by Debbie Lustig (
subscribe)
My work has been published in The Age, The Herald-Sun, The Australian, The Big Issue, Australian Birdlife, The Bark (USA), Eureka Street, Overland and The Australian Jewish News.
Everyone knows there's no such thing as a free lunch, but free biscuits are, well, free biscuits. Everyone likes a sweet biscuit! Here are three cafes in Elsternwick that know the value of sugar, butter and flour and provide them
gratis with every hot drink.
In a popular shopping strip, these cafes go the extra mile to help you enjoy local cafe culture.
Mandoline (432 Glenhuntly Road) is a French/Australian cafe with a full breakfast and lunch menu until 5 pm Sunday to Tuesday and dinner Wednesday to Saturday.
Their free, circular spice biscuits contain cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and cloves. Owner/chef Thierry Lelievre says their biscuits are such an incentive for customers, they call it 'the biscuit cafe'.
Coffee and spice biscuit, Mandoline
Mandoline cafe
Coffee and shortbread biscuit, Olia Bakery
(463-465 Glenhuntly Road) produces European and Australian-style bread, cakes, muffins and doughnuts. It has three inside tables and a couple more on the street.
Every hot drink is delivered with a small, square shortbread biscuit - crunchy, buttery and delicious.
Olia Bakery
(452 Glenhuntly Road) is the newest Italian restaurant in Elsternwick. It's open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner and Saturday and Sunday for lunch, with house-made pasta and an extensive menu of traditional Italian favourites: bruschetta, calamari, vitello, steak, and dolci (desserts).
Coffee and biscotti, Via Campanella
Hot drinks include a free Italian biscuit - perhaps a biscotti or amaretti.
Via Campanella Cucina and Bar
