Melbourne! Serotonin Eatery - Who said healthy food needs to be boring?

Serotonin Eatery - 52 Madden Grove, Burnley, VIC, 3121

Our breakfast!

Just a bit of background before the review, the Oxford Dictionary defines 'serotonin' as "a chemical in the brain that affects how a person feels, the happiness hormone".

After hearing countless good things about Serotonin Eatery, we thought it was about time we head down there and see what all the fuss was about. Turns out, no one was exaggerating. Owner Emily Hazel's ambition for Serotonin Eatery is to improve people's well-being by serving foods that boost the release of serotonin. On The Chopping Board (OTCB) was invited to the stunning corner eatery and well, we did not want to leave.

Image credit: Instagram @Serotonindealer

The interior alone pulled us in and I mean, when you're eating a delicious breakfast whilst on a swing - they honestly can't expect you to want to leave?

The Ginger Bread Latte - $8 and The Green Bluice - $9

When our drinks arrived at our table, I couldn't help but smile. What a beginning to the meal! The green juice was refreshing filled with kale, lemon, apple, banana and mint. It was heavier than I anticipated so if you're after a light drink with your meal maybe opt for the half grapefruit half orange juice.  The Ginger Bread Latte is exactly what Christmas in a cup would taste like, the perfect drink on a cold Melbourne day. There was the perfect amount of ginger to balance with the coffee. Unlike a few turmeric lattes I have had where I genuinely think I've been given a curry in a cup.

Positive Pancakes - $23

Everything on the food menu is gluten-free and vegetarian. However, I do believe even the most loyal meat-eaters will find these meals hard to fault. We started with the 'Positive Pancakes' which is banana pancakes made by dehydrating organic bananas and then grounding them into banana flour. The pancakes are then served with banana 'nice-cream' (dairy and sugar free, guiltless), berries, coconut yoghurt, roasted almond and organic agave.

It was really hard to fault this dish. The pancakes were so fluffy! This is a massive tick in my book, I have been trying numerous recipes at home to create the perfect guilt free pancake and they are never fluffy. The 'nice-cream' tasted just as good as ice-cream filled with all the naughty stuff. I don't think I would be able to tell the difference if I was put this 'nice-cream' and 'ice-cream' in the same bowl.

Smiling Smashed Avo - $18

Our second meal was the 'Smiling Smashed Avo' plus extras. The original meal comes with smashed avo, smashed pea and mint, feta, house-made beetroot relish, healthy sprouted loaf and chilli. We added two eggs, mushrooms and rosti which added to the price as well. So you know when you're eating a really healthy meal and you can taste it's healthy because it's bland and boring? Well, this was the opposite. We know we were eating a healthy dish but it was full of flavour.  The mushrooms tasted like they were picked from the back garden and the smashed pea and mint was stunning. The only thing I wasn't in love with was the beetroot relish, it was a bit too strong for me - but the lemon helped. We were very full after these two dishes.

We had such a great morning dining at 'Serotonin Eatery', the food was great and the service was exceptional, a lot of staff on for a weekday morning, however, we found out they were getting ready for an event that night. We highly recommend anyone visiting or living in Melbourne to check it out. 

Ambiance: 5/5 - The swings won me over.

Service: 4.5/5 - Very friendly staff with table service. The half a point was lost on that we had a different waiter every time something came to our table or dealing with the bill.

Food: 8/10 - Flavourful, tasty, quick delivery and filling.

In total OTCB gives Serotonin Eatery 17.5/20 chops On The Chopping Board.

Things to know:

• If you need meat in a meal, you won't find it here. 
• There is a stunning courtyard.
• Closed Monday and Tuesday.
• Open 7am-4pm Wednesday - Friday.
• Open 8am-4pm on weekends.
• Make sure you take photos and tag @onthechoppingboard #otcb and let us know what you ordered and loved.