I’ve been wanting to go to Pearl Oyster since Steph blogged about it, so was happy to visit for breakfast today with Cindy, Michael, Toby and Kristy. I’ve ridden through that odd little pocket of Thornbury loads of times before, heading to High Street Thornbury or further on to Preston, and have noticed it gentrifying over the years. Funnily enough I’ve always thought that area was actually Coburg East, it’s that close to mine (10 minutes by bike, crossing Merri Creek).

Pearl Oyster is a really cute and welcoming place, especially for vegans, as the menu caters to them really well. It’s so nice to see a cafe actually catering to a diverse clientele – it’s little things like having tofutti cream cheese and non-dairy butter available that make all the difference. Not to mention staff who know what a vegan is – they have vegan chefs in the kitchen (including Wanting Kneading).

There was so much choice it took me ages to decide what I wanted. Of course, I started with coffee. I liked my latte but Toby wasn’t impressed with his, I don’t think.

In the end I ordered from the specials board – the cumin-spiced scrambled tofu on sourdough toast, with a salad of rocket, pear and walnuts ($16). It was fantastic! Filling, tasty, and the salad went really well with the hot tofu.

I want to go back and explore the menu further – Toby had the grilled field mushrooms which looked amazing, and there is a ‘Tokyo rainbow salad’ which sounds intriguing. Plus they have vegan baked goods. It’s great! And close enough to be a local, which is doubly great.

Pearl Oyster, 114 Miller Street, Thornbury