Sprout, Eden

Being a little piggy, the main thing I look forward to on a holiday is all the glorious food I am going to try. But this holiday was a little different. After 5 months of slaving away at uni and undertaking two simultaneous internships, my darling boyfriend took me for an early birthday weekend away to the Sapphire Coast of NSW. Now one doesn’t usually associate the south of NSW with incredible dining experiences and dishes you will remember for a lifetime. So this trip I made it my mission to seek out a few foodie gems to write back home about.

One great breakfast place in the Sapphire Coast is Sprout. Focusing on local and seasonal produce in nearby towns, Sprout is both a café and produce store. In a tiny town such as Eden it definitely was hard to find quality food, so we were more than thankful to find Sprout. Although the interior was relatively simple and uninspired, we were pleasantly surprised with the food and quality of produce.

I of course started with my usual soy piccolo. Despite having an overly frothy appearance, the coffee was pleasant and a big improvement from the coffees I had been having in the area. I will just quickly note here that the service isn’t anything to write home about here. Although the barista was bright and bubbly, the woman who took our order failed to greet us or even crack a smile – but hey, I guess you can’t have everything!

The carnivore had the Big Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Roasted Tomatoes and Sourdough. All of the ingredients are grown by local producers from towns such as Merimbula, Tilba and Bega – which was a huge point of difference for Sprout and you could definitely tell by the quality of the produce. Although I didn’t try this as a whole, it got rave reviews and was gobbled up pretty quickly.

I went for the Veggie Breakfast with Mushrooms, Roasted Tomatoes, House made Beans, Poached Eggs and Gluten Free Toast. First of all, this has to be the best gluten-free bread I’ve ever had. Instead of the usual stodgy consistency you get from gluten-free bread (sigh), this was light and crispy, making me not miss that sourdough at all! The roasted heirloom tomatoes were full of flavour (another sign of the great produce). And the mushrooms and baked beans were flavourful and seasoned very well too. No complaints at all here!

Although I don’t think I could quite give up the incredible café breakfasts we’re afforded here in Sydney, Sprout is definitely one breakfast I will be going back for when I’m next down the coast. X

Sprout
134 Imlay Street
Hours: Monday to Friday 7:30am-4pm, Saturday to Sunday 8am-3pm
Price: $$