Earth Food Store Bondi Beach – 81a Gould Street
Tucked within the larger Earth Store which sells organic produce, is a little cafe, which serves a really good drop of coffee. My first encounter with the folks at the Earth Food Store, was on a Friday evening, when baristas at Bondi Beach were wiping down their coffee machines, waitresses were washing coffee cups. I needed a coffee, and only Earth Food Store was still open. Not only was I rewarded with a caffeine hit, the coffee was really good. I made a promise to come back to sit down for a coffee, and here I am on a Saturday afternoon! One word of warning, if you’re looking for a cafe, where you can stretch out, this is not the cafe for you. Earth Store cafe is more espresso bar, with seating for about 5 in the main cafe area, and a bigger table within the food and produce area. Despite limited space, Earth Store does a roaring trade with takeaways accounting for a large part of their business.
My cappuccino arrives in a substantial cup. My first sip hits me with an acidic blast but it doesn’t linger, giving way to nutty and chocolate notes. It’s a nicely balanced cappuccino with nicely textured milk which makes it an easy drinking cup.
If you are a vegetarian, you’re in heaven, as Earth Food Store is just about all vegetarian. There are tonne of options, ranging from $2.50 rice paper rolls to patties, sandwiches, and wraps. I skip past the super healthy options, and try a spelt flour vegetarian pie. I am somewhat skeptical, but that skepticism is cast aside as soon as I bit into the spelt flour pastry. Spelt flour is quite different, with a biscuit type texture to it. I like it. The filling is great with spicy potatoes, pumpkin and beans doing an admirable job, so much so, I am not missing the meaty chunks which I usually associate with a good pie. You need to get in early though as the pies are quick to sell out. One pie which I constantly being heard ordered was a Gado-Gado. My spelt flour pie was similar to Gad0-Gado which is a popular Indonesian salad with tofu, potatoes, hard boiled eggs with a peanut sauce.
Recommendation : Looks are deceiving as this little cafe on Gould Street punches above its weight. Earth Store does really good coffee and delicious vegetarian fare. You can even do you fruit and veggie shopping next door when you’re finished. Coupled with friendly service, put Earth Store at Bondi Beach on your list when you are in the area!
I passed this coffee store once, but did not pay much attention to it cause it was small. I will be visiting the place now since the review is quite good. Honestly I hate paying money for bad coffee but do not mind paying even double if it is good. So I pretty much stay where my palate is happy.