This place has some interesting-looking stuff on the menu -- North African Shakshuka (kind of a…read morebread bowl thingie); a Middle Eastern hummus dish; a variety of dips (hence the name of the place) and other share plates; and your typical Australian favorites like chicken schnitzels and burgers. They also have a breakfast menu, although I've only ever been here for lunch. (No dinner options -- they close in the evenings).
Several of their dips are clearly marked as "vegan" on the menu: the Hummus, Moroccan Carrot, Tomato Relish, Roasted Eggplant, Guacamole, Spicy Green Tahini, Chimicurri, and Beetroot. You can order a choice of dips and in-house baked bread if you're a large group. Or you can do a share plate of vegan falafel balls with the Spicy Green Tahini dip.
As for their prepared dishes, they're vegetarian-friendly, with several dishes that are already vegetarian (the Shakshuka, Black Lentil Quinoa Salad, Mushroom Madness, their smashed avocado dish, and their Veggie Stack sandwich), as well as several dishes that can be made vegetarian (i.e., swap the chicken schnitzel out for a Mexican corn schnitzel).
I'm not sure how many of these vegetarian dishes can be made vegan -- I'm guessing the Black Lentil Quinoa Salad minus the feta, the Make Hummus Not War with falafel, and the Dip in the Smash minus the feta. But I didn't confirm this so you'd just need to ask. I think the Shakshuka would be cool but it has eggs, so not sure how easy that would be to veganise.
I had the Veggie Stack, but I had to ask for no feta and I had to change the brioche bun (contains eggs) for one of their three types of sourdough breads, which are all vegan. (Their gluten free bun is also not vegan -- I think she said it has eggs, so just be aware if you're a gluten-free vegan.) It was a yummy sandwich, and pretty good value -- it came with a sweet potato fries and a little side salad, all for $15.50.
As for their breakfast menu, looks like their açai with granola might be vegan, and possibly their "A Word From Our Nutritionist" (porridge with hazelnuts and dates, but you'd have to ask them to cook with non-dairy milk, which they should probably have given they also serve coffee).
As for drinks, they have a variety of juices and teas as well as beer, wine, and cider.
The atmosphere is fine, nothing to write home about, but it's a cute downstairs basement space with a big splashy colourful mural on one wall. It's actually a lot bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. It's down McKillop Laneway, across from Red Spice Road if you know where that is. Their website design is also super-cute and they put effort into their chalkboard outside, which I walk past almost every day and always looks artsy and cute.
Service was very friendly -- we had a tall blonde girl (Scandinavian? German?) who was really nice and made an effort to check that my food was vegan, without acting like it was a hassle, something I always appreciate.
They also do catering if you're looking for some vegan-friendly catering.
I enjoyed it and I'll probably be back to scope out some of their other vegetarian options to see what can be made vegan.
