Verte Green Eats & Coffee, Surabaya

You may depict a vegetarian restaurant or cafe as a boring place to eat, but when you come to Verte Green Eats & Coffee, it will change your mind. Before seeing the menu, you probably will not notice that Verte is actually a meatless cafe! I know, you may have certain impressions about meatless food, whether it is bland or not delicious, but wait until you try the food here.

Although the place looks empty in the pics, it was actually almost full-house when I came! Most of the patrons were work-from-cafe folks (pretty much a normal sight to see in most cafes nowadays), and I could tell that more than 80% of the diners were not vegetarians haha. The space gives a retro meets minimalist vibe, with wood-themed furnishings and white walls.

Latte - IDR28,000

I was actually questioning why they used dairy milk for the latte despite being a vegan cafe? Or at least they could have offered soy or oat milk option. Anyway, the latte was nice, but I personally thought there could be more subtlety in terms of sweetness level.

Coco Bloom - IDR35,000

Never imagined that I would use the word 'Instagenic' in a vegan cafe review, but here it is. Consisting of cotton candy syrup, mixberry, Yakult, and pomegranate juice, this drink was not only stunning to look at, but also refreshing for the hot day.

O-lio Pasta - IDR48,000

The presentation was a bit disappointing for a meat lover like me who was looking forward to seeing more slices of 'meat'. The portion though, was pretty generous and the ham made of mock meat went well in terms of taste and texture.

Katsu Curry Rice - IDR62,000

Katsu and Japanese curry had always been my comfort dish, and I did not expect the vegan version to be this good. The 'mock katsu' and fried mushrooms were surprisingly tender and well-battered. It went super well with the non-spicy Japanese curry sauce, although the sauce could be a little thicker.

In a nutshell, I thought this is a great place to meet up with friends or do some work. For a vegan cafe, Verte was definitely satisfactory (considering I had never been to any vegan cafe or restaurant before). While the food did not have any spectacular factor, I left as a happy customer after getting fairly decent coffee, meal and service. This is a place you can put into consideration if you have vegan friends in your group or family.

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Jl. Cisadane 26

Surabaya, Indonesia 60241

+628123250336

IG: vertecafe.id

Opening hours: 10am - 10pm (Mon - Fri) // 7am - 10pm (Sat - Sun)