So I've got this list of restaurants and cafes I want to try (on my phone of course, so I can add to it wherever). All my friends know about it. It's becoming quite large and now spans both Sydney and Melbourne (after a recent trip and many recommendations from a local Melbournian) so I figured it was time to start spreading the love and reviewing some of these places on my blog. Anyway, so last weekend I dragged and a girl friend of mine to one of the latest: Mint Organics. It's a small cafe in Cronulla (a beach-side suburb in Sydney, for those of you not familiar with the area) that prides itself on healthy organic whole foods (you can read my thoughts on organic food here).
We went for lunch on a Saturday which I expected to be really busy as they don't take bookings, but despite being quite a small cafe we were able to easily find a table. Mint Organics are open 7 days a week from 7am-3pm so are definitely a breakfast/brunch/lunch/afternoon tea kind of place.
Location- 5/5
Close to Cronulla train station, it was tucked away from the rest of Cronulla's cafe scene, a lone shop opposite the beautiful Gunnamatta Bay. This had a two-fold effect of being quiet (and possibly unknown by many) and having many more parking options than the main streets! The cafe was small but cosy, with plenty of wood, metal and greenery.
Service- 2/5
Sadly, the service left a lot to be desired. While the waiters/waitresses were friendly, we waited too long for our table to be cleared (from the people who left just before us) and to be given menus. In fact, we got sick of waiting for the menus so grabbed them from the counter ourselves.
Menu Variety- 4/5
There was a good variety of choices- from mueslis with various alternative milks to bacon and egg rolls, wraps and salads to brown rice sushi. There were certainly a lot of vegetarian options, and opportunities for add-on's and alterations and the cabinet was lined with raw, vegan, sugar-free and paleo treats like raw (bliss) balls, brownies, muffins and cakes. So this really is more of a health-conscious person's mecca (i.e. don't bring your Dad, or the blokes from the footy team- unless they're into that kind of thing!).
Taste- 5/5
I chose the seeded sourdough topped with avocado, fetta, basil pesto, rocket, toasted pepitas and a poached egg which was delicious and the perfect size! My friend and I also shared a coffee cacao raw ball which was tasty and my takeaway vegan chocolate brownie was yummy too (but I'm afraid there was no hiding the fact that it was still very much a treat).
Price- 4/5
Organic food doesn't come cheap. And this was evident in some of the prices (such as $10 for a smoothie) but other food items were quite reasonable and comparable to other cafes ($5.50 for sushi, $10 for muesli or $13.50 for a panini).
OVERALL- 20/25
The walls were adorned with interesting 'health' foods, like veggie chips, raw bars and organic grains which seemed in contrast to the highly processed protein powders, but Mint Organics did provide an array of basic, tasty and healthy options. I'd go there again!
Check out their website here for more details.
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