My favorite meal of the day would definitely have to be brunch! What is brunch? Brunch is a late morning meal instead of breakfast and lunch..... breakfast + lunch = Brunch! My friend who has been living here for around 3 years openly admitted that he has never been to the famous The Grounds of Alexandria before and when organising a long awaited catch up with our group of friends we both knew where to go. The Grounds is not only famous locally but also internationally, I've heard some people add this to there "must visit in Sydney places" list and I don't see anything wrong with that at all- The Grounds is definitely more than just a cafe.I've been to cafe multiple times and it has been a love and hate relationship with it. On some days the food is awesome and other days it it just.... meh..... but the atmosphere is what always brings me back! On this occasion, the food wasn't a hit for me but everything else was perfect from getting a table as soon as we arrived (it gets super busy at peak hours!) to the super super friendly staff. Let's take a look at the food......
Iced Latte | $7
Berry Hotcake | w/ Vanilla- infused mascarpone cheese, blueberries, raspberries, puffed quinoa, micro basil, edible violets and agave syrup | $19If I had to choice to choose between a sweet or savoury dish, the sweet dish always win... you could say I'm just a very sweet person :P The berry hotcake was massive and it had a generous amount of berries covering it and a large scoop of mascarpone cheese on top. The few first bites were very good and had my taste buds in sugar heaven but after a few more bites it was way too sweet and each spoonful afterwards was like eating just sugar. The hotcake itself was already very sweet and with the added agave syrup it was even sweeter. Luckily, my friend and I ordered a side of thick cut bacon ($5) which was unfortunately too salty but at least it help subdue the sweetness. The berry hotcake was pretty as a picture but sorry it was a miss for me this time.
South Australian Smoked Salmon | w/ Soft free range egg, saffron labne, soft herb salad, beetroot and The Grounds signature cashew dukkah | $17
Red Velvet Cake | $16.50My friend was instantly drawn to this cake when she entered this cafe... I mean just look at it, it so pretty! When she was asking the waiter about it and how much it was, I thought the waiter was mistaken when she said this cake was $16.50 but nope this cake is worth $16.50.... yes $16.50. It was definitely delicious and had that rich red velvet flavouring but I cannot justify paying $16.50 for the size of this cake.... oh Grounds now we all know why you keep expanding and renovating your cafe.
Overall, I absolutely love the concept of The Grounds of Alexandria! It is definitely a place to bring friends or family from overseas and to show off to them how great Sydney's cafes are :P I understand why The Grounds charges so much for their dishes (you're paying for the atmosphere too). It is a great place to hang out and relax with friends, so if you live in Sydney and haven't been I would highly recommend in going at least once, just so you can say you've been :PHappy eating x
