Vegilicious

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118 Carlisle Street, St Kilda, 9537 3820

My score: 3/5

The vibes are good and the vegetarian food is filling at this relaxed old factory space near St Kilda Town Hall. Potted greenery, recycled craft, dreamy dreadlocks and chunky timber tables set an earthy tone. There are cosy nooks to sip on kombucha cocktails and large tables where groups can gather for cheap feasting. Owner Giovanna Ghelardini knows her wholefoods: she was part of the original Lentil as Anything team and Vegilicious has popped up at markets and festivals for seven years. Even in its permanent home, Vegilicious still has a colourful, raggedy, warm-hearted festival feeling, and strong links to the 4DVerse arts hub upstairs add to the table-hopping community mood.

The food is more old school meat-is-murder hippy cooking than modern superfood fad stuff. The menu cherry-picks favourites from around the world: there’s okonomiyaki, a sturdy Japanese cabbage pancake topped with sweet mayo and crunchy sesame seaweed, a very meek Indian curry, and really good fluffy potato gnocchi with a tomato sauce that let the dumplings down by tasting mostly of raw onions (there’s also a creamy spinach sauce, which was better). My favourite dish was a satay stir-fry with grilled firm tofu, a heap of crunchy vegetables and a choice of couscous or rice (I chose couscous because anytime I can visit two continents for $18 I’m doing it). The cooking isn’t sophisticated but it’s honest and inexpensive.

There’s a full bar, including cocktails that gesture towards health. I can’t imagine that vodka boosts the purported benefits of kombucha, a brewed drink that’s supposedly good for gut activity, but the kombucha vodka cocktail definitely goes down easily. Desserts hit trendy sweet spots in rather delicious ways. Raw bars include buzz ingredients like chia seeds, amaranth, coconut oil, flaxseeds and spirulina. I think I got an energy boost just from writing them down.

See their website.

More vegetarian:

Bo De Trai, 94 Hopkins Street, Footscray, 9689 9909
You’re likely to sit alongside Buddhist monks at this modest restaurant and takeaway. Mock meat such as imitation abalone or prawn stir-fry share billing with tofu and vegetable dishes.

Smith and Daughters, 175 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, 9939 3293
Plant-based and passionate, Smith and Daughters manages to be right-on without being po-faced. The food is exuberant and creative: how about cashew cheesy dip, or Brazilian slaw with apple, olives, sautéed mushrooms and crispy tortillas.

Gujju’s, 141-147 Waverley Road, Malvern East, 9571 1188
Vegetarian banqueting from the Indian state of Gujarat is the deal here. Enjoy chaat (street food snacks) and thalis (meal-on-a-tray dishes). There’s also a Gujju’s in Werribee.

First published in The Age, November 23, 2014.