Oct 17, 2014 Cafes
By Catherine McGregor. Photos by Ken Downie.
Meet Mr Fraser Jamieson and Mr Alex Brayne, the misters behind the brand new Wyndham St eatery of the same name. When Metro visited on their first morning open, they seemed slightly in shock. “Alex and I first have been talking about doing this for so long,” Fraser says. “We still can’t quite believe we’re finally open.”
The two met as flatmates a few years back, where they discovered a shared love of healthy, inventive food. Alex, a coeliac, started experimenting with gluten- and dairy-free cooking. “We’d have friends over for dinner and they couldn’t believe how good food could taste without dairy or wheat.”
Time to get serious: Alex left his marketing job to gain experience cooking in commercial kitchens, and Fraser, whose varied background includes a spell as a barista at Britomart’s Laundromat, began scouting a location. He found it just off Queen St, below the Black Hoof tapas bar, in what had been a rundown Chinese takeaway. “The state of the kitchen…” He shudders.
They stripped back Gib board, tiles and a suspended ceiling to reveal raw brickwork and original floorboards. The tables and counter were constructed with leftover cladding from a house renovation project Fraser was also working on. With a tiny budget, they did almost all the work themselves – with the help of a lot of “amazing” friends. Fraser’s partner Jess Moore, a graphic designer, created the branding using hand-drawn artwork by her art-teacher father Richard, who also created the green wall using plants from his own garden.
Now it’s open, there are still finishing touches to the fitout to be done, but the kitchen is fully operational. The kitchen is totally dairy- and gluten-free, and nearly every dish has a vegan or paleo option. Misters’ slogan is “real food”, meaning meat is free range and produce is organic where possible, spray-free where not. The menu is takeout-focused – all served in compostable packaging – and is divided into set-price breakfast ($9.90), lunch ($13.90) and “smaller” ($5.90) items. “We liked the simplicity. If you come in with $15 in your pocket you know you’ll get a good, healthy meal.”
Likewise, the coffee costs the same whether you have it black; with organic dairy milk; or with soy, rice, almond or cashew milk. “It doesn’t seem fair that you should pay more just because you don’t drink dairy.” They serve two coffee blends, “black” and “white”, created in conjunction with boutique roaster Coffee General, plus Harney & Sons teas and organic, dairy-free smoothies. A juicer is set to be delivered next week.
Misters
12 Wyndham St
Central city
misters.co
Facebook.com/mistersrealfood
Open Monday – Friday, 7am-4pm; Saturday 8am-3pm.
From the Misters menu
Breakfast
Baked butter beans, hot & sweet peppers, roasted tomato sauce, gremolata
- With chorizo, poached free range egg
- Or avocado, sunflower cream
Buckwheat and chia seed griddle cakes
- With coconut yoghurt, blueberry compote, banana
- Or pure maple syrup, All Good Barbados banana, cinnamon
Egg net roll wrap
- With free range egg, Henderson’s streaky bacon, baby spinach, pesto, sunflower aioli
- Or balsamic mushroom trio, baby spinach, pesto, sunflower aioli
Lunch
Rice Don: Toasted sesame brown rice nori balls, with cucumber, radish, pea shoots and ponzu
- With grilled free range chicken
- Or crispy organic tofu
Tabbouli: Cauliflower tabbouli, rocket, almond, cashew tzatziki, roasted tomato harissa sauce
- With ground beef and free range pork meatballs
- Or zucchini fritter
Biscuit: Grilled lamb pattie, charred pepper, rocket, red onion chilli relish, cashew tzatziki on a Phoenix Bakery gluten-free bun.
Smaller
Monsieur croquette with sunflower aioli, red onion and chilli relish
Charred broccoli with miso dressing
