Pepper Café - Flemington

Date: Wednesday 11^th August 2010

Restaurant: Pepper Café

Address: 44 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington, VIC

Phone: 03 9372 2726

Commentary : Sarah Andrew

This is another little gem worth knowing about if you are off the beaten track looking for a great coffee, somewhere for a bite to eat for breakfast or lunch or just a space to sit and relax with a glass of wine. Pepper Café caters for all of the above plus functions. The space is small but versatile with outdoor seating and an enticing open fire in the back room.

The open fire drew me in last week as I was out and about with one of my wineries (Hastwell & Lightfoot from the McLaren Vale) and by 2pm we were cold, wet and hungry! It made sense to drop in and see Simon Peterson who runs the business, as he is always pleased to have someone drop in and can usually squeeze an additional customer into the venue even when it looks full to capacity.

We did not have long for lunch, so my guest (Martin) and I opted for two quick and easy meals. Martin selected the house made veggie burger with whole peanut satay sauce and crunchy Asian inspired salad. It looked great and apparently tasted great too. I opted for the Tandoori chicken wrap, consisting of marinated chicken breast, mixed lettuce, cucumber, fresh tomato and mango mayo - yum!

What I love about Pepper Café is that it is easy, and what you see is what you get. I highly rate the coffees and the service is friendly. I have never been on a weekend, but if week days are anything to go by I imagine they are very busy.

Pepper Café is open for breakfast (8am - 3pm) and lunch (11am - 3pm) 7 days a week, and evenings on Thursday and Friday until 9pm. The evening menu consists of Spanish Tapas and home-made pizzas. The wine list is small and value for money with regular new specials on the board to add depth to the list and keep things interesting.

So there you have it, a venue to know about if you are in the area and looking for a recommendation!