If you’re in Sydney’s CBD and looking for great food in a creative space with free WiFi, check out Portal Cafe, located on the mezzanine level at 1 Martin Place.

I had the opportunity to visit the venue last week, and was struck by the freshness of the ingredients and the beautiful flavour combinations in the salad I ordered. The pumpkin soup was top notch, and the lavender white hot chocolate was quite simply unforgettable.

What I found particularly intriguing is that Portal Cafe is a social enterprise – 100 percent of the profits are donated to not-for-profits.

Diners are able to choose from three charities including Eat Up, an organisation that provides school lunches to Australian children who would otherwise go without, Blue Dragon, which rescues children from slavery and human trafficking in Vietnam, and Rural Aid, which supports rural Australian communities.

The kitchen is helmed by Chef Michal Siudeja (Mecca, The Farmed Table), and the menu is drawn from ultra-seasonal ingredients sourced from local suppliers.

Refugees make up the floor staff at Portal Cafe; they receive training in hospitality while waiting for visas that will allow them to secure paid work.

Portal is 100 per cent plastic free and co-founder Nicolas Degryse says the hope is that it becomes a communal space where people come to eat together, co-work and hang out for the day.

And if you get the chance to drop in on a Friday, make sure you order the lavender hot chocolate drink – trust me, it’s pretty fantastic.

Portal

Mezzanine Level, 1 Martin Place, Sydney

Hours

Mon to Fri, 8am – 4pm

www.portal.org.au

I dined as a guest of the cafe, but the opinions here are mine.

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