Sardi
111 Church Street, Hawthorn
http://www.sardicafe.com.au
Having seen countless photos on my instagram feed of late of the increasingly popular Sardi Cafe’s superfood breakfast bowls, I knew it was time to pay a visit to the Hawthorn cafe to see what the hype was about. With a cushioned bench along one wall with a line of small tables, and bar-seating along the front window, Sardi is a small, fun space with brightly coloured cushions, funky pineapple ornaments, and metal light frames that bounce thin shadows around the cream walls. Isolated on the upper end of Church St, they offer a seasonal, health-orientated menu utilising on-trend ingredients: the all-day breakfast menu includes an Acai smoothie bowl with toasted buckinis, coconut and seasonal fruit ($13) and granola of oats, buckinis, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, coconut flakes, hazelnuts and almonds toasted with coconut oil and honey, served with coconut yoghurt and rhubarb compote. Do prepared for its small size, however – Sardi only seats 25, so its popularity means that on the weekend, waiting for a table is the norm. We visited on a Tuesday lunchtime and were surprised to only just get seats. However, they have recently indicated that a new sister cafe, Trei, will be opening in Glen Waverley at some point, so watch out for that!
Apart from the sweet items above, the menu also includes old favourites of smashed avocado (on quinoa loaf with lemon, haloumi, & pepitas with poached eggs – $17), wild mushroom ragout (with garlic, kale and shaved parmesan on sourdough with poached eggs – $17.5), and the brekky board of granola parfait, croissant with passionfruit curd & pea & haloumi fritter with a poached egg and coffee ($17.5), as well as a small lunch menu and specials board of soups and sandwiches. Also infamous are the muffins, with different flavour combinations served daily (such as chocolate, raspberry, fig & hazelnut, matcha, mango & coconut, and chocolate honeycomb) – as if compensating for the healthiness of the menu.
The superfood breakfast bowl ($16.5) caught my eye: piles of kale and asparagus were coated in a sharp lemony dressing, topped with perfectly runny eggs and ripe avocado slices and sprinkled generously with a nutty almond dukkah. It certainly covered my greens for the day and was a delicious way to prepare kale that I will have to attempt myself, but I wouldn’t order it if you were not a big lemon fan – it was a very dominant flavour. Being a goat’s cheese lover, I would personally add a sprinkle of goats cheese. If you were looking for something a little more substantial, a side of smoked salmon or a piece of Sardi’s house-made paleo bread would also fill it out.
Kate went for the pea and haloumi fritters, which you can choose to have with blistered tomatoes, bacon & relish, or with avocado salsa & smoked salmon, with optional poached eggs ($18). Substantial and generous with the salmon, the fritters were hot and crispy edged, though it did need the eggs to add extra moisture and flavour.
Although we loved our healthy options, we couldn’t leave without trying the one extravagantly sweet menu item: the banana bread french toast with mascarpone, maple roasted pears, salted caramel and almond crumble ($16). And am I glad we did. This was the OMG, eyes-rolling-back, savour-every-mouthful dish. Like dessert, the warm, dense, and crispy edged banana bread toast was smothered in sticky caramel sauce and coarse nutty crumble, served with gorgeous dark roasted pears and a dollop of mascarpone to offset all the sweetness, and adorned with edible flowers. I’m not sure I could have finished it by myself, but it is definitely doable to share – even if it did negate all our earlier healthy eating.
Sardi is a fun cafe to try with friends, especially if in the area: healthy and reasonably priced food, that banana bread french toast, and gorgeous looking freshly baked muffins – who knows, you might even sit next to social-media famous model, Steph Smith, who regularly frequents the cafe, as we did.
Rating: 7/10
Don’t miss: the banana bread french toast
Don’t: go at peak brunch time on the weekend – you may wait for a frustratingly long time
Features: acai bowls, health food, all-day breakfast menu.
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