Yavanna

Yavanna is a super cool vegan restaurant and bar in Paddington where you can enjoy anything from breakfast to dinner, tapas, a glass of beer or wine or coffee and cake.

Take a seat in of the timber booths or at a table where there are distant Mt-Coot-tha glimpses and enjoy the finger lickin’ good plant-based menu which is based on the familiar faves you’d expect to find at a carnivore restaurant, except with meat substitutes. For it’s all about comfort food here.

Snack on delicious bourbon BBQ ribs (house made seitan ribs grilled in rich BBQ sauce), wicked wings (cauliflower buffalo style wings with ranch dressing and celery), salted popcorn chicken (in a bed of slaw with sweet chilli sauce), or Poutine (seasoned fries, cheese sauce and gravy).

For something more substantial there’s Chipotle Nachos (house made chipotle beans with fresh salsa cheese sauce, guacamole and corn chips), The One Burger (flame grilled beef patty, bacon, cheese sauce, chipotle mayonnaise, shredded lettuce on a toasted roll), Southern Schnitzel (crumbed south-west schnitzel on a bed of creamy slaw with seasoned chips).

In fact Yavanna would have to be the only vegan restaurant in Brisbane whose menu is headlined by a steak. Their popular ‘Steak Out’ dish is chargrilled steak on a bed of creamy mashed potato and garlic greens, topped with fresh cracked pepper.

Drinks-wise there’s a cracking list of craft beers and ciders as well as a curated selection of wines (including Ottelis Pinot Gris and Riesling, Tscharke Shiraz and Harvest Sauvignon Blanc). Cocktail drinkers can choose from the likes of Moonshine Esoresso martini (based on Byron Bay’s Moonshine espresso), Berry Old-Fashioned (Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve Whisky with citrus bitters, berry puree and orange) , Bloody Mary or Elderflower + Thyme Spritz.

Meantime non-alcoholic house specialties are the Strawberry Mint Fizz or Spiced Cumquat Lemonade.

Breakfast is served weekends from 8-11am and menu items are seasonal and change regularly and coffee at Yavanna is well-brewed Moonshine Espresso from Byron.

There’s also a delicious range of sweet house-baked goodies available to enjoy with a coffee – think slices, brownies, cupcakes and the like.

The menu may have changed since our visit.