Malt Cafe Beaumaris: Room for Improvement

A recent sunny Sunday morning saw me settled at Malt Cafe Beaumaris desperate for a latte and absolutely starving! I’d decided to have a cheeky sleep-in you see, and by the time I woke up my normal breakfast companion (my fiancé) had headed off to baseball training and I was stuck contemplating the lonely thought of home-made coffee in my garden. As I waited for my coffee machine to heat up, my phone buzzed - it was one of my best friends (who’d also been abandoned by her baseball training husband), turns out that she was equally bored and thought I might be too! So off we went to Malt Cafe, giving me an impromptu opportunity to conduct another review!

This was almost my fate...

It’s been some years since I’ve been to Malt Cafe, last time was well before my diagnosis and I still remember the amazing waffles I enjoyed on that occasion. Malt Cafe is a busy, cheerful cafe with a dedicated staff and a relaxed environment. Owned by brothers Andrew and Julian, Malt is suitable for a quick coffee, a hearty meal or a function - but how are they at catering for people with Coeliac’s Disease?

The menu was extensive, but the only mention of ‘gluten free’ was in the list of available breads and a range of mouth-watering cakes (which I couldn’t stomach for breakfast). It was not clear if any of the meals themselves were gluten free, or if they could be adapted. That in itself was an opportunity for improvement and would certainly make the one in one hundred Aussies who have this disease feel more comfortable – and more likely to return! I didn’t feel like eggs on toast, and as I wasn’t sure if any of the other meals were safe, I decided to go with a pumpkin, fetta and spinach sandwich. When I ordered, I asked the waiter how the gluten free bread was prepared. I was assured it was done on a grill, not a toaster (toasters are a sure-fire way to ‘get glutened’ but grills are still risky), and the waiter agreed that they would prepare it on a clean surface so it wouldn’t get contaminated by gluten breadcrumbs.

So the meal itself. Some gluten free bread is a bit small, and this bread was no different. On bread - there are some brilliant gluten free brands out there, but a lot of the white varieties tend to fall to pieces. The main brand I eat is the Country Life Multigrain variety (available at Coles and Woolworths) which I’m happy with, but I’ve heard some wonderful things about the Deeks brand too. Malt’s sandwich was lovely, did fall apart a bit, but I’ll admit that it was absolutely delicious. I would go back again for more, but would be tempted to ask for two as the serving size was quite small and I was still a bit hungry afterwards.

So the big question: would I recommend Malt?

My answer is yes, if you want a sandwich, something simple like eggs on toast or a nice big slice of cake – if you feel like anything more complex, be prepared to question the waiter or chef about what is suitable.

MALT CAFE COELIAC SHAME FILE RATING: ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT