Who would’ve thought a restaurant serving up morcilla (blood sausage) and chorizo-studded paella, and gambas al ajillo (Spanish-style garlic prawns) would be the one to put veganism not only on the menu, but create one of Fitzroy’s hottest restaurants by doing so?

Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse aren’t surprised their eatery is redefining what a vegan restaurant is today. Though the EAT VEGAN neon cross takes pride of place on the back wall in this communal dining room, this in no preachy affair – and while its’ certainly a hipsters’ paradise (count the beards, tatts, and fixies parked out front) staff are uniformly friendly and work the busy room with aplomb. And it’s always busy, because Shannon in the kitchen creates big flavoured Latin American-leaning dishes that win over even the most ardent carnivore.

Classics – such as an excellent tortilla served with a creamy-good garlic ‘aoili’, or equally good patatas con romesco (fried potatoes with smoked capsicum sauce) – sit happily alongside crisp-crumbed pea and tuna croquettes or a hearty hominy and black bean Mexican soup crowned with crunchy chilli and lime-doused tortilla strips.

There’s early brunch on weekends (breakfast burritos, or Spanish french toast) and cocktails shaken with real class until late (a cracking range of flavoured margaritas alongside all manner of on-theme creations). There’s vegan wine, of course, and almond milk lattes, and the duo’s fare has proven so popular they’ve even opened a daytime New York deli next door where there’s pastrami on rye, and croissants and lasagne to grab and go. It’s all vegan, and while the jury might be out on such approximations as vegan morcilla, the crowds that queue have made it patently clear that vegan food is hot, and there’s nowhere hotter than Smith and Daughters.

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