Overview
Even if you've never been to Melbourne's Matcha Mylkbar, there's a good chance you might have read about it. Opening back in March in the beachside suburb of St Kilda, the plant-based eatery specialises in vegan food for non-vegans, and made headlines around the country when they started serving a blue algae latte. It's basically the most Melbourne thing ever — so much so that it just won our People's Choice Award for Best New Cafe of 2016. But it won't just be southerners sipping on smurf-coloured coffee for much longer, with a Sydney location on the cards for the new year.
"It's always been the plan to get to Sydney," says Matcha Mylkbar co-owner Sarah Holloway. "We looked at Bondi a lot, because of the similar beach vibe to St Kilda. But we've also been looking at Surry Hills, because it's so up and coming, and maybe a little more accessible."
While the Matcha team are yet to lock down a venue, Holloway tells Concrete Playground they'll "definitely be in Sydney in the first half of next year". Not only that, but they're hoping to find a space "quite a lot bigger" than the one they have in Melbourne. "We didn't expect Melbourne to take off quite as much as it did, and we've found because so much preparation goes into [the food], we need more space than the average cafe," Holloway explains.
Speaking of the food, Sydneysiders can expect all sorts of healthy offerings, from breakfast bowls made with dragon fruit, banana, almonds, activated chia, goji berry, orange and chocolate protein granola, to matcha pancakes with lychee, raspberry, passionfruit, white chocolate sauce, macadamia crumb, lemongrass and macadamia ice cream. That's to say nothing of their patented vegan eggs, as well as a green soy faux chicken burger that Holloway says tastes so much like the real thing that "a lot of vegans feel guilty about it".
A photo posted by M A T C H A // M Y L K B A R (@matcha_mylkbar) on
While their Melbourne café is only open for breakfast and lunch, Holloway hopes that a larger kitchen in Sydney will mean they can offer dinner service too. "We'd love to do some vegan pizzas," she tells us.
As for beverages, Holloway says Matcha Mylkbar Sydney will offer a range of "super delicious" smoothies and lattes "in crazy rainbow colours". Indeed, visuals are a big part of the Matcha experience, with Holloway, a non-vegan herself, convinced that the problem with a lot of vegan food has to do with "how it's packaged".
A photo posted by M A T C H A // M Y L K B A R (@matcha_mylkbar) on
"A lot of vegan cafes aren't always as inviting to non-vegans," she says. "You worry about getting preached to, or judged for what you eat. We wanted to create a venue that made plant-based eating mainstream, and interesting to non-vegans, and had all kinds of people dining without sacrificing Instagrammability or flavour."
For more updates on Matcha Mylkbar's Sydney expansion keep your eyes on their Facebook and Instagram pages. We'll update you once we know more.