Ballards, Thornbury: vegetable-centred vegan restaurant

When Sylvia asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted an experience.  She organised a dinner for us at Ballards in Thornbury.  This restaurant is my sort of vegan food: vegetables take centre stage, cooked beautifully with lots of nut and seed creams, creative flourishes and no mock meat in sight!  We had a fantastic dinner on a fine summer evening.  

We wanted to book an inside table but there were none left because we chose a busy evening the day before Valentines Day.  Inside the walls are painted a deep burgundy red with lots of artsy framed pictures like you might expect in a heritage European cafe.  The candles on the tables add to the charming vibe.

There is a large bar inside with lots of books, plants and of course bottles of booze.  And there are a few booths include one at the back that is quite private.

Our booking was for the beer garden out the back that is reached down this little lane.  I love the greenery in the middle of the space that breaks it up into smaller cosy corners.  It was very pleasant on a balmy summer's evening. down a little lane

The menu is a tyranny of choice so we ordered the Just feed me menu.  For $68 per person we were served the chef's selection of 9 amazing small dishes including dessert.  While there were still a few dishes we would have loved to have tried, such as the green olive arancini and layered potato lasagna, we got to try most of the dishes we were interested in and a few that I would not not have tried but was glad I did.  The staff were also open to requests when Sylvia asked if it could include the foccacia.  In addition to everything being vegan, there were lots of gluten free options.

We started with a glass each of non-alcoholic sangria.  A refreshing fruity drink was just what we needed on a summer's evening.  It looked fancy with the ruby red colour, orange slices and ice blocks.

Soon after, our first three dishes were served (see the top photo) as starters.

Sylvia had heard great things about the foccacia with burnt eggplant dip with surprise pickles & smoked tomato oil.  It was every bit as good and more.  The dip was so light and creamy, the bread so soft and had a wonderful sourdough flavour with some toasted fennel seeds and it all was tied together nicely with the pickled onions, cucumbers and smoky oil.

The mac and & cheese croquettes with sunflower seed toum & sweet gherkin leather were delicious.  So crunchy on the outside and the toum gave a creamy boost to the macaroni filling.

 

Most unusual was the cryptically named Pedro ximenez parfait crisps w cured mushrooms, relish, seed cracker.  Pedro Ximenez is a sherry which infused the creamy mushroom paste on the crisp seed cracker.  Topping the paste were cured mushrooms and a sweet relish which contrasted beautifully with the intense mushroom flavour.

 

Our second round of dishes arrived with lots of vegetables: You can see here how huge that eggplant is and the beautiful presentation.

The Heirloom tomato salad with apple, almonds, lovage & sunflower cream was nice, in spite of my wariness of salads featuring tomatoes.  I liked the creaminess and crunch, especially as a companion dish to the potato hash and roast eggplant.
 

The Potato hash with charred broccolini, smoked habanero oil & cannellini was excellent.  The potato hash did not dominate this meal but was all the better for the lovely greens and so much extra toppings.  It was a bit spicy but delicious.

The final of the trio was amazing: Roast eggplant tahini, chickpea, smoked corn & grape molasses.  Eggplant and tahini are such a wonderful combination, especially when the eggplant is cooked so beautifully that it falls apart at the glance of a fork.  The crunchy chickpeas and fresh vegies were great on top of the soft eggplant.

The final savoury dishes were a combination of two dishes, neither of which would have appealed to me but were a wonderful main course.  The Lions mane steak was served in intense dark seared chunks of that odd mushroom that looks like a giant puffball. They came on a bed of braised quinoa with a generous peppercorn sauce and topped with shards of crisp potato.  It was excellent.

The side salad was a Heirloom lettuce w cured sugar melon, sesame & curry leaf vinaigrette.  I could not would not eat this salad but itself.  I am not familiar with sugar melon (but apparently it is cantaloupe that I have always really disliked) nor curing fruit and vegetables.  But I really liked the dressed and fresh lettuce and melon when paired with the intense flavours of the lions mane steak.

Our last dish was the dessert of Elderflower & cashew pannacotta with fresh berry, charcoal meringue & basil.  Again I was surprised at how much I liked this, given that creamy desserts like pannacotta aren't usually my thing.  Perhaps it was that it was made of cashews (I much prefer a cashew sauce to a dairy cream) and the tart dots of fruit gel (was this the elderflower) as well as lots of berries.  The charcoal meringue was a bit gritty as charcoal can be but a nice contrast.  It was a slpendid way to end a wonderful meal.

I would highly recommend Ballards if you are vegans or even if you're not.  The delicious food kept coming, we were not rushed and yet we finished bang on the dot of the 90 minutes we had booked and left with full stomachs and happy taste buds.

Ballards
915 High Street, Thornbury
Open: Monday to Saturday: 6pm - late
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