Combi was another café on my list to visit while at Byron Bay. When I checked the reviews for this café, there were mostly fabulous comments. Probably the only negative review I have found was that the food was a little expensive.
But, my hubby and I still enjoyed our dining experience. Yes! The food was quite costly, but we believe that it was worth it, for our health and wellbeing because they use high quality ingredients.
Combi dine- in menu
My hubby loves smoothies, so he ordered the ‘Velvet Cacao Smoothie’. The drink looks very pretty (with flowers on the top) and delicious that I stole some sips of it. But, I only had a bit as I wanted to save my stomach for the vegan cake later.
Velvet Cacao Smoothie – $12.50
(banana, blueberries, raw cacao, cacao nibs, coconut flakes, cinnamon, raw fermented protein powder and house made nut mylk )
On the menu, there were many great choices of the smoothie bowls. But, as my hubby and I are not really smoothie-bowl loving people, and do not like having sweet things (like smoothie or pancakes) for breakfast, there was not many vegan, savoury options for us to choose from. Avocado toast is also out of my options list, as I think the dish is too boring for me.
So, the only choices left were the ‘Raw Pad Thai’ and the ‘Vegan Toasted Sandwich’.
Prior to visiting Combi, I pre-studied the menu and was ready to order one of these dishes that my hubby did not choose. But I was leaning more to the pad thai, as I assumed that my hubby would choose the sandwich, but, at the café he chose the pad thai! Why? He said that he has been eating a lot of bread lately – you know, sandwich for our bushwalks, while, I had my rice sandwich.
So, I ordered the Combi vegan toasted sandwich, which has avocado with organic seasonal vegetables (such as enoki mushrooms, spinach, dill, etc).
When the pad thai was served, my hubby was quite surprised. He literally froze for a bit and told me that he did not expect this kind of pad thai. But he ordered this dish without seeing the word “raw” in the menu.
Vegan Pad Thai – $16
(carrots and zucchini ribbons, beansprouts, spring onion and coriander, tossed with house made spicy peanut and ginger dressing, topped with crushed almonds and black sesame seeds)
In the end, we swapped foods. I ate about 99.5% of the pad thai, which was the dish I planned to order in the first place. And my hubby had the sandwich.
For the pad thai, I think that the café gave a very generous portion. There were a lot of “zoodle” (the zucchini noodles with crunchy nuts) and the dish had a great kick of the coriander and the lemon juice.
Overall, I really enjoyed this dish as it was also not too sweet, not like the pad thai served in the Thai restaurants in Australia. Considering the portion, the taste and the organic ingredients used in this dish, I think that this pad thai was very much worth it and not expensive at all. A salad dish typically cost around this much, or even sometimes higher in the other cafes!
Combi Vegan Toasted Sandwich – $14
(avocado, roasted pumpkin, spinach, enoki mushrooms, melted vegan cheese, house made basil and kale pesto, toasted on organic sourdough and drizzled with local olive oil)
The Combi vegan toasted sandwich was also very delicious. The sandwich was full of flavours from the veggies, cheese and the pesto.
Although this dish was quite small for a big eater, but, it was filling enough for my hubby as he had the smoothie earlier on.
It was such a nourishing and filling meal. I had the raw pad thai, but also had some sips of the smoothies and a few bites of the sandwich. I didn’t expect the brunch to be this filling. So, in the end I didn’t have any space for the vegan cake. Damn!
However, I will definitely come back to this café in my next Byron Bay visit. But this time, I would probably visit the café in the afternoon for an afternoon tea to enjoy the vegan cakes and tea.
If you are after a healthy and high-quality meal, or, vegan sweets at Byron Bay, I highly recommend the Combi Byron Bay. Although a lot of people have mentioned that the food there is expensive, but, I think the quality and the portion of the food is worth the price. So, give this café a try!
Also, as the COVID situation is easing (particularly in NSW), please take care and travel safely.
Details:
COMBI BYRON BAY
Address: 5b/21, 25 Fletcher St, Byron Bay NSW 2481
Visit their website: https://wearecombi.com.au/
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