Green Tambourine Brunswick

I read this review yesterday about a new cafe in Brunswick - Green Tambourine, which apparently has vegan & gluten free options available. The cafe is in an old bluestone building on Albion St that used to house a lovely little Italian restaurant. About 8-9 years ago I lived practically across the street & would visit the Italian restaurant for special occasions (i.e. when someone else was paying :-)) & remembered a gorgeous building with an unbeatable atmosphere. So I was keen to see the changes that had been made.

Unfortunately, on arrival this morning, there were no obviously vegan options in sight (though plenty of vegetarian choices). I was a little disappointed & briefly considered popping down the road for Henry's White Beans instead. The atmosphere is fantastic though & we were nestled right next to the open fireplace so I didn't really feel like moving. I asked the waitress if anything could be made vegan on the menu - she immediately told me about the vegan savoury muffin & went to the kitchen to check what else they could do. Big tick for service!

Long story short - there's a few items that can be adjusted - the forest mushrooms (minus the feta), the baked beans on toast & they also offered to to veganise the 'big vego breaky'. I decided on the mushrooms & D went for poached eggs with mushrooms & avocado as extras. The meals arrived quickly - another big tick! My mushrooms were delicious - perfectly flavoured with garlic and thyme & a sprig of rosemary (plus the serving was huge - beware if you go for the 'big breaky' options - they must be enormous).D was pretty happy with his eggs, but thought the mushrooms were the best part. The coffee is Five Senses and was a little disappointing. My soy latte came out with curdled milk (which is quite easy to do with soy - but unfortunate to see that it was served like that). Underneath the curdled top, the coffee itself was good - strong & only slightly bitter. D's first cappuccino was good, but he ordered a second which he couldn't finish as it was so bitter - not sure what happened there.

To sum up - if I lived in Brunswick I'd go back but as there actually aren't vegan options clearly available on the breakfast or lunch menus it's another one I probably won't make a special trip for. The atmosphere is fantastic - the old bluestone is gorgeous & they have done a really nice decorating job inside. Also plenty of space - there are front & back courtyards for summer too. Service is excellent - friendly & fast.

Green Tambourine
179 Albion St, Brunswick
Open 7 days 7.30am-5.30pm