Organic Produce (Review)

We arrived in Sydney on Friday 1st March and after some time sorting out our hostel booking we decided to scope out the area. We had heard Surrey Hills was a beautifully chic area so we trotted on down. It was raining heavily, I needed caffeine and a toilet. Hard luck … virtually no cafes in Sydney have toilets, the majority are hole in the wall stop-offs or Seven Elevens purely for convenience.

Then we stumbled upon this beautiful little miracle with a friendly gluten free sogn o the door, it really was the best find ever. Inside is small and as you walk in there are shelves upon shelves of organic and allergy friendly produce. There is also a deli counter at the front with an array of gluten free items, there were wraps, cakes, muffins, sandwiches and banana bread. I was literally spoiled for choice.

We sat toward the rear near the open kitchen and we could see the staff frantically preparing the fresh wraps, it was nice to see a venue take pride in their food preparation for a change and not hiding behind closed doors. This was where we realised that the delicious looking wraps up front were not made with tortillas but with wafer thin savoury crepes. The atmosphere was cosy and the free water and table service made a rainy day brighten up a little.

We ordered a flat white and a slice of banana bread each and at a total bill of just under $20 I thought it was slightly expensive, however, I am a backpacker and local prices are high for anything that has a special edge. The coffee was smooth and the banana bread was served warm with butter and it really hit the spot.

For the service received by the friendly and welcoming staff and the choice available to little old celiac me it is worth the price and the effort to find … I could not complain and I will return!

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The Tin Shed (review)

So came lunch time today, blistering hot and stuffy in McLaren Vale. We came to The Tin Shed (facebook page here) because my Auntie suggested it and again I was delighted to find gluten free food on the menu.

The venue had a very shack like appearance and even had old scrubbed tin cans to hold the sugar sachets on the table, it was too hot to site inside so we sat outside. We had to collect our own menus from the bar and take them to our tables to browse and we had to go to the bar and pay first, there really isn’t a great deal of waiter service here but all in all that doesn’t bother me.

Firstly we ordered our drinks and received a complimentary bottle of chilled water for the table, I really do love this practice in Australian eateries so far. The menu was reasonably priced and had a range of brilliant gluten free options such as the substitution of bread rolls and pizza bases (for a surcharge of $3.50) which is less that others I have seen. Those in the world of gluten free know that these luxuries are hard to come by when eating out so imagine my complete and utter surprise when my main of Salt and Pepper Squid came out CRUMBED … I think I was in a state of shock! The squid was beautifully cooked and incredibly fresh and all for $18.90.

Salt and Pepper Squid

After a mammoth portion of squid and sides we checked out the desserts (again order at the bar), I have not had a dessert here since we made our own polenta cake and I was so pleased when I walked up to the cake counter and saw a covered gluten free fig and orange cake … I mean, really, WOW! It was a large portion of moist tasty cake and wasn’t as heavy as some of the GF cakes I have tried in the past. We were offered another bottle of complimentary water after our meal, but it never came and the heat became too much to bear so we decided to walk to the local bottle shop. 

Gluten Free Fig and Orange Cake

Overall I liked the place, I loved the menu but I feel that the staff are just a little too laid back because it didn’t really feel like they were interested as we didn’t get asked once while we were eating if we were ok or needed any more to drink.