Munster Haus

Love this place. Such a great go-​to restaurant when I’m hungry and can’t be bothered cooking. It’s such nourishing, wholesome food, and I love that it’s 100% (and largely vegan — I have no doubt as a vegan that I’ll be very well catered for). I was so excited to find out that they’re open for dinner some nights of the week now.
I’d definitely recommend Muster Haus to vegetarians, vegans, and carnivores alike. It can get a little chilly in there in winter, but it’s worth rouging up for — and the delicious food and coffee will warm you up from the inside.

I have this weird thing about vegetarian food. It’s a whole expectationey thing, in that my rational brain tells me I’ll be fine, but my emotional brain says there won’t be anything I like. I chose Muster Haus with that going on in my head (I have the same sensations when I am about to go to the Morrocan Soup Bar and the Vegie Bar). But… the food at Munster Haus is very good. The whole, walk-​in, pick a size bowl, fill it up for $ 10, $ 14, $ 18 from the stuff on the bench puts me off a bit too. But the food is good. Service is a bit… not very friendly. But the food is tasty. The atmosphere is a bit… I was the only man (which isn’t such a bad thing), but the food is filling and vegetarian. So… make of it what you will. Good call; Bad call? Mostly good call.

Munsterhaus is a vegetarian café in school cafeteria-​style — but the food is anything but. They have a range of amazing vego food — tofu, salads, vegetables, grains — sauteed and roasted and stewed and seasoned to perfection. As it gets later in the day, their food runs out, so take an earlier lunch (12ish) for the biggest range.
There’s no set menu — just pick what size plate you want and then tell the server what food you want (picking from as many dishes as will fit on your plate). Food varies depending on what they want to cook that day, but if you go there often enough you’ll notice that they have pretty consistent regulars.
Perfect if you want a big plate of delicious vegetables, tofu and quinoa.

Munster Haus nearly has it right. The selection of food there is fresh and wonderful, with Asian-​inspired flavours and nary a bland morsel in sight. There is typically a selection of about 6 hot dishes and 10 salads, together with a selection of dips (the sweet chilli tofu salad and the broccoli and tempeh salad are standouts for me). You choose either a small ($ 9), medium ($ 12.50) or large ($ 16) plate (a take away box is $ 12.50), and then you pick and choose to your heart’s (and plate’s) content. The décor is lovely also, with wooden, retro furniture and an art deco feel. I always leave Munster Haus feeling virtuous and healthy (which justifies whatever fried, sweet or decadent treat that lies ahead).
The amount of food, however, varies with the whims and fancies of whoever might be your server. My friend and I each chose a medium plate, but the amount of food that my friend on her plate was a good 50% more than mine, although we chose about the same number of items. Go figure. The coffee was also only average.
Whilst I can deal with the serving variations and average coffee, it is the service that really prevents me from giving Munster Haus a higher rating. The service has varied immensely between and even within visits. Some of the staff are really friendly and lovely; others really cannot be bothered with you, are surly, and treat you with an air of disdain. The opening hours are also somewhat odd at the moment — apparently there has recently been a change in management and the opening hours are still in flux (currently it’s open until 4 – 4:30pm on weekdays, but closed at 2pm on Saturday — seriously though, what café closes at 2pm on a Saturday?!).