Creative Culinary Choices At St. Kilda

Des Moines, Iowa offered us a nice variety of restaurant choices. We wanted to get a true sampling of the flavors of the city and try out as many cuisines as we could fit in our schedule. When we discovered St. Kilda, we couldn’t remember ever dining in an Australian-style cafe and bakery. Oh, this one had to be put on the list.  Located in the downtown area, it was easily within walking distance from our East Village hotel. They specialize in healthy dishes served in manageable portions, which was exactly what we were looking for this morning. Being travelers, we don’t often have the ability to take along a to-go box, but hate to see food go to waste.

We want to thank the Travel Iowa and Catch Des Moines for their hospitality. Rest assured that all opinions are our own.

Open & Airy

We chose breakfast as our meal time at St. Kilda, and arrived just as they opened on a Saturday morning. While we expected to have the place to ourselves, there were already a few groups there. We are glad we came when we did, because this place starts pulling them in fairly quickly. The front of the restaurant is a bank of easterly facing tinted windows, so the morning sunshine brightened the space. The owner, Alex Hall, dropped by our table to welcome us. London born, but Australian raised (He grew up in St. Kilda), Alex and his wife previously owned five cafes in New York City. He was certainly no newcomer to the scene and we were glad they brought their passion to the Midwest.

There is a second floor of dining space, which looks out over the main one. From this vantage point, guests get a good view of the whole space. The wood beams and exposed brick of the original furniture warehouse give off an industrial vibe. The use of mid-century modern furniture fits well with the overall design. The whole space offers a retro, casual feel that makes for a relaxed setting to enjoy a leisurely meal.

Artisanal Eats

Our server brought us some coffee while we examined the menus. This morning we were looking for dishes that would fuel our explorations around the capitol, so we wanted something that would stay with us. St. Kilda’s menu is filled with delicious sounding dishes, so we finally just asked our server for some suggestions. She was kind enough to point out some of her favorites, and our decisions were made. Crystal chose the Housemade Granola and Yogurt that is filled with fresh fruit. It is sweetened with local honey and almond milk. We have always believed that you begin a meal with your eyes, and the presentation of this dish was beautiful.

I was wanting some protein this morning and was stuck trying to decide between the various egg dishes that fill the menu at St. Kilda. The server suggested I give The Saint a try, so I did. This handheld dish was a masterpiece to behold. Their chef hit this one out of the park for design and display. Now to find out if the flavor matched up. The dish consists of a fried egg, bacon, avocado, red onion, arugula, and ginger sausage being stacked on a housemade sesame seed bun. The addition of tomato jam brings in a pop of flavor that blends all of the ingredients together. This sandwich was amazing, and the proportion was perfect to fill me up without feeling too stuffed to walk around town.

 Aussie Success!

We thanked everyone for their hospitality and made our way out to explore more of Des Moines downtown. We found the area to be quite pleasant for foot traveling with minimal elevation changes. Our bodies were fueled from our breakfast at St. Kilda and with some caffeine in our steps we were ready to take on another day filled with exploring. Did you enjoy this article? If so, why not leave us a little note in the comments? We would love to hear from you.

 

 

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