Niche & Co.

Tugun cafe Niche & Co’s friendly owner Haines Osborne is famous for creating the Gold Coast’s first ‘vegan egg’, designed to look and be eaten just like a poached egg, but completely plant-based and dairy free.

Beyond this wonder of coconut and almond egg-white and spiced pumpkin and turmeric yolk, Niche & Co. is itself a superfood wonder. This popular little café in the heart of Tugun’s Golden Four Drive foody strip offers a surprisingly broad menu from 6:30am to 1:30pm that is vegan friendly and offers lots of choices to suit kids and most food and beverage intolerances.  

This cute cafe has superfoods sprinkled throughout every single dish. From award-winning mango, mocha, peanut butter cacao and coconut Acai Bowls, to the vegan Bacon and Egg Burger and the vegan Brekky Burrito, Niche’s menu has every craving covered. Try delights such as the Haloumi Sesame Bagel, the Corn Fritter or Moroccan flatbread, the Tempeh and Kim Chi Burger, the Chilli Salmon Bagel, the Pumpkin and Tofu Salad or the Tapioca Jackfruit to name a few.

The good vibes start with the curb-side seating shaded under striped umbrellas punctuated with a funky beach-themed laneway mural and signature palm tree logo. You can’t miss the proud signage boasting the Gold Coast’s favourite Açai bowl over the mosaic and pink palmed décor. Inside seating is provided on funky bar stools and rustic wooden bench tops underneath the chalkboard art and the story of the Superberry Açai.

The full wall-length coffee menu lets you know that the strong-note beans with the cocoa aroma wafting throughout are sourced from the world’s finest Arabica estates of New Guinea, Asia and Central and South America and can be complemented with plant-based milk alternatives. Niche also caters for non-traditional tastes offering alternatives such as Red Velvet Coconut Blossom, Dandy chai, Tumeric, Mushroom or Matcha Tea-blended lattes.

The board’s mermaid (the work of artist @jamaicarose) introduces at least ten enticing non-dairy and three super smoothies alongside banana, mango and berry dairy and raw honey classics. She also reminds you that Niche is proud to use fresh local produce suppliers.

Around the corner from the beach, sharing a lane with the Craft House, Niche is also great place to bring your furry friend or to grab takeaway. If you’re looking for one of the best cafes in the area, this is it. 

By Michaela Lyons