eighty/twenty’s new Cafe and Shoppe in Phillip! Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Get excited, gluten-freebies! Craving sourdough? Pastries? Pizza? Burgers?
Well, has eighty/twenty got the cafe for you – and it is good!
I pop in for a cheeky breakfast at eighty/twenty’s newest store in Phillip – its gluten-free Cafe and Shoppe.
The cafe is only a few days old. While it embodies the same principles as the other eighty/twenty cafes – clean, natural, unprocessed ingredients in their meals, lush smoothies, raw desserts and fabulous coffee – its entire menu is gluten-free.
You can also purchase gluten-free bread, pastries and treats from the shop to take home.
Aakashi Shah says the compact size of this cafe means they can produce about 70 per cent of the regular eighty/twenty menu. However, this location boasts something special … gluten-free pizza!
“We use hand-stretched gluten-free bases and homemade cheese for our seven pizza flavours,” Aakash says.
The burger bun is soft and pillowy under its toasted top. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Wanting to try a range of the GF carb options, we ordered a garlic prawn pizza, a beef burger, some house-made dough, and a croissant.
Gluten-free folk are going to be obsessed with the burger bun. It’s soft and pillowy under its toasted top. And as I eat my burger, the bun holds firm! It doesn’t disintegrate! The beetroot and onion pickle’s tangy sweetness cuts through the rich mouthfuls of patty, cheese and aioli. The accompanying herby potato bites are toasted, not fried, meaning we can eat more of them.
The sourdough toast comes with homemade nut butter and strawberry jam, as well as a little dish of vegan butter. eighty/twenty’s peanut butter is the best I have ever had – hands down, anywhere. It has no added salt, just peanuts. Whenever I get their Crunch Açaí Bowl, I always pay for extra peanut butter dollops, that’s how good it is.
The toast is thin, with a satisfying crunch and a spongy chew in the middle. Made from tapioca, corn, quinoa and buckwheat flours with no additives or preservatives, the texture and flavour are fantastic.
But my absolute favourite dish? The garlic prawn pizza. We’d be impressed even if it wasn’t gluten-free.
And there’s no tasteless cardboard base here. Crisp-bottomed and tender-centred, the pizza base holds molten cheese, tender garlicky prawns and coriander. Fresh sliced chillies infuse each bite with heat and aroma, so much so that my nose runs. Every mouthful is glorious: the perfect balance of juicy, cheesy toppings and a crunchy base.
Yummm!
Pizza flavours range from plain cheese and other classics to Mexican options with spicy beef and jalapenos, as well as a chilli chicken option.
The tender, flaky layers in the croissant impress us. Naturally sweet, the texture is almost like there’s a whisper of custard in the layers.
I have washed my breakfast down with coffee, a dark and punchy flat white with toasted caramel notes and no bitterness – just smooth-brewed heaven.
Note that the Shoppe stocks cakes, bread, meat pies, sausage rolls and much more. And check out the sweet treat cabinet!
My coffee – a dark and punchy flat white with a toasted, caramel notes and no bitterness. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
eighty/twenty is located at C07/11 Launceston Street in Phillip. But don’t stress about finding a park. The team wants you to know that ample parking is just a short walk from the cafe at the Spoering Street Car Park, opposite the Phillip Ice Skating rink.
Follow eighty/twenty on Facebook and Instagram to drool over some of their gorgeous food. It’s open from 7 am to 3 pm on weekdays and from 8 am to 3 pm on weekends.
