Bonta Vera, Newcastle

The story of Bonta Vera cafe is an inspiring one that is worth reading about and has been covered elsewhere. We popped into the locality of Minmi (now apparently part of Newcastle -- but in my youth was a little town on the way to Sydney) for dinner at this lovely cafe inside the old courthouse. The menu states in clear terms that no animal products are used on the premises.

Pictured is the chipotle burger with bean patty and a tasty mix of flavours. Together with corn chips and vegan cheese it is a combination that works surprisingly well. Probably a chilli bowl with corn chips and guacamole would have sufficed for me, but it is nice to try this lavish version.

Some amazing cakes are also available, and we will try these on our next visit.

Chipotle burger

Saluna, Newcastle

On a visit to Newcastle we had these delicious vegan items at Saluna in King St. There were several vegan options on the menu and the specials board. Vegan cakes are also available. Newcastle's CBD seems to be much more lively than it was a few years ago, and it's great to know that we can get food like this. I have a feeling we'll be going back.

Vegan burger

Beetroot & potato cakes

Earth's Garden Organics, Newcastle

Recently we returned to Earth's Garden Organics (formerly Sunny's Cafe) in Newcastle. The menu has been significantly improved with the addition of a dedicated vegan section and a raw food section. There are a number of tempting animal-free raw food desserts. Pictured below are the vegan noodles, raw "sun burger" and cashew creamsicle dessert. The sun burger looked a lot like the one in Ani Phyo's first raw food book, and has dehydrated seed bread. The creamsicle was topped with fruit and syrup. It all tasted as beautiful as it looked.

Vegan noodles

Raw sun burger

Cashew creamsicle

Earth's Garden Organics
86 Maitland Rd
Islington
Ph 02 4962 1304 

Sunny's Cafe, Newcastle

Sunny's Cafe is located in Islington near the Hamilton train station. The premises are those of an old shop, with a rustic atmosphere quite unlike anything you would see in Canberra. The menu contains a number of vegan items, and we were told that the non vegan meals could easily be made without animal products if requested. So, naturally we declined the free range eggs and went straight for the vegan goodness.

For dinner we had the lime infused curry (from the specials board) and a vegan burger. Our request for gluten free bread in the burger was easily met. Both meals were full of flavour and we would certainly order them again. We also had a freshly-made juice along with the meal.

We did go back, but it was breakfast time and so we ordered a big serving of the chai spiced buckwheat pancakes, which were quite delightful along with our soy coffees.

Lime infused curry

Vegan breaky burger

Chai spiced buckwheat pancakes

Earth's Garden Organics (formerly Sunny's Cafe)
86 Maitland Rd
Islington
Ph 02 4962 1304