About Us
About Us
Solace is an unique caterer, serving up gourmet street food, inspired by South-East Asian cuisine, and also our ever-popular party favourite: paella! Our outdoor eco-ethical cafe in Belrose has closed. But we're still offering monthly deliveries of our handy frozen curry/meal packs to the Northern Beaches and North Shore areas of Sydney. If you'd like to be part of our Monthly Meal Delivery Club (free to join, no obligations), SMS your name and suburb to 0429408914. Once per month, we'll send an SMS with our current menu. Payment is via EFT or COD, or CC (card payments have a 1.9% fee).
Solace is an unique caterer, serving up gourmet street food, inspired by South-East Asian cuisine, and also our ever-popular party favourite: paella! Our outdoor eco-ethical cafe in Belrose has closed. But we're still offering monthly deliveries of our handy frozen curry/meal packs to the Northern Beaches and North Shore areas of Sydney. If you'd like to be part of our Monthly Meal Delivery Club (free to join, no obligations), SMS your name and suburb to 0429408914. Once per month, we'll send an SMS with our current menu. Payment is via EFT or COD, or CC (card payments have a 1.9% fee).
Our story so far ... Solace is owned/operated by Melinda Chiew (Mel), who started an eco-ethical gift/book shop, including a Fairtrade Organic coffee & food cart, inside Wesley Mission in Sydney's CBD called H.O.P.E. Collective (Helping Others & Planet Earth) in 2012. The H.O.P.E. Collective shop moved to Manly in 2013 for a brief period and then continued online (www.hopecollective.org). Over the next few years, Mel found herself catering and cooking for friends/colleagues whilst working as a specialist admin at a school, before trying to sell her style of street food at food markets.
Our story so far ... Solace is owned/operated by Melinda Chiew (Mel), who started an eco-ethical gift/book shop, including a Fairtrade Organic coffee & food cart, inside Wesley Mission in Sydney's CBD called H.O.P.E. Collective (Helping Others & Planet Earth) in 2012. The H.O.P.E. Collective shop moved to Manly in 2013 for a brief period and then continued online (www.hopecollective.org). Over the next few years, Mel found herself catering and cooking for friends/colleagues whilst working as a specialist admin at a school, before trying to sell her style of street food at food markets.
Eventually, she bit the bullet to pursue her passion, purchased a food/coffee caravan, and set up an outdoor eco-ethical cafe (with edible garden, worm farm, compost, kids zone, 24/7 Free Pantry, and mini library) outside "Church on the Hill" in Ingleside in 2019. Things went well for this unique outdoor bush cafe in Ingleside but started to dwindle with the continuing effects of the pandemic and then a year of unrelenting wet weather in 2022. So, in January 2023, Solace moved to Belrose, outside Northgate Church (cnr Forest Way & Wearden Rd), after the kind and timely invitation of pastor/comedian/podcaster Duncan Robinson.
Eventually, she bit the bullet to pursue her passion, purchased a food/coffee caravan, and set up an outdoor eco-ethical cafe (with edible garden, worm farm, compost, kids zone, 24/7 Free Pantry, and mini library) outside "Church on the Hill" in Ingleside in 2019. Things went well for this unique outdoor bush cafe in Ingleside but started to dwindle with the continuing effects of the pandemic and then a year of unrelenting wet weather in 2022. So, in January 2023, Solace moved to Belrose, outside Northgate Church (cnr Forest Way & Wearden Rd), after the kind and timely invitation of pastor/comedian/podcaster Duncan Robinson.
Despite our cafe achieving the highest Google ratings in the area (4.9 out of 5), and receiving the Finalist Award 5 years in a row in the Local Business Awards, it wasn't enough sadly. So, after a fairly quiet 2 years at Belrose, Mel and the Solace van have moved on to focus on catering and event work for now.
Despite our cafe achieving the highest Google ratings in the area (4.9 out of 5), and receiving the Finalist Award 5 years in a row in the Local Business Awards, it wasn't enough sadly. So, after a fairly quiet 2 years at Belrose, Mel and the Solace van have moved on to focus on catering and event work for now.
