“My Happy Place”. That’s how I think of The Armchair Collective in Mona Vale. Over the past year or so, it has become a favourite place, a place to which I love returning.

Why is that? Is it the atmosphere, with the fun furniture and other odds and ends for sale, colourful, with lots of textures? Or is it the jumbled collection of things spread throughout the cafe, so there’s always something new or different to see wherever you are? Or is it the consistently good food? Or is it the friendly staff? Or is it that the people and the vibe all fit the beach feel? Or? All of the above.

The Armchair Collective is a sister to The Boat House at Palm Beach. It has many things in common with The Boat House, with a similar menu, scaled down a bit, and masses of flowers for sale.

The Environment

While being seated at a table surrounded by furniture or other things sounds like it could be like being in the middle of a furniture shop, it’s nothing like that. The colours and the textures and fabrics add a relaxed and happy vibe.

Everywhere you look are things to tempt you – furniture, teapots, teatowels, flowers, yummy food, sweets to take away such as caramels and fudge.

Rather than being jumbled and over-full, somehow the large bunches of flowers and all sorts of interesting goodies seem to add to a feeling of abundance.

The Food

The food at Armchair is good everyday food, but tasty, interesting, and good quality.  Whatever I’ve eaten there has been better than I was expecting.

Green papaya squid salad – with Thai dressing, peanuts, and crispy fried onion

The squid salad was a perfect balance between salty and sweet, with lots of textures and flavours in there.

Berry smoothie (huge) and coffee

Milkshakes and smoothies are served in those old-fashioned bottles, with huge serves.

Moroccan chicken salad – with chickpeas, pistachio, sweet potato, snow peas, and minted yoghurt

The menu usually includes a few different salads, so you’d be sure to find something to suit. And not just your average salad, with interesting combinations of ingredients.

Roast vegetable rosti

The rosti is something light for breakfast. Breakfast is served daily from 7:30 am.

Wild mushroom bruschetta – with balsamic reduction, fetta cheese, pine nuts on rye toast

The mushroom is on the part of the menu available all day, from 7:30am – 3pm.

Winter pie

The menu varies with the seasons. A hearty winter pie or freshly made soup are ideal in the middle of winter.

Tomato soup (winter menu)

And now for one of the Collective classics, the burger. There’s no way that you can that without some disassembly!

Collective beef burger – with beetroot marmalade, tasty cheese, fresh tomato, onion, with thick cut chips

The thick cut chips at Collective are a specialty: crisp on the outside, soft in the middle. Many people order just a bowl of chips with an aoili or mayonnaise.

Steak sandwich (earlier menu)

It’s all good everyday dining food, with something to suit every palate.

With Mona Vale beach being a short stroll away, after a good meal at Armchair, a walk along the beach is perfect, breathing in that fresh ocean air.

Details

Here are the details about The Armchair Collective at time of posting. Please check their web site for more current details.

Web site	http://www.thearmchair.com.au/
Address	9A Darley St East, Mona Vale NSW 2103
Phone	02 9999 2871
Open	Open daily 7:00-4:00 Breakfast 7:30-Noon & Lunch Noon-3:00
Menu	Breakfast (served before 12pm): Priced from $6-17 Includes Sonoma walnut & raisin toast with fruit compote & ricotta, a variety of egg dishes, oatmeal and buttermilk pancakes with caramelized banana and blueberry ricotta. All day menu (from 7:30 am to 3 pm): Priced $8-17 Includes items such as a sesame bagel with smoked ocean trout, neufchatel cream cheese & baby capers, or the wild mushroom bruschetta in a photo above. Lunch menu (12 – 3 pm): Priced $17-25 Includes beer battered fish & chips with house-made tartare, or Armchair Salad (with roasted beetroot, quinoa, spinach, goats cheese, sesame seeds and pine nuts), or the Collective Burger (in the photo above), or a Vegetable Burger, or several salads.

Where is your favourite “local” – a place you can keep on returning and love it every time?