Teepee, ‘stress-reducing’ coffee: This haven in the hills is not your usual Melbourne cafe

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It takes about one second to realise Nevedya is not like other cafes. In an era of blond ply, concrete and minimalism, this calm, healing haven expresses itself with hand-hewn timber tables, a shopping display of crystals and smudge sticks, and an outdoor seating area under a teepee with permaculture beds and a
cushioned nook for shoes-off dining.

The menu is different, too, a not-easy-to-grasp traipse from fusion tapas to Indian brunches, vegan desserts and medicinal coffees. It’s hard to do the place justice in one visit.

Before I got to the potato masala dosa thali on page four, I was thinking I’d return. After I turned to page six and found the sacred mushroom cacao elixir, I bookmarked the train timetable to Upwey.

This suburban hamlet is in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 33 kilometres east of the city. Nevedya opened in 2018, the culmination of much dreaming and planning by chef Shakti Em Iyer and her partner Daniel Rigos, who manages the restaurant.

Shakti started cooking in an ashram, first for the masses, and then as a personal chef, learning from Indian aunties how to coax the best from spices. Food-focused travels and a stint at now-defunct hippie restaurant Lentil As Anything helped hone the concept for Nevedya, which is a mostly daytime place that supports local organic farms.

Kindness is also a founding principle: the kitchen is an adrenalin-free zone and employees have good working conditions.

It takes about one second to realise Nevedya is not like other cafes.

The food and drinks are evocative and colourful. You’ve had coffee before but have you had adaptogenic cardamom coffee elixir? I hadn’t either. This concoction includes ghee and ashwagandha, a herb said to reduce stress. I don’t know about that, but I do know I’d order this silky, heady beverage again because it tastes good.

The cuisine leans Indian but is freewheeling: there’s halloumi with honey, cheddar-scrambled eggs and dolmades with tahini in among the dhal and dosas.

I adored the uttapam, a fermented pancake topped with onion and served with excellent coconut chutney.

The spirit bowl is a feel-good array of tofu, sweet potato, brown rice, kimchi and cucumber salad.

There’s an attractive thali platter of the day’s favourite curries.

Kichadi is a supremely comforting dish of rice and lentils fragrant with spices and curry leaves.

Vegan sweets usually disappoint me because they are a coconut oil assault. Not here: the cashew cheesecake with a raw crust of macadamia and medjool dates is pleasing in texture and flavour.

Nevedya means “sacred offering” in Sanskrit and I could feel the giving energy in this food. From the welcome to the spicing to the feeling you carry away, this heart-centred cafe is truly nourishing.