Combi

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140 Ormond Road, Elwood, 9531 0084

My score: 3.5/5

I’m sitting at a communal table at Combi. People are talking probiotics on my left, swapping notes on coconut detox to my right, and in front of me someone’s on the phone making an appointment for a therapeutic massage. I’m trying to fit in, drinking an almond milk latte, eating a ‘chia party’ and mumbling affirmations. I haven’t felt this modern for ages.

Combi is a little cafe but a big scene: dog-walkers sip vanilla kombucha (a fermented tea drink) on the pavement, fitness bunnies perch inside with kale, spinach and spirulina smoothies. Indeed, if you want your consumables activated, fermented, sprouted, gluten-free, dairy-free or raw, Combi has you sorted. I am, of course, interested in being healthy inasmuch as it relates to having the vitality to eat at restaurants but food has to taste good to hold my attention. Luckily that chia party, the first party in a jar I’ve been party to, was fun to boot. It’s a nut-milk soaked chia ‘parfait’ (squishy and filling) layered with banana, berries, chocolate buckinis (crunchy buckwheat) and a pasty ‘yoghurt’ of coconut and cashews. The almond milk coffee was rich, dark and less filling than a dairy latte.

For lunch, the absence of gooey cheese made it hard to feel fond of the vegan toastie but the cashew ‘cheese’ alternative on the raw pizza had something of the mozzarellas about it and worked well over shredded vegetables, kale pesto and a dehydrated seed base. It was crisp and fresh and, best of all, left me room for the delicious, oozy raw caramel slice sweetened with maple syrup. I would come back for this alone.

Combi’s small dining room isn’t the cosiest place to hang out and the order-at-the-counter crush can undermine a person’s Zen outlook. It’s also easy to spend: the smoothies are $11 or $12 though I guess they are meal-sized. Overall though, Combi has struck a cool combination of nutritional nosh and zooming vibes.

See their website.

More healthy options:

Thr1ve, Emporium, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, 9650 9864
At this superfoodie, super-fast canteen, breakfast might be granola with cacao, coconut, cinnamon and chia, or protein-enriched bread with butter and honey. Lunch options include shredded beef with caramelised onions and brown rice.

Friends of the Earth, 312 Smith Street, Fitzroy, 9417 4382
It’s been doing its mung bean thang since before most of us knew the earth even needed friends. Pop in for the daily hot meal and bring jars and bags to stock up on pantry staples and fruit and veg.

The Deck Brighton, 212 Bay Street, Brighton, 9596 2622
Cafe and bistro favourites like eggs, pizza, pasta and salads are augmented by a paleo menu with caveman favourites like citrus-infused sweet potato, chilli garlic prawns, and smashed avocado with red onion and lime.

First published in The Age, July 6, 2014.