A morning of food shopping can really build up your appetite, and if you’re on a meat-free diet you probably think your grab-and-go options are limited, right? Wrong! With so many take-away vegetarian eats throughout the Market, now is the perfect time to visit our Traders and discover something to satisfy your cravings.
To help you choose, we’ve compiled our top 10 favourite take-away vegetarian eats right now, which we think make up some of the best meat-free South Yarra lunches.
Traditional Eggplant Parmigiana
One of our newest Traders, Oltre Alimentari, is serving up traditional Italian Eggplant Parmigiana for our vegetarian shoppers daily, at their cafe on Commercial Road. This dish calls for layer upon layer of roasted eggplant with parmesan cheese, mozzarella and Oltre’s house-made Napoli sauce, delicious! Served with a side of fresh seasonal salad, you’ll definitely be feeling satisfied after this meal.
A Savoury Spring Tart
We love tucking into a savoury tart during spring, and Stir The Pot has the most delicious individually-sized roast vegetable tarts you’ll ever try at their store in Deli Arcade. Filled with vegetables, a cashew tofu mousse and plant based mozzarella, these tarts are both vegan and gluten free – winning! Eat as is, heat in the microwave when you get home, or for best results, warm in the oven for 15 minutes at 170 degrees.
Seasonal Sourdough Sandwich
When it comes to lunch cravings sometimes a sandwich with all the fillings will hit the spot, but if you’re looking to elevate your sandwich game look no further than Q le Baker’s Vegetarian Sandwich on white sourdough baguette. We’re talking pear chutney, rocket and slices of heavenly dauphinoise cheese. Need we say more?
Veggie Pizza Delight
Pizza lovers, rejoice! Farini in Harvest Hall sells the best, Roman-style pizza by the slice we have found, in a variety of meat-free toppings. Right now we’ve got our eye on the popular Mushroom and Black Truffle pizza – pure indulgence!
A Veggie Burger Like No Other
Market Lane’s mushroom burgers are synonymous with weekend Market days, and if you haven’t tried one yet, now’s the time! Featuring a large Portobello mushroom from Damian Pike with luxurious French herb butter, tangy chipotle mayonnaise, sweet onions and Parmesan cheese, this delectable burger is going to be your new best friend. Don’t believe us? Just check out the queue every Saturday and Sunday morning! Available from 9.30am – 2.30pm from the Mushroom Burger pop-up out the front of Market Lane in Elizabeth St.
Flaky Spanakopita
Cheese fiends will fall for Sweet Greek’s authentic Spanakopita, featuring layers of fillo pastry and a delicious spinach and feta filling. Kathy’s Spanakopita comes in three different sizes and is available to purchase cooked and ready-to-eat from the Sweet Greek store in Deli Arcade. And if you know you will be wanting more, or to share with others, Kathy also sells her savoury Spanakopita frozen, ready to enjoy at a later date.
Take a Trip to Turkey
To our vegetarian friends who want their taste buds to be transported to Turkey on their lunch break, we’d recommend heading down to Anatolia Gozleme Kitchen in Harvest Hall. There you’ll find the tastiest traditional Turkish spinach and cheese gozleme, made lovingly from scratch right here at the Market.
Gourmet Salads Aplenty
Now, in case you were wondering, we’re not talking about your everyday simple green salad. We’re talking gourmet, hearty, filling and utterly delicious vegan salads from Rivergum Grill packed full of premium ingredients sourced from our Harvest Hall Traders. Right now, we’re loving Rivergum’s new spring salad: Grilled Green Bean with edamame, black eye peas, spring onion, globe artichoke and salsa verde dressing.
An Oozey Southern-American Lunch
If you’re yet to try the warming Pimento toastie from Maker and Monger in Harvest Hall, then you’re seriously missing out. We must warn you though, this southern-American-inspired creation really packs a punch, with the Pimento filling made up of two Vermont Cheddars, onion, parsley, roasted capsicum, cornichons, cayenne pepper and jalapeños.
Melbourne’s Best Falafels
We love falafels and you can’t beat our Falafel Man’s secret recipe for deliciousness! Plus his salads change daily so you’re always going to find variety here too (it is the spice of life, after all!). Our favourite dish is the lunch plate with falafels, hommus, pita and salads, but if you are not feeling quite so hungry, there are great value smaller servings.
So the next time you’re in the middle of a Market haul and craving tasty vegetarian eats, take a break in our Market Square and relax with something meat-free and delicious from our many eateries for lunch.
