Why Yulli’s Is More Than Just Vegan Food
by Tess Cimino
Flaky sea salt, a glass of New South Wales biodynamic rosé, freshly sliced red chili peppers, and a John Green book about anxiety accompanied me at Yulli’s vegan restaurant in Sydney on a buzzing Thursday night. It was the first time I’d taken myself out to dinner, and these were my companions. I had always chosen to eat with friends and family or take food to go instead of genuinely sitting down and eating as a party of one.
The idea of eating alone was sky diving. Drastic, sudden, and falling all at once—the scariest activity. Primarily because of a more profound fear regarding what other people would think. Does she have friends? Is she sad? Being seen without any company, having to hold enough confidence to look past the glances and remind myself that I am enough. Looking back on it now, it seems silly, but many people struggle with similar doubts. Doubts rooted in a skewed perception of happiness built by modern society. A standard that to be truly happy, often that is with other people.
But within the moments I spent honestly sitting down for dinner alone, I felt closer to joy in doing what I truly wanted. I wanted to not talk to other people, and that was okay. I just wanted to eat and read, and that was also okay. Something simple yet so hard to find. My book had gone unread for months on my Kindle, and breaking it open that night felt like unwrapping a present. An activity lost because of “time.” Time mostly spent participating in others' ideas of fun and baking sweet pies to nourish strangers while losing that same passion for nourishing myself. Then comes, Yulli’s.
A vegan restaurant in Surry Hills, serving quirky, creative dishes like zucchini flowers filled with beetroot cashew cream over a bed of apple walnut salad unexpectedly paired with wasabi mayo. The subtle contrast between soft and crunchy delighted me in ways that I had forgotten what food could provide outside of just being something to survive. Both fun, inventive, and unique followed the pizza. Even though it is just titled pizza, it is beyond your basic cheese and marinara sort of situation, with truffle oil, king brown, trumpet mushrooms, pickled black olives, house-made vegan cheese, and watercress salad bunched over the center.
Despite getting a bowl of freshly cut red chili instead of your classic, dried red chili flakes to throw on top, the spice was there without it, but the pretend New Yorker in me made it a requirement. Even though most Australians speak English, it was a reminder that there may always be cultural differences that make sense in one place and are foreign in another, evidently adding spicy pizza toppings to that list.
The thoughtfulness of the gesture, despite the confusion, was weirdly touching. Yulli’s staff's compassion, kindness, and humbled humor made dining alone, dining in solitude. An idea supported by the tasty food, people, and overall restaurant vibe.
All images courtesy of Yulli’s Bar & Restaurant.