Trei Cafe
232 Blackburn Road, Glen Waverley
Tues – Fri 7:30am – 4:00pm, Sat-Sun 8:00am – 4:00pm
Glen Waverley’s almost non-existent cafe scene has had a shake-up with the arrival of TREI cafe two weeks ago, with owners Sarah Whitfield and Dimitri Dean (previously of Sardi and currently of Muharam Cafe) taking advantage of a gaping hole in the market in the outer-Eastern suburbs. In fact, we realised that it was the first time we had ventured further from the city centre to go out for lunch. Arriving at weekend lunch hour to a 15 minute wait for a table, the attention the cafe has garnered in its short period open is impressive. TREI is a light, airy space: with a fully glass front wall, a pastel geometric mural with matching white wooden furnishings and copper domed lights, it is easy to see the appeal. The cabinet is a mix of health food and decadence – avocado brownies and protein balls sit alongside cookies & cream muffins and almond croissants, while a roll of butchers paper hung on the wall displays daily salads.
The menu is certainly health-orientated, featuring an Acai bowl with granola, coconut, peanut butter, coyo and seasonal fruit ($15) and the Superfood bowl of kale, edamame, pepitas, almonds, asparagus, lemon and poached eggs ($17.5). The TREI housemade granola ($13) is a bowl of prettiness, served alongside a wobbly yoghurt pannacotta and a pink-stained cranberry poached pear, while the less virtuous Banoffie French toast with dulce de leche, banana, creme patisserie and cookie crumbs ($18) is a sure fire winner if it is anything like its decadent counterpart at Sardi. Lunch offerings are also interesting: a pulled lamb burger on beetroot bun with goat’s feta, pickled onions, crumbed eggplant, harissa mayo and sweet potato fries ($18.5) sits alongside a trio of fried chicken bao and servings of house-made salads with additional pulled lamb. And you can’t miss the smoothies, served in matching jars – the green-hued Matcha Madness (spinach, banana, chia, lime, apple juice, mango, matcha) looked particularly popular.
We started with the Nourish bowl ($20), one of the health-focused options with roasted sweet potato, sesame kale, pickled red cabbage, pumpkin hummus, sauteed mushrooms, avocado and cherry tomatoes on a bed of brown rice with a tumeric-tahini dressing and poached egg. Though each component was nice, if a little basic, we didn’t feel like all the components completely worked together and the bowl was very heavy on rice, which, as the dressing was drizzled on top, ended up remaining plain at the bottom of the bowl. The concept of a nourish bowl is a good one – it just needs to be a bit more special.
The sweet option was an improvement – a stack of coconut hotcakes ($18.5) topped with a generous scoop of vanilla & nutmeg coyo ice cream, drizzled with coconut nectar and finished with toasted pistachios and fresh berries. The hotcakes themselves weren’t exactly fluffy, but considering their gluten and dairy free nature, they were very good. Sweet without becoming saccharine, the melting coyo and blueberries studded throughout were more redeeming features.
The service was friendly, if slightly muddled at times, with a few things coming out of the kitchen and not finding the right table and extras on meals forgotten – though this is only their second weekend open so it is not surprising that they are finding their feet. A new local cafe is always a good thing, so we can’t wait to see how TREI adapts and grows over the next few months – and we will be back to try those daily freshly baked muffins and French toast!
Rating: 6.5/10
Don’t miss: the muffins or coconut hotcakes
Features: gluten and dairy free options
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
This place is gorgeous! If I ever venture over to your side of the pond, you need to be my tour guide! You seem to know of the best places.
Claudia Brick says
Thanks Nicole! Haha at least I like to think that I do! If you ever come over do let me know 🙂 x
Harriet Emily says
Yum! What an amazing place, I definitely need to try one of those coconut hotcakes! <3
Claudia Brick says
It was absolutely lovely and so nice to think it was healthy too! X