It’s reminiscent of nanna’s kitchen, with embroidered tableclothes dressing the two communal tables in the small front room of this much-supported organic bakery.
One table is old-school formica, the other dark wood. It’s a bit of a mish-mash but that’s Crumbs.
This tried-and-true bakery recently opened a second shop in North Melbourne, but the flagship Ascot Vale store is still holding its own, serving wonderfully fresh sourdough loaves and pizza slices as well as luscious cakes, doughnuts and biscuits.
Crumbs Organic Bakehouse has made its own stamp on Melbourne, supplying gluten-free products as well as vegan morsels, all the while maintaining their quality of product.
Don’t expect sticky gooey over-iced cakes here, not a lot of sugar is used in the cakes, giving emphasis to the produce used. An orange and poppy seed cake is a fine example of this.
Its moist texture not overpowered by sugar, rather the oranges subtle, natural sweetness shines through with the savoury texture of the poppy seeds.
Before you tuck into the sweet treats here, bear in mind the limited but delicious savoury selection of pizza slices ($4), with toppings such as grilled eggplant, pumpkin and mushroom.
The slices we choose are large slabs of chewy dough topped with roasted capsicum, onion, lots of green olives, mushrooms and plump chunks of roasted tomato.
It’s a vegan pizza slice, so there’s no cheese but there doesn’t need to be, the freshness of the vegetables and their flavours more than make up lack of mozzarella.
All the pizzas, loaves, doughnuts and muffins sit on a simple wooden shelf in the front window — it’s very low key here and the room does look a bit worn out but that makes it more endearing. There are quaint touches — large, glass juice bottles used as vases holding carnations and a retro fridge filled with organic soft drinks and juices.
The coffee is good and attracts a stream of people who constantly come in and out of the shop for a decent brew to have in or takeaway, or to grab a muffin or loaf of bread for home.
There’s a friendliness and ease created by the gentle service at Crumbs Organic Bakehouse. Nanna would be proud.
