Last week I traveled to Adelaide to catch the end of the Fringe Festival and a little slice of Womadelaide too. Trip highlights for any travelling compassion-fruit will always include the cruelty-free nuggets sniffed out while on the road. I am pleased to report that — between the pop-up vegan eats that blew in for the festivals and the regular cruelty-free kitchens around town — Radelaide is teeming with options for the animal-loving wanderer. I couldn’t get around to them all!
Garden of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide Fringe Festival
One of the main pop-up festival venues, The Garden was fully loaded with cruelty-free fare. This was half our lunch: smokey seitan burger and satay and sweet chilli wedges. We also shared a vegan hotdog with chilli salsa and superfood sauerkraut and herbed sweet potato crisps. Even if you aren’t catching a show at this venue, it is well worth checking out the vegan food on offer throughout the festival month.
Royal Croquet Club, Adelaide Fringe Festival
This is another pop-up Fringe venue and it is where we found a Scroll Ice Cream stall! These delectable ice cream scrolls were first served up from the flagship store on Chapel Street in Melbourne but they have now opened an Adelaide store on York Street. The vegan ice creams are made from coconut milk and this heavenly cup is filled with blueberry and lychee coconut ice cream.
Mister Sunshine’s
This quirky little brunch dispensary in Thebarton is stuffed with vintage furniture and smiling faces. I loved that they had a separate vegan menu as well as a kid’s menu with some well though-out breakie options to make the kiddie-winks feel genuinely part of the brunch experience. The coffee was delicious and my smashed avocado on rye with warm pan toasted seeds and almonds and roasted mushroom hit the spot!
Meesu Vegetarian Kitchen
This is a simple Chinese Ma and Pa type eatery. What the decor lacks, the food and service makes up for in spades. Everything on the menu is vegan except for the clearly labelled egg dishes. I ordered a curry laksa the size of my head, salt and lemon pepper calamari that I am convinced would trick any meat-eater and sticky sweet potato rolls that had the most delicious taste and texture.
Bliss Organic Garden Cafe
An extensive organic vegan menu, a fair-trade shop, a cute tree-shaded courtyard and an array of raw desserts that are impossible to choose between — what more could a travelling vegan ask for? I had the felafel wrap and the raw snickers bar and they were both to die for — as was the fair-trade coffee.
Earth’s Kitchen
This laid-back cafe and organic store had loads of vegan options on their S.O.L.E FOOD (Sustainable. Organic. Local. Ethical) menu. I brunched on the sticky sweet walnuts, roasted mixed mushrooms and chives on sourdough and slurped on a cacao, ginger, date, almond butter, cayenne pepper, banana + almond milk smoothie. Supremely delicious!
