MsChief, Crows Nest

Healthy cafe food? Sure! If you are looking for somewhere dog friendly with healthy food options on the North Shore head to MsChief in Crows Nest. There's a menu with a mix of healthy and regular cafe food plus a range of house-baked treats with 40% less sugar than their regular counterparts.

McChief is hidden on top of a shopping centre with a supermarket and carpark with 2 hours free parking so the best plan is to park downstairs and head towards the terrace area above the Coles where there are a few businesses and eateries. There are a good number of outdoor tables available for both groups and couples. Sammie and I grab a seat outside with the two Teddys.

Our waitress is very friendly and helpful. Although the cafe closes at 4pm, the kitchen closes at 2pm so we slide in our orders just before the cut off time. I have a lemon and lime spritz, a very lightly sweetened flavoured soda water which goes down nicely in the summer heat while Sammie has an iced coffee.

Our food orders are the Brussels sprout toast and the rainbow salad with smoked trout added to it. I start with the salad and has a delicious mix of a salad leaves and grilled capsicum, zucchini and eggplant with a light honey balsamic dressing. It's perfect for the summer weather and really delivers in flavour.

The Brussels Sprout toast is also tasty and has roasted Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, toasted cashews and a spread of creamy Danish feta cheese on two slices of toast. There's also a lovely aromatic browned butter flavour.

All of the sweets use palmyra, a low GI alternative to sugar and are at least 40% lower in sugar. The vanilla tart is like a cousin of the Portuguese custard tart. It is served cold with a thin layer of pastry on the outside and a smooth, dense cold vanilla custard and fresh fruit on top. You wouldn't know that this was low in sugar and Sammie really enjoys this.

The almond croissant is baked in-house and is topped with crème diplomat and almonds and is stuffed with almond frangipane inside. It's a little less layered and buttery than others that I've had and I prefer the other low sugar treats instead.

The French Earl Grey tea chiffon cake is the lowest in sugar and yet still sweet enough especially if you're a connoisseur of Asian desserts that tend to be less sweet than their Western counterparts. I love the texture of this lovely, light and moist chiffon cake. And for his part, Teddy loves his dehydrated chicken treats and his new avocado squeaky toys from Auntie Sammie!

So tell me Dear Reader, are you looking for healthier options at this time of the year? Do you like very sweet desserts or do you like less sweet ones?

This meal was independently paid for.

MsChief

G03/105 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest NSW 2065
Monday to Thursday, Sunday 8am–4pm
Friday & Saturday 8am–4pm, 6–9:30pm
Phone: (02) 8060 3606