Very rarely do I venture out to the Port for a meal, let alone a vegan cafe. To me, Port Adelaide is like a ghost town where a lot of buildings with historical significance sit empty. The area just doesn’t have the vibrancy that you associate with other popular cafe strips around the city. However, if I look on the positive side, I was able to find a park quite easily.

The Red Lime Shack is located in the heart of Port Adelaide, close to the Fisherman’s Wharf Market and the Port Mall shopping complex. Their breakfast menu is very simple with 4 items to choose from. They also have sweets, smoothies and a more substantial lunch menu.

Is it me or is every vegan place in Adelaide decked out like a hippy commune? The cafe is a huge open space with mismatched furnishings and original stained walls. It’s not as cluttered as other establishments, however, I imagine the fit out cost was next to nothing. There are pieces of furniture for sale as well as expensive art work which was around the $2000 mark.

My friend ordered the Berry Ripe smoothie which contains frozen berries, bananas, coconut and dates. On top was a scoop of their signature banana ice cream. Their smoothies are really good and definitely recommended.

For lunch, I ordered the Pecan, Sweet Potato and Maple Burger. The dish came out after a 10 minute wait and was nicely presented. The baked patty was soft and delicate, and had a lovely natural sweetness. While the menu said there was pecan in it, it must have been well refined because I failed to detect any crunchiness in the patty.

The salad in the burger was fresh and crisp, with the lettuce and cucumber adding a nice crunchy texture. The onion jam wasn’t over applied and had a nice subtle sweetness. It was balanced by the vinegary pungent taste of the mustard. Also inside the burger was a tahini mayonnaise. I know it’s a favourite among vegans and it was used to make the burger less dry, but it just had a foul bitter taste. Apparently it takes some getting used to!

The whole wheat bun was nice and firm, and held all the ingredients in well.

My friend had the Waffles with Banana Ice Cream and Berry Coulis. The waffles are made fresh and my friend had to endure a 15 minute wait while they were made. The waffles were whole wheat and were slightly on the crunchy side. Their signature house made banana ice cream uses no sugar and is naturally sweetened from the fruit. The berries were slightly tangy with a decent portion size enough to cover all the waffles.

The staff were friendly and the service was fast and efficient. The atmosphere was relaxed, even with a small trickle of lunch time customers. The pricing is fairly reasonable with my burger setting me back $11. My friends waffle was $11 with another $8 for the smoothie. The most expensive food item on their menu was $15 which is what you would expect from this area.

Verdict: I feel like a meanie because I didn’t like the tahini.

WHERE: 158 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide