Vegan pizza at the newest brewery in Western Sydney - the Marsden Brewhouse

Establishment: The Marsden Brewhouse

Cuisine: Modern Bistro

Allergy information: Their menu has a number of options that are dairy, egg, seafood, nut and gluten free. Staff are very helpful in dealing with allergy queries

Suggestions: The vegan pizza with roasted capsicum, garlic, parsley, notzarella, kale & potato wafers

Western Sydney continues to grow and one of the most recently rapidly growing suburbs is Marsden Park. Over the last few years, Marsden Park has become one of the fastest growing areas out west with new roads, expanding property developments and the construction of the new industrial park. Now us greater western Sydneysiders have our own Ikea, Costco and Lindt factory - clear signs we're catching up!

And of course another clear sign of progress is growing food options.

Some of my favourite places near where I live are the pubs and breweries which have grown up with the changes in the area. Places like the Fiddler and Ettamogah have rebranded themselves and alongside transforming pub grub into something a little more contemporary, they now have more facilities for kids allowing parents more of the option to bring the kids out while also getting some good food and drink and catching the footy. 

Now we have a new addition to the bunch - the Marsden Brewhouse only opened its doors to the public last week and my family decided to join the throngs checking it out in its first weekend open. Before we headed over, I had a glance at the menu and was pleasantly surprised to already find a vegan pizza on it, with potato topping no less. Needless to say, I was pretty geared to give it a try. 

When we arrived, the place looked quite busy and the line was long, but I gave my order to the family and then had no difficulty at all finding us a table while they headed to the counter. Looking around, I spied a good mix of people, loads of families, couples and parties and the place was full of energy. Outside in the very elaborate playground, all the kids were having a great time. 

It was a bit of a wait for the food, however we were keeping in mind that the Marsden is still in the process of hiring more staff to manage numbers so we understood and just took it easy. When the food did come out, I was the lucky one because first item out was my pizza. 

Yum!

Ok, I just have to say, the introduction of Notzarella in my life has been brilliant. Though I had a few minor missteps in the beginning, likely due to kitchens becoming more accustomed to managing cross-contamination, it's been a lovely addition to the world of allergy-friendly pizzas. Where once those of us allergic to dairy had to go without the cheesy glue that held our toppings together, we now have a substitute that actually does the job and tastes delicious to boot!

And it worked marvellously on this pizza, which also had two of my favourite toppings - capsicum and potato. The combination was a treat and I was able to enjoy this after having no issues after my first test bites. I would particularly like to thank the server who noted all my allergies and ensured that no allergens came into contact with my food, so much so that he removed the kale because he was worried about meat contact (and because we hadn't specified that this was not a problem for me). 

My order and their notes which they followed to the letter. I couldn't be more appreciative.

My family's food - which was a lovely mix of light and vegie friendly dishes.

I didn't end up choosing to look into desserts there but my brother and sister both got the buttermilk Panna Cotta which they both enjoyed and after seeing an intriguing reaction from my sister once she had a taste of the strawberry syrup pictured below, I asked if she had yet touched it with her spoon or any milk. She hadn't so I tried a small spoonful and wow - ok, that is a very nice syrup. My sister and I couldn't quite place it but my brother detected that the pop we both tasted was mint. I may not be able to eat the whole dish but I will say, that is a lovely syrup and now I want to go out and find it for myself!

That syrup, so innocuous, such an eye popper!

As an interesting note, while we were waiting for our food, my sister informed me that the Marsden had received some criticism regarding a note on its menu about no alterations to accommodate for diets. I understand that they issued an apology for it too, clarifying that they did have certain allergy or diet-friendly options already available on the menu and that the staff would be willing to do what they can to assist with allergies. Well, clearly that's what they're doing or at the very least, that's exactly what they did with me. They took great care to ensure my dish was safe and it was so I am grateful and glad to confirm that they are happy to accommodate. 

Admittedly, I'm surprised that other places haven't received this kind of response because there are tons of menus that are not exactly allergy-friendly and absolutely don't pretend to be. I also don't think they have to be. I don't see it as a right to get to eat everywhere, especially if my allergies aren't compatible with the cuisine. Take seafood places, for example. What are they supposed to do for seafood allergy sufferers like me? Or better question - why would I, someone allergic to seafood, go to a place like that and expect food? Or French restaurants, with menus dripping with butter and egg. I'm more than happy to accept I can't have their food until they themselves choose they want to cater. I don't expect them to suddenly be able to cater for me when I can easily go somewhere that is actually more allergy-friendly.

This doesn't mean I don't want them to. I do think that more people should take allergies into consideration, especially as they are so prevalent, but ultimately if a place chooses not to, that's their call. It's like any business. They don't have to cater to every market. I do think it would be smarter if they did because they're missing out on a lot of customers, but it's still their choice if they want to innovate for allergies and diets or not. In this case, looks like the Marsden are at least happy to try their best and that is a great thing. 

So on that note, I say cheers again to the Marsden for so kindly ensuring I was able to have a delicious and allergy-safe pizza, a traditionally allergy-unsafe dish! If you're interested, do check them out. The menu clearly notes gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options and I'm already looking forward to trying those out next time (and also maybe checking out a Panthers game live on their big screen sometime)!

One of their outdoor areas, next to the big playground which contains a flying fox with an inexplicable dip in the middle. If I were a kid on that thing, I'd be wondering, why??? 😂