Petty Cash Cafe

Petty Cash Cafe never intended to be the to-go place for hearty vegetarian and vegan food, but co-owner Caitlyn Craufurd’s prowess with tofu and beans are second-to-none.

The savoury, rich tofu scramble on the Vegan Big Brekky plate smells nice enough to turn a meat-lover’s head. The vegan bacon, made from a secret recipe involving beans and buckwheat, tastes almost like the real thing. If you won’t have anything but the real thing, Petty Cash’s is free range. The eggs too.

Vegan items are also on the dessert menu. The fruit-piled vegan pavlova is as light and “eggy” as the original. Vegan brownies are dense, chewy and packed with peanut butter.

Coffee is by Bills Beans, a roaster in Orange, and makes a good canvas for baristas to get artistic. Lion and elephant faces float in the foam of cappuccinos and babycinos.

The cafe’s mismatched vintage chairs and tables spill out onto the footpath. The decor is charmingly cluttered, full of toys and curios collected by co-owner Fred English.

It’s a friendly, inclusive space that proudly welcomes the LGBTIQ community along with everyone else in the neighbourhood: families, dogs, even pet parrots perched on shoulders.

Across the road, customers can take their lunch on a picnic blanket in the park. Petty Cash will ring when the food is up and, like good lunch hosts should, they’ll collect their dirty dishes at the end.