Chai Garden

Asawari Tokekar used to travel far and wide for a taste of home. The Chai Garden owner would drive to Melbourne’s west for Bombay sandwiches and chaat – both popular street foods from her native Mumbai, India. She opened Chai Garden to fill a gap for healthy, home-style Indian brunch in the eastern ’burbs (and ditch the commute).

On the menu, Tokekar takes inspiration from her childhood staples. Find favourites like the grilled Bombay sandwich, piled with potato, cucumber, tomato, onion and homemade mint chutney, and topped with grated mozzarella. It’s a refreshing change from the options you’ll find in Melbourne’s main sandwich crop. Find other snacks like spicy paneer sanga, dahi samosa chaat drizzled with pot-set yoghurt and tamarind chutney, and panipuri made with mint and chilli grown in the courtyard.

If you’re staying for a meal, try a traditional Indian breakfast. There’s sabudana khichdi (tapioca pearls tossed with roasted peanuts, potatoes and spices); poha (spiced flattened rice); and stuffed potato and paneer parathas.

To drink, enjoy warming cups of gingery masala chai or the popular Indian filter coffee, which is blended with chicory beans and served in terracotta cups known as kulhads. Regular brews use Proud Mary coffee, and there are also fresh cold-pressed juices and smoothies.

The 50-seat cafe is fitted out with cosy, homey furnishings including timber floors, wooden tables and chairs, bookcases with miscellaneous trinkets and many potted plants. Or take a seat outside in the leafy courtyard with space for another 15 people.