V Rating: Super V
Where: MLC Centre, Food Court, Martin Place, Sydney (but other locations)
When: Vary by store. @ MLC: Mon - Fri.: 8am - 4pm. Thurs: 8.30am - 4.30pm
Tel: 1300 723 962
Price: $3 - $11

Iku is a successful chain of healthy vegetarian takeaway restaurants. It’s like the Sydney vegetarian equivalent of McDonald’s. Only better.

I recently hopped in the buzzing queue in the food court in the MLC Centre at Martin Place. Laid out in front of me in all of its macrobiotic, organic, gluten-free options glory, were salads, rice balls, wraps, soup, hot casseroles, pasta dishes, and dessert. I felt healthy and virtuous just looking at the food.

Despite the myriad temptations, I couldn’t go past the takeaway mixed salad for $8.50. There were ginger noodles, steamed vegetables, white beans with mixed seeds, beetroot and cabbage in a vinegar dressing, and sesame brown rice, topped off with the house specialty creamy tahini dressing. The salad looked and tasted spectacular, and although it was a filling meal it didn’t leave me with a sleepy carbohydrate low come 3pm.

The Iku menu changes weekly, though you’re always guaranteed of finding favourites like black rice pudding. Most stores open from lunch until dinner, but the central city outlets servicing the white collar crowd shut by 4pm. The size of the resturants (and opportuniy for eating in) varies. The Darlinghurst store is very big, Glebe has a peaceful courtyard, while the MLC Centre is just a counter operation within a busy food court.

Iku also has a catering business, and distributes a range of food (including the aforementioned creamy tahini dressing) throughout health food shops.

Iku doesn’t flaunt its vegetarian credentials, selling itself on the health benefits of its food, rather than its meatless menu. It’s a godsend for vegos and vegans who want a quick, tasty and stress-free lunch, and proves once and for all that vegetarian food can be sexy.

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V Rating: Super V
Where: 71 Evans Street, Rozelle.
When: Dinner Tue - Sun: 6pm - late.
Tel: (02) 9818 4201.
Price: Entree: $9.90 - $12.90. Mains: $19 - $21.

Last weekend Andy and I belatedly celebrated our four year anniversary. Ahh yes, who would have thought that a humble invitation to see Spiderman could lead to a lifetime of wedded bliss (OK, the wedded part is still in train… but we have the bliss down pat).

We have a tradition of taking each other out to a good restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. This year Harvest was the natural choice given I hadn’t reviewed it yet it’s the only romantic, fine dining vegetarian restaurant in Sydney.

While other vegetarian restaurants in Sydney are mostly Asian Buddhist, Harvest has a secular, European feel. There’s nothing like it in Sydney, although it reminds me of Bernadette’s in Canberra, Sprouts in Adelaide or the now defunct Squirrels in Brisbane.

The street frontage is bedecked with fairy lights and the intimate view of the city skyline isn’t too bad either. Inside, the walls are painted vivd blue, the tables have crisp white linen tablecloths and the furniture feels like something out of a country kitchen.

The comparatively expensive menu borrows vegetarian dishes from around the world, including pastas, stir-frys, fried and fresh spring rolls and pakhoras.

For entree, Andy chose the three mushroom ravioli with an unusual orange and basil sauce. I was dubious but the dish was outstanding. The light orange sauce added tang and sweetness to the soft pasta.

I went with a tapas plate combining guacomole, eggplant roulade, hummus, and goats cheese dip. It was served with long, thin wafers of bread. The dips were delicious - particularly the spicy eggplant and soft, rich goats cheese, but the hummus was too plain for my liking.

The mains menu was broad and had something for everyone. There are comfort dishes like lasange, and moussaka, plus more adventurous risotto cakes with roasted red pepper sauce, and English spinach and kumera gnocchi. Andy sensibly chose the generously sized moussaka.

I chose what I thought was an Indian curry (which I love). Unfortunately, I didn’t read the numerous ingredients on the menu closely and it turned out to be more of a peanut satay (which I don’t love). The chutneys and pappadams that gave with it were great, but the dish was too heavy and rich for me to finish.

Seeing as it was our anniversary we decided to splurge and get dessert - white and dark chocloate truffles filled with ice cream. These were luxorious, sweet and creamy - and definitely a job for two. I enjoyed them but should probably had chosen a less decadent option.

While Harvest isn’t vegan, they ensure that there are a decent number of vegan dishes on both the entree and mains menu. All cheese is rennet free, and they only use free range eggs. Where possible they use organic food. From memory, there are other foods, such as honey, which they either leave out or can omit.

Harvest is not a restaurant that I’d eat at everyday. However, it makes a wonderful and romantic choice for special occasions. Love you honey!

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