We decided it was time to add a new stop to the Pubs for Vegetarians tour of Melbourne we’ve been on, with a visit to Grumpy’s Green on Smith Street. Grumpy’s promotes itself as an eco-friendly pub with all food, beer and wine sourced locally, recycled furniture throughout the pub and capturing its rainwater on site to use in the bathrooms. These are all positives in my book!
The menu at Grumpy’s is almost entirely vegetarian, with some meat on the specials list which always feature sustainable meats like kangaroo. The menu is split into bar bites, pizzas and burgers and in the past I have never looked beyond the burgers as they have an impressive six vegetarian options including a tofu number, haloumi and eggplant, stuffed portobello mushroom as well as some lentil options. Much better than the standard veggie burger option at most pubs!
This visit however B and I decided to order a couple of different dishes to share, starting with the Quesadillas with spicy tempeh black beans & cheese filling, served with a rocket & jalapeno salad, guacamole & tomato salsa ($15). This came as two large quesadilla’s with a good amount of both the guacamole and the salsa, as well as the side salad. The quesadillas had a nice kick to them without being overwhelmingly spicy (although we chose not to eat the jalapenos in the salad!) and were really delicious. The black bean and tempeh filling was full of flavour and it was also jam-packed with cheesy goodness. We were happy campers!
Next up was the Roast Zucchini Pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, red onion & brie ($14) which was absolutely covered in cheesy, brie goodness. The combo of zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes and red onion worked really well and whilst the brie was delicious I was definitely glad we were sharing this as I really liked the couple of pieces I had, but probably couldn’t have eaten anymore of it!
Our final dish of the evening was the Eggplant & Potato Croquettes which came with a tomato dipping sauce and a spinach and rocket salad ($10). These were really nice and creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside which was excellent although the filling was a little bland and really needed that dipping sauce to make them taste their best. They definitely weren’t bad, they just weren’t bursting with flavour like the previous two dishes had been.
Overall we had a really nice dinner and I’m glad we decided to explore the menu beyond the burgers for once (although they are delicious too!). Grumpy’s is a great, low key pub doing delicious food and supporting local producers and brewers which I think definitely makes them worth supporting!
Grumpy’s Green
125 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Open Tuesday – Sunday
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!
Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear
February 20, 2014 at 9:13 am (11 years ago)Ooh, we are going to Grumpy’s soon too! Facebook kept showing this ‘beer and burger’ ad on my feed, and it turned out to be one of those voucher (groupon? scoopon?) deals for there that was too good to refuse so we thought we’d give it a go! It doesn’t look like they have as much vegan stuff now though? I haven’t been since you and I went for dinner aaaaages ago!
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
February 20, 2014 at 9:17 am (11 years ago)Ooh let me know and I’ll come join you for a beer! The menu on their website isn’t as extensive as the menu actually is – there were lots more ‘bar bites’ and the like, so hopefully more of them are vegan! They can probably leave off the cheese from some burgers if need be too – I think they’re usually accommodating!
Katherine
February 28, 2014 at 2:05 pm (11 years ago)I got the Groupon too and boy it was good. Post to come soon.
Katherine recently posted…Jellystone
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
March 3, 2014 at 8:50 am (11 years ago)Ooh glad to hear you liked it – had you been before? I’ll have to keep an eye out for your post, thanks for commenting!