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Friday, November 17, 2017

Two Chaps, Marrickville

Sourdough crumpets with green beans and poached egg at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville

The all-day menu at Two Chaps is chock-full of temptations. Homemade hash browns. Sourdough crumpets. Croissant French toast with blood orange curd. It'll probably take you several minutes to twig that everything is vegetarian. No wonder there are so many poached eggs with everything.

Two Chaps doesn't promote itself as a vegetarian cafe. It feels more like a natural leaning, where fresh produce and terrific carbs negate any cursory inclusion of meat.

Housemade jasmine iced tea and iced latte at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville
Housemade jasmine iced tea $6
Iced latte $4.50

On weekends there's always a queue, scattered across the footpath of a converted warehouse in the backstreets of Marrickville. It's worth browsing the menu while you wait, otherwise amble up to the display counter for a visual tour of their housemade breads, cakes and pastries.

Once you make it onto a table inside, it's mostly stools at heavy timber tables. There's no insulation so expect a cacophony of conversation bouncing up and around the exposed and soaring ceilings.

Drinks-wise, all your dietary intolerances are accommodated with soy, almond and macadamia milks available for your coffee or tea. We skip the beetroot hot chocolate and turmeric latte and order the housemade jasmine iced tea instead. There isn't a strong taste of jasmine but the stainless steel straw is an impressively environmentally-friendly touch.

Hash brown with green goddess sauce at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville
Hash brown and green goddess sauce $20
with grilled asparagus and poached egg 

The hash brown can be summed up in one word. Glorious. A crisp and golden brown exterior surrounds a squat but generous amount of potato. For twenty bucks you score two hash browns with two poached eggs, spears of tender grilled asparagus and a puddle of green goddess sauce (a herby mayonnaise dressing).

If you need more hash brown goodness, you can add them as a side for seven dollars.

Sourdough crumpets with green beans and poached egg at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville
Sourdough crumpets with sauteed green beans and rainbow chard $20
with fermented hot sauce, Pecora Dairy fresh curd and a poached egg 

Sourdough crumpets are far removed from their inferior supermarket cousins. The version here is a little stodgier than I'd like, but there's still a satisfying sense of sustenance to each mouthful. Here it's the ideal vehicle for mopping up runny egg yolk, alternated with dollops of gently lactic fresh sheeps curd and the crunch of green beans.

Falafel cheeseburger at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville
Falafel cheeseburger $20
Frescho cheese, cumin and fenugreek brioche bun, pickled beetroot, chilli and seasonal leaves served with potato skins and salad

The falafel cheeseburger is the only disappointment, less of the Lebanese-style crunchfest I'm expecting and more of a mushy vegetable patty. False advertising, I say. The seared haloumi and crunchy pickled beetroot do provide some consolation.

Potato skins and salad with the falafel cheeseburger at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville
Potato skins and salad with the falafel cheeseburger

And then there are the potato skins. Lordy. I'd happily eat a whole plate of these. The paper thin potato shavings are deafening in decibel-level crunch. They're a touch oily but who cares. These babies are worth every calorie.

Chocolate crumpets with Earl Grey and rhubarb curd at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville
Chocolate crumpets with Earl Grey and rhubarb curd $20
with sour cream, poached rhubarb and candied walnuts 

It's a shame that the cakes and pastries in the dessert cabinet aren't listed on the menu. We trot back up for a memory refresher but end up going with the chocolate crumpets on the menu anyway. These are fluffier than the savoury version we'd just eaten, dressed with a sliding avalanche of Earl Grey and rhubab curd and batons of poached rhubarb.

The candied walnuts are the highlight though, little nuggets of sugary crunch.

On Thursday and Friday nights, Two Chaps opens for dinner with handmade fresh pastas - vegetarian of course. The bonus? You can book for one of two sittings. They've also recently added a vegetarian pizzeria to their stable. Pizza Madre is only a few blocks away at 205 Victoria Road, Marrickville. The shortlist of five or six pizzas changes every week.

Weekend queue at Two Chaps vegetarian cafe in Marrickville


Two Chaps Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Two Chaps
122 Chapel Street, Marrickville, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9572 8858 

Opening hours
Tuesday to Wednesday 7am-3pm
Thursday to Friday 7am-3pm and 6pm-10pm
Saturday to Sunday 8am-3pm
Closed Mondays

Bookings only accepted for dinner (6pm or 8.15pm)


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5 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 11/17/2017 08:10:00 pm


5 Comments:

  • At 11/18/2017 2:18 pm, Anonymous John | heneedsfood said…

    For a second I thought the wrong photo got labelled as the falafel burger, but as you said, that was no falafel. Oh well, at least the rest of the food looked decent.

     
  • At 11/19/2017 4:46 pm, Anonymous Lee Tran Lam said…

    LOVE Two Chaps and glad you gave it some Grab Your Fork spotlight! How good are the potato skins? I love that they exist because they were trying to reduce food waste – the skins are a by-product from the hash browns. What a great way to use them up. A win for the environment and everyone's appetite, too.

     
  • At 11/20/2017 11:28 am, Anonymous Bianca@forfoodssake said…

    I'm starting to explore more of Marrickville's lovely cafes. We're pretty slow to the crumpet movement in Sydney, It's always a treat to have them (particularly the dr Marty crumpets) anytime we're in Melbourne. Will definitely have to add TWO CHAPS to the must visit list!

     
  • At 11/28/2017 4:38 pm, Anonymous Andreya said…

    Two chaps it's really a lovely place and perfect place for deliciousness. I loved it

     
  • At 11/29/2017 3:07 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Sourdough crumpets is my kind of thing because I haven't come across a crumpet for a while... :D

     

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