Ashfield Apothecary

Ashfield Apothecary has been on our foodie hit list for a long time now. We see endless pictures from friends who go there and the dine in food menu appealed to us, as well as the Persian Love Cake. But living in the East and working full time has meant it took a while to get out there, especially because they are also closed on Sundays. However, being on leave from work gave us the opportunity to make a visit. We’re so glad we, because it was exceptional in every way.

The quaint café is only small, but seats about 10 people inside, and a few on stools out front. We love the vintage décor, with the amazing feature clock, heritage tiles and rustic colours as well as all the decorative pieces inside. We instantly feel welcomed by staff as we arrive, being seated at a table, promptly taken our coffee order and staff continue to follow up on our order and how we find our meal. We think the service here is A class.

Food wise, there’s plenty of options we’d happily order, but I had my heart set on porridge, Kurt opts for the mushroom dish. Now I have spent the most part of the 2021 winter eating possibly every porridge on every café menu and the one at Ashfield Apothecary is my favourite so far. Their “coconut crumble porridge” is a lovely bowl of organic oats and chia made on coconut milk, served with saffron spiced poached rhubarb and apple topped with a homemade coconut crumble. The flavours all worked perfectly together, and the crumble provided a good crunch to it. The use of coconut makes it a vegan dish too which means it can suit all diners.

Kurt has the mushrooms on toast, which is their roasted mix mushrooms and fresh herbs, flavoured with fresh herbs, truffle butter and served with whipped Meredith goats cheese. We add a soft boiled egg for a protein hit and Kurt enjoys this dish greatly.

If you’re interested in what else is on offer, there is a pastrami sandwich, smashed avo, a brekkie burger, burnt eggplant or a vegan bowl. If you have dietary requirements, this place is great for there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, as well as the ability to replace the bread with Nonie’s Gluten Free bread.

Their display case also has pastries if you want something small, and we recommend visiting on a Friday or Saturday for the famous Persian Love Cake, which is undoubtedly our favourite one around. Light and fluffy with the delicious pistachio and rosewater flavours shining through.

For drinks, coffee here is great, they use Single O for the milk based and the barista is evidently taking care in his work, both in brewing the perfect cup and delivering it with some quality latte art. If you aren’t a coffee drinker, there’s shakes, smoothies, cold pressed juice, iced tea and kombucha.