Zen Arcade Cafe - Preston

I’m outer north, so Preston is bordering on a relaxed drive from my house. I love to see Vegan alternatives spreading further towards outer suburbs. This is a very small cafe, seats about 25ish. Limited menu but some tasty vegan and vegetarian options. Had the CLT Bagel (smoky marinated coconut, avo, tomato and rocket but replaced avo for cashew cream cheese) which was tasty and not excessively priced, at $12. Took home a zucchini, apple and cinnamon muffin which was great and I don’t usually care for a muffin. I couldn’t see street parking as we whizzed by because it’s on a corner that obscures the cafe a bit so they could work on signage, but we had no problems parking on side street. Overall, a worthy addition to eventual vegan world domination.

I hadn't visited this café since it first opened, so I was excited to have a casual lunch with some coworkers. There were a few bagel varieties available that I hadn't seen during my recent visit to New Day Rising, but unfortunately, they were from Quarter Moon. I decided to try the vegan carrot lox bagel with cashew cream cheese instead. While the carrot lox wasn't the best I've ever had (it was a bit on the thicker side), I enjoyed it overall. However, I was disappointed when I wanted to order another one but discovered they had run out of bagels. I’ll definitely be returning to Quarter Moon in the future. Update from my previous review on December 22, 2021.

The bagels here are incredibly delicious! They offer a great selection of vegan options, and the coffee is beautifully crafted.

We visited this restaurant for lunch and found a few seats and booths inside, along with a couple of outdoor tables. The flat white made with soy was excellent, and the service was friendly. I ordered a veganized quarter moon, while my partner chose the CLT. Since they were cut in half, we shared one of each, and both were quite good. The menu is limited, but there are several vegetarian options that can be made vegan.

Really delicious carrots lox bagel.