The Bell Jar

Eating out shouldn’t make you sick, but if you’re trying to avoid gluten (the rubbery protein in wheat, rye, barley and oats) a simple meal can be simply disastrous. For those with coeliac disease or wheat allergy, the gluten in an innocent slice of toast or a dollop of additive-laden tomato sauce can lead to fatigue, bowel upset and nausea, among other symptoms. It’s not the payoff you want from brunch.

More eateries are taking the issue seriously, among them the Bell Jar, a cheery cafe that’s made the northern end of Smith Street less of a dead loss since it opened in May. The cafe isn’t nutty about health — coffee is made with obsessive focus, and many dishes are devilishly high-fat — but it does offer gluten-free soy milk and there’s gluten-free bread (from organic bakery Fatto a Mano) for any of the “on toast” dishes. The corncakes and hotcakes can be made with gluten-free fl our if the tiny kitchen isn’t too frantic and there are usually almond-based sweets such as ricciarelli biscuits. Most importantly, there’s a willingness to listen to the affl icted and to consider gluten-free eating an enjoyable challenge rather than a pesky distraction.

The Bell Jar has no obvious link to Sylvia Plath’s introspective novel of the same name, except perhaps the glass domes covering the countertop cakes. (On a recent visit, one dome was thick with condensation; the tropical environment hadn’t done its captive chocolate and zucchini cake any favours.) There’s a chatty front room with mismatched vintage furniture, a back room with a huge communal (or party) table and a sweet courtyard.
Service is friendly rather than urgent; you may feel edgy if you’re in a rush.

Free-range eggs are cooked with care. A pesto scramble is soft, fl uffy and sunny. Poached eggs with smoked salmon and dill creme fraiche are elegant and luxurious. Specials — “the Plath du jour!” insists the wag at my table — are chalked on a blackboard.
Hotcakes might come with butterscotch and banana or delicious vanilla-poached dried apricots with mascarpone and orange blossom syrup. The corncake topping changes weekly — I lucked on to pancetta and excellent hollandaise.

Later, there are robust sandwiches including one with slow-cooked meat; recent hot specials included ox cheek with creamed polenta and Vietnamesestyle pork belly salad. It’s clever and thoughtful stuff and, even better, sensitive to those who want good food without the gluten.

Tips and pans to theserve@theage.com.au