The Purple Carrot - Bellingen, NSW, Australia

If you ever find yourself on the north coast of New South Wales (and many travellers do as they make their way from Brisbane to Sydney or vice versa) I would highly recommend the short detour from the highway to the town of Bellingen.

The main street of Bellingen.

This tiny town of not even 3000 people seems to have achieved cult status with the cafe dwellers of the nearby bigger towns of Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Heads. And it's not hard to see why. The quiet little town is set against the beautiful peaks of the Dorrigo National Park and the main street proudly displays some beautifully preserved buildings full of food, fashion and craft stores that I've not seen the equal of in many places.

The creek in nearby Promised Land.

I had visited Bellingen on school trips when I was much, much younger but had not been there for many years. On our recent visit to Australia my lovely cousin and her, just as lovely, husband took us for a drive to Bellingen for lunch. We ate at a great, vegan-friendly cafe called The Purple Carrot.

The Purple Carrot
Bellingen, NSW


The cafe doesn't have a website (something I consider a sin these days) and there is nothing vegan on the menu. So why am I reviewing this cafe? Because they were super happy to accommodate vegans and they produced the most delicious quinoa salad with roasted macadamia nuts, beets, carrot and pumpkin/squash. The dish originally had cheese in it (goat's cheese, I think) but the dish really didn't need it and it was really filling and delicious.

The beet-pumpkin-macadamia nut quinoa salad was delicious (sans cheese).

There were lots of vegetarian options on the menu (Geoff really enjoyed his although he can't actually remember what he ate!), the coffee was great (soya milk available, of course) and the service was lovely. It was also just an absolute pleasure to sit out in the sun and enjoy a delicious lunch with great company.

If you have it then take the time to visit Bellingen and this yummy cafe!

Geoff's Birthday @ Mt Warning

I cannot tell you how pleased we were with the food and service at Mavis's Kitchen at Mount Warning.













We went down for a romantic weekend staying in Uki on Saturday Night at a lovely B&B (Shambala @ Uki) and intending to climb Mt Warning on the Sunday (Geoff's birthday). However, it rained most of Saturday and all of Sunday. But we had such a nice dinner at Mavis's and such a lovely night at Shambala that we didn't care that we didn't get to do what we set out to do.

It's suggested you book at Mavis's and that you tell them you are vegan. If you do they can prepare for you. Most of the Starters are vegan and they made me a special main for Stuffed Capsicum. They had another choice of pilaf as well. Then they had a coconut and berry pudding for me for dessert. Geoff had the vegetarian tart for a main and the "Must-Try" Lemon Posset although he said it was a tad too sweet. We shared the cumin-spiced nuts and marinated olives for a starter.

The food was great. It's rare to find a restaurant that will prepare something off the menu for you that doesn't taste like rubbish. So often I just get a bowl of vegies or a salad without cheese and they seem to think that because I'm vegan it will fill me up. It never does. It was so refreshing to see a chef that actually knew what s/he was doing.

The service was also fantastic and the ambiance was unbeatable. Just take a look at these photos! The verandah overlooks their garden where they grow all their herbs and vegetables fresh and the whole restaurant is set against the mountains around Mt Warning. We'll definitely be going again. And hopefully soon!

Stay tuned for more about our weekend.