UNDER THE RADAR

From Pino’s in Newcastle to Cornersmith in Sydney’s Annandale, more and more eateries are opting not to trumpet their plant-based credentials. NADIA BAILEY finds out why.

- NADIA BAILEY

At most restaurants, if diners get up and walk out on a regular basis, it’s cause for alarm. At Pino’s – a charming Italian spot in the Newcastle suburb of Islington – it’s something of a matter of course.

“At least once a week, we'll get tables that just walk straight out,” says director and chef Dion May. On top of the walk-outs, there’s a pretty good chance of copping an earful of negative feedback. “It happens at least a good few times a week, if not nightly,” he says.

These strong reactions aren’t about the quality of the food. Or even what’s on the menu. Rather, it’s what’s not on the menu that sends diners into a tailspin. Because although Pino’s is classically Italian – serving up a small, seasonally driven offering of bruschetta con caponata, cacio e pepe, gnocchi fra diavolo and the like – nothing on the menu contains dairy or meat.

Of course, this is hardly a radical act in the year 2022. But where other restaurants put their vegan credentials front and centre, Pino’s takes the opposite approach. Terms like vegan, vegetarian and plant-based go unmentioned on its website and social media. The staff don’t hype up the fact that the ragù derives its umami from mushrooms or that the cheese is made from cashews. But Newcastle is not Sydney – the population is smaller and tastes can be more conservative. Hence the walk-outs: there are certain assumptions people tend to make when they realise what kind of restaurant it is.