Cafe Henkel – 100% gluten free Brunswick
100% GF cafe – gluten free Brunswick
Brunswick is an inner suburb of Melbourne, just 4km from the centre of Melbourne. Here you will find 100% gluten free Cafe Henkel, just off Sydney Road.
Cafe Henkel has achieved Coeliac Australia accreditation and they make 95% of the food on site, carefully checking ingredients and not using products with ‘may contain statements’.
With one of the owners and their children being gluten, dairy and soy intolerant, there is an understanding of dietary requirements and also that gluten free food doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless.
The menu
The menu includes all day breakfast, lunch with both healthy and treat meals or you can just have coffee and cake.
If you have other dietary requirements, such as vegan or low FODMAP, just ask and they will be able to make something suitable.
When you enter, you see a fabulous array of sweet and savoury offerings in the glass cabinets which are in addition the the main menu.
There are a small number of tables in this part of the cafe and is where you eat on Fridays but the function room is also used on the weekend.
Breakfast
Breakfast includes a range of egg based choices, toast, muesli or pancakes. I recently had the ‘bacon benny’ which is served on a potato waffle and I loved all the flavours.
Lunch
You can start your meal with some bread on the side – what a treat for coeliac!
Lunch includes hot or cold meals such as focaccias, burgers, a pie, healthy fritters, with chips available. The steak ciabatta was tasty and very filling and the pea and halloumi fritters tasted like spring – so fresh and nutritious.
The pastry and fillings for the pies and sausage rolls were also great and there was an appetising choice of salads available. You can also take away these items to have at home.
Drinks
They have a variety of gluten free beers available if you would like to wash down your meal with a beer.
I like to have a hot chocolate on a cool day and it comes complete with home made marshmallows. You can also get lovely fresh juices, smoothies, dairy free milkshakes as well as a number of gluten free beer varieties.
Sweets & cakes
There is a lovely selection of cakes which do regularly change. The almond biscotti (below) is lovely and soft and a perfect size after a meal or if you just want something small with a drink.
A revelation for me was the Persian pavlova (above left) which is full of fruit and nuts and a hint of rosewater – I had never heard of this and both my husband and I thought it was amazing! It would be a great cake to take to a function and blow people away.
Below is a gorgeous single profiterole and a GF, DF, SF flourless orange cake I took away to have at home.
If you need a cake for a special occasion, they also do amazing celebration cakes to order.
Functions
The function room next to the cafe is used for cafe dining on Saturdays and Sundays (if there isn’t a function).
Look out for their events for Mother’s Day/Father’s Day on social media as well as Coeliac Victoria community dinners.
Getting there
There is plenty of parking opposite the cafe, which is in a semi-industrial area, so you will feel like you aren’t going in the right direction but keep going!
If you are travelling by public transport, it is around a 10 minute walk from Brunswick train station or the Sydney Road tram, so if you don’t have car, it is still easy to get to. If you are local, you can also order a good selection of meals and cakes via UberEats.
Cafe Henkel is a fantastic option for coeliacs with delicious food!
102 Henkel Street, Brunswick, Melbourne VIC 3056 Tel: 03 9381 0099
Friday, Saturday, Sunday 8am- 2pm (since early 2021 – check social media for updates)Clifton Park and Brunswick Park are nearby.
www.facebook.com/pg/cafehenkel
Disclaimer: Some of the above meals (but not all) were provided by Cafe Henkel free of charge but in no way influenced my review.
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Cafe Henkel is also featured on the Melbourne 100% gluten free listing.
Hello,
We live in Geelong & I am a Coeliac who has a terrible reaction to any gluten – usually happens with cross contamination. Hence, there is not a lot of choice here in Geelong where I can safely eat, so we are looking forward to visiting your Cafe in the near future. Is your cafe set up to eat in or is it take-away only?
Regards
Lorraine Brown