Stepping Stone: Canberra, AUSTRALIA

February 2022 · 5 min read · Australia

Stepping Stone is a pretty nice vegan style cafe housed in an art gallery in one of the newer suburbs of Canberra. If you are a tourist, it is pretty damn unlikely that you will find yourself here... but if you are a local, then the quest to try everything in the region is a serious one to try and get that coveted achievement before your time on Earth runs out!

Anyway, joking aside... the new houses that surround this particular cafe are built to be energy efficient and sustainable in as many ways as possible... so, it is no surprise that this cafe targets a particular demographic of customers that might be in interested in the vegan and sustainable food narrative. These days, it isn't just enough to make and serve delicious food... you have to have an origin story to market alongside it!

The Space

The thing that strikes you first about Stepping Stone is the sheer wood beauty of the house and surrounds. The interior is absolutely beautiful, I'm not sure, but it does appear to be a converted farm house, but the conversion is quite something to behold! I would live here if it was an option!

There are a number of small tables inside the building... which is quite pleasant when there are not too many people. However, as the cafe fills up during the busier eating hours, the room can get quite boomy and loud due to all the hard surfaces.

So, that would be the call to find yourself one of the nice shaded areas on the lawn outside. This sort of quiet, serene open beauty is definitely one of the reasons that we relocated across the other side of the planet back to our homes here! As long as the Sun isn't too hard on you, this is an incredibly pleasant way to pass a leisurely brunch or late afternoon tea!

Of course, as I had mentioned earlier, the cafe does share a space with an art gallery. So, take the time to wander around and marvel at the local designs and paintings whilst you wait for your order to be ready... or if something really strikes your fancy, buy it and support the local artists!

The Menu

As I had mentioned before, everything on the menu is vegetarian or vegan... along with a good chunk of gluten free foods as well. Now, I don't have anything against these sorts of menus, but it isn't the sort of thing that I normally seek out when I'm looking for a place to eat. However, I know that there are people who have particular dietary needs or principled stands, and for them, it is always good to be aware of the various specialist cafes and restaurants that will be able to best cater to their needs.

Although our family isn't really a vegetarian or vegan family... my wife is trying to move away from meats to about half the meals being vegetarian... and our older girl is definitely keen on being vegetarian, as long as she can still eat ham and salami! Well, at least the thought is there... but when she is generally also pretty happy with eating vegetarian dishes, her tastes are evolving and she is getting more and more adventurous.

The Food

So, for me... I ordered the chipotle tacos. Actually, I was expecting something a little bit larger... I was the only one that hadn't eaten anything that morning and I was a little bit surprised that my choice ended up being the smallest of the lot!

... but wow, what these little tacos lacked in size, they made up for in sheer taste! I really have to learn how to make a good bean paste... I really loved them, but would have loved to have about twice as many... especially after the girls ended up "tasting" half of them.

The youngest opted for a croissant. Nothing too special here... except for the jam, which really was quite nice!

... and finally, the older girl had corn fritters with a poached egg. The fritters were great, as was the poached egg... but I do have to say that I'm not the biggest fan of poached eggs. They do just feel a little rubbery and bland in taste in comparison to the other ways of cooking them... I think I even prefer boiled eggs to poaching!

... and finally, the coffee. You can't have a brunch/breakfast place without serving up a good coffee! This was pretty decent... but I do have to question the choice of serving up a warm/hot drink in a handle-less mug! Ouch ouch ouch...

The Experience

So, yes... despite the fact that I'm never really going to seek out a vegetarian place to eat, I will still come back to vegetarian places if the food is good. Steeping Stone delivers on the food side of things... but the price is a little steep for what you get.

The location is also a bit of a double-sided sword as well... nicely quiet and secluded, it is actually a bit out of the way and you are going to have to make special trip to get here if you don't happen to live in the suburb that is being built around the area. Would I come out here especially for the cafe... I'm not really sure that I would, but every once in a while... perhaps! I just wish it was a lot closer... but I also want to visit again to try out the lunch menu!