A Curious Lunch and Local Art Stop in Kaniva

While road-tripping across Victoria towards Adelaide last month, my husband and I decided to stop roughly midway in the regional town of Kaniva for lunch. Kaniva is a remote town, located about 400 kilometres, or roughly four and a half hours’ drive from Melbourne on the Western Highway. 

It’s here we found a gorgeous retro-styled vintage café that specialises in vegetarian and gluten free options called Heartfelt. This was our lunch go-to during our nine-hour drive westbound. We also decided to stop here on the way home to Melbourne after the Adelaide Vegan Festival.

What I’ve learned through travel is that you can never experience the same destination in the same way twice. Kaniva, despite its small town vibe and modest population of just over 1000, was no exception. Both times we visited Heartfelt, there was a new vegan-friendly, gluten-free salad four our local vegan lunch. A chickpea and roasted pumpkin salad with herbs and orange segments folded throughout and sprinkled in sunflower seeds was enjoyed in the warm sun at an outdoor table while sipping on a grapefruit mineral water. The weather in Kaniva is usually warm and summery; a relaxing lunch to break up the monotony of our long drive. While paying the bill a quick wander through Heartfelt’s interior was candy for the eye – vintage, upcycled crockery and trinkets, cute bunting, local artwork and gloriously restored furniture. It’s all fitting, considering this was originally Kaniva’s Gilpin Variety Store back in the day.

On the return trip, the salad choice switched to a wild rice and roasted beetroot salad dressed in seeded vinaigrette and topped with more of those sunflower seeds and lush green herbs. Outdoors was also switched for the indoors as we took a seat by the sun-drenched shop window. I ordered a soy fair-trade latte to partner my salad, yet it was served in a mug! This was big country value and hospitality when all I was expecting was a Melbourne-sized latte glass. It’s no wonder Heartfelt serves its namesake so warmly and welcoming to weary travellers like this; it makes turning to the long road just that little bit easier.