetwater Inn

1/60 Bray St, South Yarra

0402 532 578

current menu

facebook page

Accessibility: There are three steps up as you enter. Things are reasonably well spread out, with seating a mix of high stools, low chairs and kegs. This time we bought drinks at the high bar, ordered food at our table, and returned to the bar to pay. We didn't visit the toilets.

Dainty Sichuan

April 14, 2013

Cindy and I have harboured vague intentions to visit Dainty Sichuan since Claire posted a glorious picture of the fish-flavoured eggplant some years back. We weren't really sure how much else on the menu would be that exciting for vegetarians, so we held off for a while and then just kind of forgot about it... at least until vegan about town and The Simple Eater both wrote great reviews of all the veggie dishes on offer. Our enthusiasm renewed, we headed across town to meet up with a small group of friends and sample as much spicy goodness as we could handle. 

Dainty Sichuan is big but popular, so making a booking is probably wise - they weren't full to bursting on the Sunday night we attended, but there are plenty of reports of people having to queue to get a table, so I wouldn't take any chances. The interior is pleasant without being very atmospheric - just lots of people and a strong scent of chilli oil (and a rather odd photo of a shirtless man slamming Sichuan food, which is sadly just out of show below).

The menu is pretty meaty, but there are easily enough vegetarian dishes to feed a big group - our group of six we didn't even order all the options available and we still ended up with uneaten leftovers. Almost all the vegetarian dishes are vegan (except for the ones that are obviously eggy) - everything we ate was suitable for vegans. We had a couple of criteria for ordering: I wanted the mapo tofu (minus the pork) and Cindy wanted at least one serve of the eggplant. Having made that clear, we left the choices to one of our group who knew the menu well and ordered for the table.

The first two dishes to arrive were the tasty cold noodle (chilli oil and sichuan pepper, $6.80) and the black fungus with wild chilli (pickled chilli, $13.80). I was a bit sceptical about both - cold noodles? Hmm. Weird fungusy things? Double hmm. My fears were misplace though - the cold noodles was one of my favourite dishes of the night, bursting with the distinctive tingly spiciness of sichuan peppers and loaded up with nuts and a few herbs. The sauce was king here - I wound up pouring the leftovers on my rice.

The fungus dish was pretty great as well (at least if you can handle the texture, which isn't Cindy's thing at all). It had a much sharper heat than the noodles, and was among the hottest dishes of the night. I probably wouldn't order a whole serve for myself, but quite enjoyed the few scoops that I chowed down.

The rest of the dishes all came out in a bit of a flurry. First up, Ma Po Tofu (chilli and sichuan pepper, minus the pork mince, $19.80)

Look at all that chilli oil! I was in heaven. Cindy found it all a bit much, so tread carefully if you're not big on spiciness, but I thought it was excellent - oily, a bit sweet and bursting with sichuan pepper goodness.

Fish flavoured eggplant (pickled chilli, sweet and sour, $19.80):

This was another massive success - the batter is sweet and a little bit crispy but with a strong kick in there somewhere. The eggplant itself is just a vessel for all the wonderful flavours wrapped around them, but that's probably eggplants best role anyway. Go there. Order this. That's the key message of this review.

And while you're there, order this: tofu threads with (Chinese) leek ($20.80).

This is a milder dish, but one that I loved - something about the way they cook the tofu makes it incredibly delicious. I think oil is involved again. Being Dainty Sechuan, it's still got a bit of a chilli kick (especially if you don't pick the actual chillies out), but the flavours are a bit more subtle.

Who could resist something called potato threads with hot capsicum ($17.80)? Not us. Oily fried strings of potato with a pretty potent sauce and lots of chillies dotted throughout. Yum. Although probably another dish it's best to share with a group.

And finally, in a vain gesture towards healthiness: stir-fried seasonal green vegetables (the menu says seasonal price, and we forgot to get an itemised receipt).

This was fine, but really a bit of a waste - we were all too focussed on the culinary fireworks going off in our mouths to spend much time on a plate of plain greens. I'd skip it and order more eggplant next time. 

In my roundup of other blog reviews (see below) I came across a pretty steady stream of complaints about the service at Dainty - while our service wouldn't win prizes, it was efficient and at least passably friendly. And even shoddy service would be worth putting up with for the food - we'll definitely be visiting again (or even checking out the city location).

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vegan about town and The Simple Eater have also given Dainty Sichuan the thumbs up from a meat-free perspective.

There are loads of other positive reviews as well, although lots of them mention pretty mediocre service - check out Babameswara, melbourne gastronome, doublecooked, food.loves.my.mouth, sooks-food-notes, Let Me Feed You: Melbourne, peach-water, The Ortolan's Last Meal, tirache, Diary of a Pampered Housewife, mochii eats, Mouth to Mouth, Welcome to I-Destination, The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua, Almost Always Ravenous, Feed Me Australia, Off the spork, half-eaten, Lady Noms, Sharking for chips and drinks, Ipoh Mali Talak Sombong, I'm Hungry, the indolent cook, Melbourne Food Review, EAT AND BE MERRY FOR TOMORROW WE DIE(T), MEL: HOT OR NOT, One Fat Cow, Let's Get Fat Together, Addictive and consuming, JOSHUAONGYS, cookbook, bookeat, Tales of a confectionist, because I can't cook, Food for your; stomach, confessions of a little piggy, Food of the Soul, Conversation with Jenny, Gastronomical ramblings and Gastrology.

Melbourne Culinary Journal was the only blog I could find who were really not very impressed.

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Dainty Sichuan

176 Toorak Road, South Yarra

9078 1686

vegetarian dishes: $6.80-$19.80

Accessibility: There's a handful of steps up to the entry. Things are relatively spread out when you enter, but the tables are jammed pretty tightly and things all feel a bit crowded. We didn't visit the toilets.

The Sweetwater Inn II

January 2016: The Sweetwater Inn closed in October 2015, although there are promises that they'll reopen somewhere else in the not-too-distant future. 

April 7, 2013

We barely left it a week before revisiting the Sweetwater Inn for more vegan pub food. Arriving after dark the bar was packed, the lights were low and two scrappy musicians roved the room, stomping out tunes. Even so, staff were determined to offer table service for meals.

Michael tested out the vegan BBQ prawn skewers ($15), which come with aioli, lemon, plenty of chips and greens. While they sure looked the part, they didn't rival the pie floater for Michael's affections - real prawns and pies probably held this same ranking in his pre-veg days anyway.

Bubble and squeak croquettes ($10) were snapped up quicker than I could photograph them - thickly crusted with a near-molten mash potato centre, dotted with peas.

I took on the vegan chip butty ($12). No dry spuds'n'bread, here it comes with the lot - cheese, beetroot, bacon, avocado and tomato sauce flank the sturdy beer-battered chips, and there's pickled onions and greens on the side. It was a stunner. I couldn't quite believe that this was fake bacon, with its stripes of fat and 'flesh', and I was compelled to be That Person, asking our waiter to check with the kitchen that I'd actually received the vegan version. She was very sweet and reassuring, and I munched on.

Though it wasn't on the menu, we'd spotted some limited-time-only lamingtons on facebook and resolved to split one between four. It bettered even the butty and became the night's favourite - the cake had the airiness of a sponge but somehow a bit of extra bite, and it was slathered generously with jam, chocolate icing and coconut.

Though we've not quite covered the entire veg*n menu, we're satisfied that our meals at the Sweetwater Inn are no fluke - they've pulled off some unique vegan dishes and solid service on a slow afternoon and a slammed Sunday night.

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You can read about our previous visit to the Sweetwater Inn here. Since then it's had an additional positive review on thehangrybitch.

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The Sweetwater Inn

1/60 Bray Street, South Yarra

0402 532 578

starters $8-$12, mains $12-$16

facebook page

Accessibility: There are three steps up as you enter. Things are reasonably well spread out, with seating a mix of high stools, low chairs and kegs. This time we bought drinks at the high bar, ordered food at our table, and returned to the bar to pay. We didn't visit the toilets.

The Sweetwater Inn

January 2016: The Sweetwater Inn closed in October 2015, although there are promises that they'll reopen somewhere else in the not-too-distant future.

March 30, 2013

The sudden departure of the wildly popular South from the People's Market left a lot of veg*n Melburnites a bit sad. But, as The Simpsons have taught us, there's a fine line between crisis and opportunity, and Collingwood's loss is looking like being South Yarra's gain*.

The Sweetwater Inn is a new bar tucked off Chapel Street aiming to do for Australiana what South did for Americana. It's not an entirely vego place, but Shannon (ex-South and Gasometer) has been brought in to add a vegan dimension to the menu, and has come up with dishes covering Aussie classics like the rissole sandwich ($15), pineapple glazed ham steak ($15),  BBQ prawn skewers ($15), jaffles ($10) and bubble and squeak ($10). The fit-out is going for a sort of rustic outback vibe, with kegs for stools, old saws and a massive ceiling fan spinning lazily under a tin roof (there are also some mounted bull horns and the like, which I'm pretty sure weren't made out of tofu). There's a few interesting beers on tap and a range of cocktails with names like the drop bear and the black stump.

At 5:30 in the evening there's a very relaxed vibe, with the staff happy to chat as we figured out our order. Cindy is a complete sucker for faux fish and was never going to ignore the Fosters fish and chips (beer battered 'fish' served with a wedge of lemon and vegan tartare sauce, $16).

The chips were immediately familiar, having the same super crispy awesomeness of the Gasometer's offerings. The battered fish was also a success - a full layer of crunchy batter that managed not to be too oily while still having that satisfying deep-fried deliciousness. Cindy quickly annointed this her favourite vego fish and chips *of all time* (has the Gaso ever done fish and chips? We couldn't find a record of it across our nine Gasometer blog posts).

I almost braved the vegan prawns before remembering that I was never really a fan of actual prawns and taking on the wonders of the pie floater (a La Panella pie floating along on a sea of seasonal soup, piled with mushy peas, gravy and tomato sauce, $16). Seriously.

This was out of control. The 'soup' was like a gravy and mashed potato mush rather than the standard pea soup, with the Sweetwater Inn opting to pop the peas on top. There's nothing classy about ordering this, but I can't imagine anyone walking away disappointed.

The Sweetwater Inn is an excellent addition to Melbourne's vegan scene - a laidback bar offering up a ridiculous range of meals sure to leave junk-food lovers deeply satisfied. Here's hoping it thrives!

* Keep your eyes peeled for a South-related cafe/grocery store opening in Collingwood in the next few months.

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Mel from Veganise This! was the first to document Sweetwater Inn's vegan goodness. The Good Hearted were there the same night we were (but were quicker to get their post up - kudos!).

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The Sweetwater Inn

1/60 Bray Street, South Yarra

0402 532 578

starters $8-$12, mains $12-$16

facebook page

Accessibility: There are three steps up as you enter. Things are reasonably well spread out, with seating a mix of high stools, low chairs and kegs. Ordering and payment is at the bar. We didn't visit the toilets.

April 6, 2011: Sweet Basil

Update 17/06/2023: Sweet Basil is now closed.

Cindy and I were swanning around South Yarra and took the opportunity to try out Cheap Eats' recommended vegetarian place for the inner-south: Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine. Unlike many Thai places where 'vegetarian' may well mean "includes fish sauce and shrimp powder", Sweet Basil are on top of our meat-free requirements. They've got a specific vegetarian section in their menu with more than twenty options to choose from.

The place itself is fitted out with a bit more class than the fluoro Ying Thai (or indeed many of the cheap and cheerful Thai places around Melbourne). They were very quiet by the time we turned up so the service was highly attentive - water glasses were topped up as soon as we'd sipped from them and everything arrived speedily.

We decided to just have an entree and a main between the two of us, starting with the the Tofu Tord (lightly fried tofu served with a crushed peanut and plum sauce, $8.90).

The sauce that came with this was an excellent combination of sweet, tangy and peanut flavours, but I would have liked to have it soak into the tofu a bit more somehow. Dipping didn't really work that well - the frying of the tofu chunks had given them a crispy and impermeable skin.

We went with faux-meat for our main, if only because it's rare to find a Thai place that has anything other than tofu (aside from the excellent Peace Harmony in Sydney of course). The mock-duck served in a red curry sauce with vegies and lychees ($21.90) was probably just adequate.

According to Cindy, the 'duck' looked suspiciously like Wu-Chung canned duck, and the curry itself was a little on the sweet side for my tastes. The lychees were an interesting touch but I think I'd generally prefer a slightly sharper flavour than what Sweet Basil were serving up.  To be fair, we didn't specify a spice level so they were probably going easy on us just in case.

Sweet Basil is the most veg-friendly Thai place we've been to in Melbourne and is clearly shooting for a classier Thai experience than most other local options. Still, at $20+ for a main, I was hoping for something a bit more impressive. We'll probably give it another shot, if only to sample from the wide array of choices.

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There's just one blog review of Sweet Basil out there, a positive write-up from A-Pluz.

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Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine
209 Commercial Road, South Yarra
9827 3390
licensed with BYO wine only
veg entrees $8.90, mains $15.90-$21.90
http://www.sweetbasil.com.au/index.html

Accessibility: Looks good - a flat entry, enough space and table service.

December 30, 2010: LuxBite

On one of the more temperate days of our week off, Michael and I cycled over to the new dessert cafe, LuxBite, at South Yarra. They'd only been open a couple of weeks but already been covered by several food bloggers (see links below).  This might be explained by the pedigree of the chefs involved, their smart online engagement and/or the tendencies of Melbourne's food bloggers to pounce on anything new!  And their speciality is macarons, the dessert fad of 2010.  We were more impressed that they were open in the quiet Christmas-to-New-Year period, said so clearly on their website, and that they sent us a friendly tweet with their opening hours after we'd mentioned them on twitter.  LuxBite's web presence is off to a good start.

Their in-store presence was equally welcoming.  With only a few customers to serve at that time, the staff were generous with their attention, giving us a mini-tour of their display cases and modus operandi.  (It's possible they made a special effort for us after our twitter exchange, although none of us referred to it specifically.)

The neat rows of macarons next to the register are LuxBite's drawcard; they nominate their kaya toast one as their signature flavour.  Actually, Michael and I were more interested in their eat-in desserts.  The staff make whatever takes their fancy each morning so the selection is a lottery for us customers, with diminishing returns as the day goes on and the desserts sell out.

The apple crumble (pictured above) looked very much like Michael's kinda thing.  And it was a fine rendition - two parts gently spiced apple, two parts thick custard cream, one part sweet crunchy topping.

The mangos had arrived over-ripe that morning, we were told, so their mango and passionfruit pavlova was being served in a glass instead of in its usual spectacular manner.  Thankfully this layering didn't seem to adversely affect the textures - meringue, mango, passionfruit cream and flaked almonds all held their own.  We liked the controversial addition of a few coriander leaf slivers.

We're really not macaron connoisseurs (though we were privileged to sample some of Duncan's specimens at early food blogger get-togethers) but it seemed silly not to try the menu item that these chefs were most proud of.  We took a few home and enjoyed them very much.

But it's not the macarons we'll return for.  Nor is it the shop fit-out, the neighbourhood or the urban groove soundtrack.  It's the daily dessert rotation and the friendly service that will definitely lure us across the river again.  And I reckon they'll be luring a lot more customers besides in the coming months.

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Luxbite has already appeared on the blogs bellygood, 12 onions, the indolent cook, and Mmmm, Sugar.

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LuxBite
38 Toorak Rd, South Yarra
9867 5888
Unlicensed
desserts ~$3-12
www.luxbite.com.au

November 18, 2006: Prahran Market and some more BVnT

After breakfast we browsed the Chapel St shops. Doof and Michael bought the only shirts they tried on: meanwhile I selected four different items, sending the shop assistant back for a second size of one of them, eventually rejected them all and bought a Devo figurine instead. However I could hardly be a picky customer once we hit the Prahran Market. We bought punnets of strawberries and raspberries within seconds of entering, and they proved to be the cheapest (99c), sweetest, juiciest strawberries so far this season. The charming French man at the Monsieur Truffe stand courteously laid out the origins of all his cocoa products, along with toothpicks and samples. Doof and I didn't need too much coaxing to choose a small packet each, and as we turned to go, Monsieur Truffe urged us to refrigerate our treasures since they're preservative free.

As we looked over the fresh produce and organic dairy Michael lamented that we didn't have a recipe to shop for, but it was a hot day and we wouldn't be home for hours. Instead he and Doof satisfied themselves with sampling all the cheese and olives on offer in the deli section. When Michael encountered an Indian chutney, mixed with yoghurt and smeared onto crackers, he needed a jar of his own. We coveted the fine and generally overpriced goods at the Essential Ingredient, and I bought a little bottle of elderflower softdrink. It was deliciously flowery and refreshing as we hit the hot dry air outside.

We continued to cover the shops until we hit Borsch, Vodka and Tears. None of us had room to eat, nor did they have room to feed us, so we sat at the bar and perused the lengthy drinks menu. Doof quickly picked out a cognac/vodka, served in a balloon glass and warmed over a tumbler of hot water. Michael ordered cherry vodka, and I had a hot lemon, honey and ginger drink. All were excellent, though the entire Polish experience didn't really fit with the hot and slightly dusty day outside... Michael and I were just too keen to share the highlights of Melbourne dining with our guest.

(Read about our previous visit to Borsch, Vodka and Tears.)

November 18, 2006: Cafe Varda

Update 31/12/2014: Cafe Varda has closed, replaced by Luck Thai.

Our vague plan to entertain Doof on Saturday morning was to go for a wander along Chapel Street. The first step, however, was to find some breakfast. A quick scan of Cheap Eats gave us a few options, and the description of Cafe Varda as "a comfy slipper in the heart of stilletto land" struck a chord. The menu and setting were very much comfy slipper material, so much so that I was slightly concerned that the food would be cheap and greasy. It was certainly cheap, but the chef soon convinced us that it would make our tastebuds "explode" and we settled in.

The chef's enthusiasm was infectious and when Doof ordered a short-black, he rolled up his sleeves and promised to make a special, velvet coffee - like real Italians drink (he even made one for himself to prove the point). Doof was suitably impressed, although after the build-up he really couldn't have reacted any other way.

The menu focussed on the basics, with a few vegetarian options. Doof and I both chose the Ant special: a poached egg served on a tomato and avocado bruschetta with pesto, while Cindy opted for the tastebud-exploding vegetarian melt: oven-baked veges, tomato, pesto, marinated mushrooms, cheese and chutney melted on to a huge soft piece of white bread. Everything in the Ant Special was amazing - the avocado was fresh and tasty and made the bruschetta about a million times better than plain tomato bruschetta, the egg was poached to perfection and the pesto topped it all off. Both Doof and I were finished in no time. Cindy took longer over her melt, but she assures me that her tastebuds did in fact explode.

It was a fine breakfast, made special by our gregarious host. Trust me, it's well worth seeking out Cafe Varda instead of one of the more stylishly decorated and expensive places along Toorak Road.

Address: 69 Davis Avenue, South Yarra
Phone: 9867 6444
Price: $4 - $15

Categories:

• Restaurants

November 4, 2006: Lawson Grove Shop

This weekend Dad and Anne were back in town to celebrate Anne's sister's birthday, and we arranged to meet them for lunch near the birthday girl's South Yarra home. They introduced us to the Lawson Grove Shop, a cute little place tucked away in a residential area with a "milk bar" street sign pointing the way. The espresso machine, organic breads and gourmet jams are evidence that this is more a trendy cafe; the professional clientele in their designer weekend clothes, scanning the newspapers, confirm it. The only trace of old-school milk bar is a shelf of assorted groceries in the back corner. Lawson Grove Shop offers a short but attractive list of eggs on toast with a range of extras, a toasted sandwich, fruit, muesli and pancakes, then two extra specials on the blackboard: a high proportion are vegetarian. Michael and I had been craving a cafe breakfast that morning and we were happy to see that breakfast was on the menu for lunch.

Michael picked Shanghai eggs, one of the specials. These were scrambled ("wok-tossed") with spring onions and sweet chilli sauce and served on toast. Michael loved this dish, and the freshly squeezed blood orange juice with which he washed it down. I chose the ricotta pancakes, served with lemon curd and strawberries. The pancakes were moist and dense rather than cakey, but the serving size was modest and I didn't feel weighed down afterwards. Strangely the pancakes were swimming in (deliciously tart) lemon curd, and I had to ration out the little strawberry slices. The overall effect was satisfying but a bit unbalanced. The staff were incredibly jovial, stopping by several times to check that we were enjoying our meals and making extra rounds of coffee. I'd probably become a regular at the Lawson Grove Shop if it were in my neighbourhood: it might not be reliable for random essential groceries but the chatty, friendly guys working there are very much in step with ye olde local milk bar.

Address: 1 Lawson Grove, South Yarra
Ph: 9866 3640
Unlicenced
Price: ~$13

Categories:

• Restaurants