I absolutely love this place in Fitzroy! It has a very nice atmosphere and it's a peaceful place to…read moretake some relax in the city. The food is awesom and you can also buy something to take home. Imprescidible for veggie lovers!! ;)

Yes, Friends of the Earth sounds hippie and alternative. It is but it's great!…read more It's a cafe/organic food store where they focus on helping the environment and educating people on organic produce. Locally grown, seasonal produce, organic meals and fair trade teas are what Friends of the Earth are all about. This is a growing mentality that I support and feel like after visiting a place like this you understand why people are so passionate about it. There really is nothing better than the really fresh, organically grown foods they have on offer where it's guilt free and makes you feel fuzzy that you've helped the "little guys" and the environment. It's fantastic to wander through and look at the fresh products where the cafe idea is great and their coffee is amazing so it's definitely worth stopping by!

At what point do you cross the line from food lover to food-fad loving hipster? Is it when the…read morecoconut oil hits your shopping basket, or when you consider stocking up on $1.80 bundles of Kale because you know you can make huge amounts of Kale chips? Well, whatever that line is Aunt Maggie's was partly responsible for me crossing over. Yup, I'm now a fully fledged kale-chip, coconut oil, kombucha loving woman. I visit regularly to see which healthy items are on sale and to buy well-priced vegetables between market shops. The store is huge and there is aisle after aisle of beautifully packaged "health" food that will make you feel virtuous as you throw them in to the wicker shopping basket provided at the front counter. My only gripe with this store is that not all items have prices on the shelves, making it very hard when you're trying to weigh up the value between three different kinds of activated almonds. It's easy to spend a lot of money here if you don't pay attention and compare brands but with some careful consideration you can actually get out of here having spent not much more than the local supermarket.

A bastion of loveliness on Gertrude Street, merely walking through the doors of Auntie Maggie's…read morenorthern outpost will lift your spirits. Inside, all is light and healthful, from the wooden shelves encasing organic free-range eggs, to the beautiful selection of organic vegetables. One gets the feeling that each fruit is lovingly polished. Auntie Maggie's has it all, from German juice (Bionade) to crackers, wraps, and locally-sourced feta. They even have a juice/soup bar for the lucky workers on Gertrude St. who can visit for lunch. (When will they stay open at night for the rest of us, hmmm?) Of course, all of this comes at a premium -- would you expect anything less from an organic shop, and one in Fitzroy, no less? However, if you sign up to be a member you'll be texted about the monthly 20% off day. Run, don't walk, to fill up your basket.

After a run along the beach, The Boardwalk was a welcoming sight. Fresh juice, smoothies, assorted…read morebaked goods and a wide variety of gelato is all available here for a decent price. I opted for the fresh juice which was made fast and with some good looking fruit. They have pineapple, apple, watermelon, and strawberry and I went for the mix. This is honestly the best fresh juice I've ever had. Not too sweet but definitely a treat after a long hot run.

After the huge disappointment of the Boardwalk Cafe I came into this little offer next door and I…read moremust say that I was really impressed. It certainly wasn't crowded, and there was enough room on the deck outside where I could sit, eat my ice cream, drink my drink, and watch all of the activity on the beach. The prices were pretty standard, but they did have a pretty good selection of icecream on offer. They also had beer, though I suspect that you can't take it beyond the store (since St Kilda is a dry zone). The staff were also pretty friendly, and since it wasn't all that crowded I could spend some time selecting my flavours without feeling rushed. I must say that this is a pretty good little cafe that is probably my preferred choice in the St Kilda Baths.

Another overpriced health food store that I've been completely sucked in by. Chances are you'll pay…read moretwice as much doing your groceries here than at a standard supermarket. For this reason I save my visits to Gum Tree Good Food only for special occasions and moments of weakness. If only I had the budget to make this place my regular because the produce they have is just amazing. Highlights include the thinnest of pizza bases that you can take home and make your own gourmet inspired meal with. Not to mention the range of delicious dips, sauces and chutneys. There are also crusty sourdough loaves by the dozen and pre-made meals that leave Lean Cuisine et al for dead. This is the place to go to pick up nibbles that will be sure to impress.

Expensive yes. Over priced no…read more Gum Tree is an excellent gourmet grocer stocking an curated selection of vegetables, groceries, meat and alcohol. Although a small store they provide the 'necessities' for a gourmet quick meal. I found the prices to be very good for a store of this type. Yes, you are going to pay $45 a kg for meat but, prices appear to be about 10% cheaper than gourmet grocers like Broadbean, Passion Foods and Essential Ingredient. Gum Tree is a great one stop shop for the time poor local resident who can make it to South Melbourne Market, with the added bonus of Toby's Estate coffee served while you shop. All very civilised :)

This was a pleasant surprise! Such a cute spot under a bridge lol. These sandwiches were 5 Star!!!…read moreIf you're looking for a great sandwich and yummy pint consider coming here!

Well, this is another of those those places that you are pretty much only going to find in…read moreMelbourne, and that is a bar that happens to be located not just under a bridge, but under a bridge in the middle of the river. Pretty cool actually, and they also have some decent beers available as well, though they are generally not on tap. Mind you, it's pretty popular, so it does have a tendency to get pretty packed.

It not often you walk into a random organic cafe & grocer who does the simple things really well…read moreand is also very reasonably priced. The food here has got a home cooking feel. I love to cook but I could easily eat here every day. Keep up the good work guys....

This is the newly-opened sister cafe to the Seedling Cafe on Flinders Lane. Everything here is 100%…read moregluten-free and "paleo inspired" which generally means no grains, no legumes, no dairy, and a focus on fresh, unprocessed vegetables and proteins. As a vegan, usually when I go to a paleo place, I shudder at the amount of meat and eggs on offer -- but Seedling Cafe's not like that. Their menu dovetails nicely with a plant-based diet, offering plenty of vegan options. For breakfast, vegans can choose from smashed avo, blueberry porridge, and four different kinds of smoothie bowls made from coconut milk. They also have a variety of fancy-pants lattes (turmeric, matcha, etc.) and coffee with almond, coconut, or soy milk. For lunch, there's not much on the menu for vegans per se, but check the display case where they have their fresh salads and there are usually a few vegan salads, which you can mix and match to make a nice healthy lunch (that's what I did -- I had a pea thing, a cauliflower thing, and a vegan coleslaw thing. Yes. Thing.) And of course they have some healthy treats by way of raw vegan bars and energy balls and stuff like that. These vary so just check the display case. I had the peanut bar and while it wasn't decadent like peanut butter, I wasn't really wanting or expecting it to be -- it tasted mostly like ground up peanuts and a bit of sweetness and a bit of chocolate. In other words, it tasted healthy, which is what you're after anyway if you're going to this place. Their menu and the food in their display case is clearly marked with vegan, paleo, dairy-free, and nut-free options. V* means vegan, and staff knows what exactly "vegan" entails. (They even know that honey is not vegan, which is impressive because a lot of non-veg restaurants/cafes don't know that one.) In terms of atmosphere, this Seedling Cafe is lighter and brighter and feels roomier than their Flinders Lane location. It's in the Equitable Place laneway, on the corner with Little Collins Street. Not much seating so this place is mostly take-away, but there are a few small tables and chairs.

Found this little cafe 3 days before leaving the city and the food was simply delicious! I ordered…read morethe açai bowl which comes with granola, bananas, coconut and berries. I asked them not to put the granola as I'm allergic to nuts and they offered to replace t with more berries and extra coconut for no extra charge. Also got their lemongrass ginger tea and it was divine. If you're looking for a great meal not too expensive and healthy this is definitely the place to go!

I love the Fruit Pedallers. It is a little bit like a little rabbit warren with lots of nooks and…read morecrannies to find yummy tidbits of organic produce. It can be hard to find exactly what you need if you are after something specific, as the shop is not laid out in a methodical manner, but for me this makes the shopping experience all the more enjoyable. Sometimes I think the staff at the Fruit Pedallers must think I'm a little fruity myself, when I spend hours browsing the shop only to come up to the counter with a bottle of milk and a cucumber, for example. Up until recently their fresh fruit and veg have been very very expensive. But with a recent change to their buying strategy, they have dropped prices significantly. Yay! Now we can all eat more organic food. Who knows I may even come up to the counter with a cucumber and a head of brocolli. They also have naturopaths on staff - where you can get some free advice (as long as you buy their awful tasting herbal mixtures of course) on your lingering cold etc.

The Fruit Pedallers is a ditty little health food shop on Westgarth's High Street selling all…read moremanner of organic whole foods alongside natural therapies such as naturopathy, homeopathy, massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, kinesiology, art therapy, acupuncture and more besides. In foodie slash health conscious Melbourne, where organic food stores are ostensibly a dime a dozen, The Fruit Pedallers is notable for its friendliness and excellent range of herbs and vitamins alongside fresh organic fruit and vegetables and a ruddy good selection of organic and fair trade chocolate. Its staff are helpful and extremely knowledgeable and although The Fruit Pedallers can be a little dearer than its competitors, this little Westgarth health food haunt is a local favourite, and with good reason. The Fruit Pedallers is a particularly good health food store to visit if you're in the market for vitamins or supplements and don't quite know what you're looking for. Excellent all round.