Sweet Evelyn is a Brunswick cafe and micro bakery which is as sweet as its name (apparently named after the owners’ daughter).
All the baked goods are made fresh on site every day, from the large range of cupcakes to the brownies, cookies and savouries – only the bread and croissants are brought in from Dench Bakery. They only use free range eggs and where possible, organic ingredients. They also serve up a simple all day breakfast and lunch menu with most items under $15 – a bargain in brunch-mad Brunswick. Coffee is from Reverence and in fact you can find their cakes at Reverence cafe in Ascot Vale.
The cafe is spacious and there’s lot of room to manoeuvre a pram, though there is a small step and a door to wrestle with before you can get to the back courtyard. The staff will be very happy to help you though and they were really delightful with Lady AB and Baby 2.0, asking whether I needed help loads of times.
We stopped by for afternoon tea and settled ourselves on the front window counter, just big enough for an adult and two little kids to sit, and indulged in a white chocolate raspberry cupcake, a caramel popcorn cupcake, a dotty chocolate biscuit bigger than Baby 2.0’s head and a slice of gluten free beetroot chocolate cake.
I know – that’s more serves of cake than people at the table! That’s how irresistable everything was on the counter.
The cupcake base was a little dense for my liking but quite moist (the caramel cupcake had caramel inside as well), while the buttercream frosting was marshmallow light. The chocolate cake was a decadent, muddy mixture with a chocolate avocado mousse and a sprinkling of pistachios. It’s worthwhile licking every crumb off the plate as it’s relatively guilt-free because it contains veges!
I also ordered a vanilla milkshake for the kids to share ($6) and the staff were more than happy to divide it into two mason jars with handles. The mugs were the perfect size for little hands to hold and with just enough frothy milkshake in each cup to prevent fighting.
The display shelves had some vintage children’s books which may or may not be able to be used. It was only when we went to the bathroom that we discovered the large box of toys tucked under the sink.
I can imagine the courtyard being a fun place to hang out with the family as the weather warms up, though a bit of fake grass to soften the look and feel of the bare concrete would be appreciated.
If you don’t fancy the courtyard Sweet Evelyn is only a short walk to the playground in Temple Park, a lovely local tree-lined park with colourful climbing equipment.
The combination of delicious home made treats, super-friendly service and play time opportunities means that we’ll be heading back to Sweet Evelyn. Next time I’m going to try the brioche doughnuts!
Features:- pram access;
- high chair;
- standard menu suitable for kids;
- toys and books; and
- very close to playground.
Sweet Evelyn, 128 Union St, Brunswick 0432 189 744
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: 7:30am- 4pm
Tuesday: Closed
Friday, Saturday: 7:30 – 6pm
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