Ranges at Olinda

Place: Ranges at Olinda

Where: 5 Main Street (Dandenong Tourist Road), Olinda

In a nutshell: Relaxed, inviting cafe (used to be a favourite)

Would we go again? Only for coffee or a beer

In the past we have visited Ranges cafe often. Since becoming vegan we often chose just the fries or the wedges & a beer/wine. We already knew that the wine would not be vegan (we're becoming more fussy about that too now) but to our surprise on our last visit we happened to spy a small handwritten note which was for the staff hidden on a wall.

Under the heading "Vegan", it read: can't have - chips, dairy, meat, etc. What surprised us was the chips listed first. We asked why & the response was that the chips & wedges are pre-cooked in beef tallow. Ick!!

We did stay for a meal in the end. We had the vegetable & chickpea soup (veggie stock used - we did ask!) and the roast vegetable bagel (minus the pesto). The soup was nice but not a patch on Kallista's vegan soups!! The bagel I was told was okay but nothing special.