When Glen Herivel and Lee McWilliams opened Seed cafe on the Pacific Highway at Swansea in 2003 their menu could be summed up in two words. Real food.
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Fast forward 17 years and not much has changed. Seed is as busy as ever and has carved its own niche on the busy Swansea strip traditionally known for its fish and chips.
"We always wanted our own business based on our belief in real food with no hidden numbers," McWilliams told Food & Wine.
"We already knew our local community and had a large customer base from Caves Eatery at the Mawson Hotel. We have been locals for 27 years."
The Swansea Heads residents have worked in hospitality since finishing school and leased Caves Eatery for eight years. Herivel previously worked at Newcastle Kitchen Cutlery and conducted cooking schools there. The pair also spent time working at restaurants in Russia and Austria.
Everything at Seed is made in-house or sourced from local suppliers. The menu can be best described as fresh and seasonal, and popular items include the acai bowls, anything with smashed avocado and the chicken schnitzel burger.
"We also have a large range of take-home dinners - authentic curries, Nasi Goreng, homemade pork and fennel sausage rolls, and beef or vegetable lasagne," McWilliams said.
"The take-home dinner menu changes weekly and our coffee is from Josie Coffee, based in Gateshead. It is a Smooth Criminal blend that complements our food well."
Phone ahead and place your drive-through order and staff will be waiting for you, kerbside.
The deli stocks quality ham off the bone, free-range eggs, bacon, salads, yoghurts and sometimes kimchi. If you're lucky, Herivel will have made a ham terrine that day or his signature dressings are on the shelf: honey mustard; Hezza's Green Sauce; or candied balsamic.
Grabbing a table on the footpath in the morning sun is a great place to watch the world go by with a coffee in hand. McWilliams knows most customers by name.
"We have a very supportive local community we love that has been our backbone during the trying COVID months, and we were happy to offer free home delivery to the elderly to help them out."
