Sydney's budget-friendly vegetarian favourites
Take those great big satisfied grins on the faces of Sydney's vegetarians as proof that the meat-free offerings in Sydney are on the up-and-up. Here are our current 'Under $30' picks.
Bread & Circus
21 Fountain Street, Alexandria
It's the wholefoods canteen that turns salad sceptics into die-hard fans. Choose any/all from a handful of colourful, flavour-charged options - perhaps shredded cabbage, fennel and sprouts with coriander, chilli and oyster sauce dressing. Brekkie is tops, too, from sauteed white quinoa to toast with honey-thyme-cinnamon butter.
Cafe Sopra
Shop 8, 16 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Anyone who doubts that vegetarian food can be deliciously decadent will be convinced by Sopra's rich and cheesy polenta with gorgonzola and oyster mushrooms, followed by their famous banoffee pie. Pasta and lighter salad options don't skimp on flavour, either.
In the Annex
35 Ross Street, Forest Lodge
Food at this tiny cafe doubles as art, including what we suspect is the most beautifully plated potato salad in history. Squeeze in for some seasonal vegie dishes that'll knock your socks off, and those irresistible bubblegum lamingtons.
Lord of the Fries
537 George Street, Sydney
It's Sydney's first branch of the Melbourne all-vegie hotspot and the chips are damn good. Make a meal out of them with a United Nations of sauces, or you can upsize with a satisfying selection of meat-free burgers and hot dogs.
Miss Chu
5/54 West Esplanade, Manly
It's the Vietnamese tuckshop that keeps multiplying, with six Sydney branches and counting. Dishes such as omelette, avocado and balsamic caramelised onion rice paper rolls make it a case of the more the merrier.
Nourishing Quarter
315 Cleveland Street, Redfern
Eclectic is the key word here, from the decor to the globally-inspired meat-free menu with Latin American grains, fragrant Asian noodle soups, and Indian curries.
97 Gerrale Street, Cronulla
Milton on the south coast might notice a reduction in visitors from Sydney since we now have our own branch of their famous vegetarian cafe. The Bliss burger is the stuff of legends.
Sadhana Kitchen
147 Enmore Road, Enmore
It's the pop-up turned permanent fixture and aren't we glad. Try drool-inducing vegan doughnuts, super-food packed salads, sandwiches and smoothies. Shout out to nearby Revolution Foods, too, and their ''disco fries'' with miso gravy.
Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher
22-24 King Street, Newtown
The move to a new, larger site is a sign, perhaps, of how popular this most unusual butcher shop is, or more to the point, how enamoured punters are with the likes of tomato and polenta snags, and rosemary-garlic burger patties.
Veggie Patch Van
Food truck, mobile, @veggiepatchvan
Winner of the Good Food Under $30 award for Best Vegetarian. You can track down the van via social media and then roll up for the likes of sweet potato chips with basil mayo, knockout burgers and wattle-seed pancakes with grilled banana. Make sure you don't miss sibling restaurant, Yulli's at Surry Hills, either.
- Vegetarian recipe collection here
Angie Schiavone is editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Under $30 guide. The 2014 edition is available in selected bookshops and can be purchased for $9.99 from the SMH Shop.
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