The Grounds of Alexandria Review

It's been on Urbanspoon's Talk of the Town for quite some time now and I can finally say that I have officially made the trek to The Grounds of Alexandria! I was quite surprised that the walk wasn't that bad, or at least I was chatting happily with friends so the walk went by quite quickly. 

How I got there: train to St Peters Station then a 20 minute walk to The Grounds of Alexandria

P.S if you're taking the same path as I did, when you get to the Huntley St, DO NOT CROSS THE ROAD because you'll live to regret it, by that I mean that The Grounds is on the same side that you're walking on so if you cross the road then you have to cross back and there is lots of traffic both ways so don't make the mistake that I did.

So pretty!!! Well worth the trip and you really can spend several hours here

Food Cart, lots of berries included baked treats like tarts, the smell was just sensational. I would've bought some home if it weren't for the fact that I had to public transport it home and it was very warm that day.

I WANT THEM ALL

Welcoming the return of Kevin Bacon to his humble abode

So smart of The Grounds of Alexandria team to introduce these pagers, so that you can tour around the area whilst waiting for a table to become available. We arrived there at 12:30 for lunch and were told it was a told it'd be a 20 minute wait, I think that in actuality it would be around that as well. Would you believe that when I got the pager out to take a photo of it it started to buzz.

THE FOOD!!!!

The Grounds Bread for Two $8

Served with organic olive oil, sea salt & za'atar

I think bread is one of the perfect starters to a good meal whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, all in all bread, olive oil with a touch of sea salt. The selection of bread 'for two' should be more appropriately named 'for four' because it is so filling making you wonder if you have over ordered before you even begin on the mains. I particularly liked the setting, chopping boards are a plating staple for me now and they bring a rustic image making it more homey. The bread on the bottom right hand corner was sat in the cutest saucepan ever, the bread fits in exactly and is so dense and full of grains with some dried fruits, all in all, lovely, lovely bread.

 The bread arrived first then coffee and mains should after, I would rather have a bit of a wait between the starter bread and the mains because the table becomes rather crowded quite quickly and by the time you start on the mains they have already gone a bit cold.  That said, there was hardly a wait so that was really nice but ironic.

The Grounds signature colour for their coffee which bears striking resemblance to the Tiffany & Co blue. I don't think I'm a coffee nut but I can tell good coffee from bad and this coffee was sensational, so rich and strong.

Flat White $3.80

Latte $3.80

I have truly fallen head over heels in love with aerial shots

Handmade Saffron Linguine $19- heirloom cherry tomatoes and Queensland prawns with fresh herbs from the garden, chilli and lemon
This would be perhaps my favourite main, such simple flavours that tastes that work so well together to produce spectacular food. I love how the linguine and prawns just absorbed all those flavours- the mix of herbs with the heirloom cherry tomatoes was just sensational to the point that every last bit was devoured. You should really order this from the menu.

Buffalo Mozzarella Pizzetta (a new addition to the menu) $17- Buffalo mozzarella with prosciutto, figs and basil.
I love my figs, one the many reason why I picked this, I suppose the menu was slightly misleading as I was interpreted in a figs on the pizzetta and not as part of the salad. That said, figs taste amazing on their own, I've long known that so that's that. The pizzetta was rather hard mostly likely because it rested for a while, the buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto worked well and was nice but I think that other options were better.  

The Grounds Schnitty $18- Herb crumbed, free-range chicken breast served with a fennel, cabbage, currant and walnut salad, garlic aioli and lemon

The salad was quite refreshing, fennel is so rarely used in salad but it really should be added more often, I guess if anything it's a break away from all the leaves. The addition currants provided bursts of sugar, it worked well with the slight tartness of the salad dressing. The Schnitzel was surprising not overly oily either, not much of a crunch but that was alright because after going through so much food I wanted it to be 'light' and thankfully it was. I found the chicken to be a bit dry (going with my Asian chicken palette) but I guess that's what the aioli on the side is for.

Ginger Beer with fresh garden mint $5

Pear, Apple & Mint Juice $7.50

So refreshing, it is very pear-y but you do get the aftertaste of apple.

Strawberry Tart $6.60
I liked how the tart was coated with chocolate on the inside and even together with the cream, and strawberries it was still a tolerable level of sweetness. I'm really curious what type of cream they put because it had a custard like thickness to it, doesn't matter I'll be back and when I do, I'll be sure to ask.

Some of my wonderful friends