Thea, Gawler Place

Thea Vegetarian Tea Garden is less of a garden and more of a modern iteration of a tea house. The girls at work love this place, and have been known to eat here a couple of times a week. Specialising in flavoured and textured soy protein dishes, if you're into well priced and interesting vegetarian food, Thea is the place go.


What is immediately noticeable about Thea is the striking decor. Bridging the gap between modern and traditional Asian furniture, the dark-wooded tables, arresting artwork and scattering of tea making implements in the store suggests a haven of peace. The atmosphere is anything but. Filled to the brim with office workers, this place is always pumping. I've been here a number of times before, and the food usually comes out pretty quickly.

Serving up dishes with names like Sweet and Sour Thing (breaded gluten and seaweed protien served with sweet and sour sauce) and Mushroom Nuggets with Black Pepper Sauce (which is exactly as it sounds) the menu could look quite daunting to the average anglo eater. So, while everything is pretty tasty, this is not a place for picky eaters.

I went with a couple of friends from work. Usually the soup is pretty popular, but I ordered the mushroom nuggets.

Though the nuggets didn't resemble anything like mushroom (the texture was like a rubbery cardboard), the black pepper sauce was perfectly peppery and nicely savoury. The rice was delicately flavoured and the salad was fresh and light (even if it had bloody corn in it... what is it with corn at the moment?).

A number of colleagues ordered the bbq rice, which if I remember correctly, was textured soy and rice protein made to resemble pork. This dish passed muster with the dedicated meat eaters of the group.


Thea also specialises in hot and cold tea. I ordered a hot lemon green tea, which was sweet and lemony. A fellow diner ordered a strawberry snow bubble tea, which was sculled without the offer of a taste. I'm told it was delicious.


Thea is open during the week for lunch, and Friday night for dinner. As a dedicated meat eater, it's the kind of place I'm happy to go to once every couple of months. It's also the place to go if you want to impress that hot, sophisticated vego.