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• complete vegan Coburg experience

The only vegan baklava in Melbourne, as far as I'm aware. Which is great because baklava is really too delicious a treat to go without. Their sweets are stocked at some other places, like that whole foods supermarket on Flinders St in the CBD. Do try to make it out to their Coburg bakery for fresher treats and to meet it's makers. I went in today to grab a few pieces and it was VERY quiet and the tables that are usually out the front were stacked up inside. If vegans don't get on to this one, I worry they might close. In my experience, their baklava has always been crunchy and fresh, and very sweet with a distinct floral taste imparted by orange blossom or rose water, I presume. Of course, they don't have the buttery flavour that's distinctive in traditional baklava but the vegetable shortening used doesn't detract or add any unpleasant flavour either. The bird nest variety with pistachios I had today was delicious. The round shaped piece with cashews less great. The cashews were a little too toasty and while I couldn't taste vegetable shortening, it left a bit of an unpleasant coating on the roof of my mouth. They do any coffee with any piece of baklava for $3.50 - don't know if they have soy incase you're a vegan who only likes "milky" coffees but I think an espresso is always best to contrast the sweetness of Middle Eastern pastries. I'd definitely visit again to take advantage of this, perhaps to follow a falafel at the nearby Half Moon Cafe, who are not a veg*n business but do the fluffiest falafels with plenty of vegan trimmings including grilled eggplant and roasted cauliflower. YUM!