Grown

Overview

West End has been a hive of activity lately, with new venues springing up all over the place. One such venue is Grown, a plant-based dining venue offering breakfast and lunch every day (except Monday) from 7 am - 3 pm in the Vida Complex.

The plant-based, seasonal menu uses produce which is sourced from FoodConnect, a company who source from local farmers within a 400km radius of Brisbane. The ethos behind Grown is pretty simple: good food, sourced from local farmers, beautifully presented. Plus, scraps and waste aren't going into the bin — they're being composted at Jane Street Community Garden (check them out — it's a must-do and just a stroll around the corner from Grown), a volunteer-run community space where permaculture reigns supreme.

Walking through the doors of Grown, you enter a relaxed space with splashes of green everywhere. You might sit inside, or people watch on the street outside. The menu sports interesting and delicious dishes for all palates, like housemade hash brown with roasted tomato and avocado ($12), scrambled tofu with Asian mushrooms and sesame cheese on multigrain ($12) or grilled cos with watercress hummus, black garlic and crispy buckwheat ($12). If sweet is more your style, why not go for lemon pannacotta with housemade granola ($11) or brioche french toast with berries and pepper ice cream ($14)? Because yes, it's perfectly acceptable to have ice cream for breakfast at Grown.

Drinks-wise, you could go all out and sip on a gut-friendly kombucha — the blueberry pie flavour is delicious ($6.5) — or grab a golden ($5) or a beetroot latte ($4) to complement your plant-based brunch. If it's one of those scorching Brisbane days where the bitumen is sticking to your shoes, we recommend high-tailing it to Grown where you can beat the heat with a fresh juice ($7) or iced latte ($5) by Dramanti Artisan Roasters.

As far as brunch spots go, Grown is an exciting one to watch. And while dinner isn't available yet (and vegan wine and beer are coming soon), it's only a matter of time before this Brisbane vegan venue is ticking boxes from sunrise to sunset.

Images: Jacque Prior