Vega Cafe (1/448 Boundary St) brings some much-needed culinary variety to Spring Hill, offering a plant-based Asian menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday.
I am in the middle of moving so, sans fridge, I have visited Vega for lunch, dinner and coffee.
The café took over the space from a Thai restaurant, next door to the incredibly popular Creole Soul Kitchen. Before Vega’s opening, it was not unusual to see Creole tables spill over in front of the Thai, which was never busy.
Lunch
For our lunch trip, Lucy and I had the 15.90 weekday lunch special, consisting of a main and a drink. We sat inside, thankful for the air conditioning. There is outdoor seating available that I imagine would be nice in the morning and during the colder months.
I had the yellow curry, served with white rice, and a matcha latte. The curry was simple but delicious.
Lucy had the VLT, a vegan spin on the boomer café classic. She was really impressed and especially enjoyed the plant-based meat substitute.
Dinner
For dinner, I had the green curry and white rice. The curry was well-executed and the vegan emphasis meant the dish presented well with plenty of bright vegetables.
Lucy ordered the a stir fry. She did find it relatively spicy, so the heat-adverse may want to avoid.
Something to note about all the meals we had are that the serving sizes are very generous, especially given the price. Lucy could not finish her dinner order, and I was quite stuffed after both meals.
Drinks
The café drinks were disappointing across the board. The ice matcha we ordered were very weak in flavour and had a watery consistency. The flat white I ordered lacked the espresso body I would want in a milk-based coffee. While all the drinks were fine, there are better café drink options like Seeds and Soul nearby.
Overall, I’d recommend the café for its food, but probably skip it if you are just looking for coffee. Naturally, if you are vegan, it’s worth going out of the way for Vega given the lack of vegan options around Spring Hill.
Vega Cafe rating
Taste: 3/5
Value: 4/5
Experience: 3/5