Red Robyn Cafe: 100% Coeliac Safe

Red Robyn Cafe. This is now officially my favourite cafe in the entire world.

Seriously. 

Now that I know I have Coeliacs Disease, my biggest stress-point is where to have my weekend breakfast. My fiancé and I have for the entire length of our relationship, spent at least one morning every weekend nestled in a variety of cafes, either enjoying each other’s company or immersed in newspapers. Once I was diagnosed, this turned into a stressful event, and we would spend time each weekend on the internet looking for local, gluten friendly places that I could eat without fear of contamination.

One place that does happen to be near me is Fox In The Box. It is one of the few gluten free places in Melbourne, and while they do open for breakfast, I like to save Foxy for dinners - especially their pizza nights (more to come about that later). So what about breakfast? I don’t know how it took me so long to discover Red Robyn Cafe - I think someone ‘liked’ it on Facebook and I noticed it, but it is one of the only 100% Gluten Free Cafe’s in Melbourne – and they cater for most other allergies as well!

www.redrobyn.com.au

Red Robyn cafe is situated in Camberwell, and is well worth the trip if you're not from that side of town. I'd recommend booking if you've got a large group, although I've been going there for a while and we've only ever had to wait for a table once (and didn't mind doing it as we were snuggled on the sofa up the back). The kitchen is at the front, and can get a bit noisy so I recommend sitting up the back, but overall the ambiance is cheery and relaxed. It's beautifully decorated and the robin caricatures decorating the cafe have been especially designed for the venue. I suppose though we should eventually talk about the food, considering that's the whole point of this blog!

So clearly I love this place! I mean, after a while you become so used to not being able to eat most things that encountering a place where you can eat EVERYTHING will automatically make you a fan! So with that in mind, how do I know that Red Robyn is actually any good? 

Because my fiancé, who normally runs screaming from gluten free bread/pancakes/cakes/pastries etc, INHALES Red Robyn’s pancakes and orders them every time we go there.

 

That’s right! Delicious, thick, fluffy, gluten-free pancakes, dripping in maple syrup and covered in bacon. They. Are. A-MAY-ZING!

Have you ever had pancakes with bacon and maple syrup? It’s not good for you but your taste buds will just love it. I highly recommend it as a special treat, but if your arteries can't handle that kind of pressure, Red Robyn do offer some alternative toppings.

But what about me? What do I eat? Well, I’m usually completely overwhelmed by the choices available but ultimately I keep returning to a meal that I wish I could make myself even half as well.

Sweet potato rosti with bacon, spinach, hollandaise and a side of feta.

This is the salmon and haloumi
version of the rosti. I don't pause long
enough to take a photo of mine.

If this meal was a man, I think I would marry it. 

I know I’m being dramatic, but I could seriously eat this for breakfast every single day for the rest of my life. The rosti is sweet with a crispy shell, the spinach has a delicious lemony zing, and the memory of hollandaise over bacon is making my mouth water as I type. Oh, and the feta. Did I mention the feta I order on the side? A very generous serving of feta adds an incredible creaminess to a dish that still does beautifully without it.  Every fortnight when I make the drive up Bourke Rd to Camberwell I promise myself I’m going to try something new off their diverse menu, and every week I fail. So the team here at the Coeliac Shame Files challenge you to go and try something, and come back here and let us know how good it was!

RED ROBYN CAFE: 100% COELIAC SAFE!

As a side note, Red Robyn Cafe at the time of publication is closed for the Christmas period until the 16th January. I can't believe they've done this to me. How dare they take a break! I am pretty sure that I'm going to pitch a tent outside their door in the early hours of the 16th to ensure I get the first rosti of the year! 

Wish me luck!