The Grounds of Alexandria, Alexandria

                                           
The ground of Alexandria. Who doesn't know this place. A lot of blog posts have been written, hundreds of pictures was posted up in urbanspoon and I have read pages of reviews about this place. The conclusion from most of the reviews said that the foods are average but the atmosphere and the environment are pretty. This review is a compilation of my 3 visits to The Grounds ;p

I decided to check this place out on a one beautiful Thursday at 2PM, I specially took a day off work just to go here cause I know that the queue on the weekends can be sooooo longgg!! That day, I only had a takeaway smoothie and a cup of flat white for Bebski and took some pictures while the place was not very crowded.

The entrance from The Potting Shed restaurant. So pretty! To the left is the restaurant and to the right is where Kevin Bacon Lives :) 

The place is so wide that they have some pointers to make sure you know where you're going. There is also an ATM machine inside the red phone booth.

Apart from the cafe, they have several carts of foods and drinks around the area. Freshly squeezed lemonade and orange? takeaway coffee or maybe some salad, nibbles on a light pastry or a sweet dessert, u name it.. they have everything here! A beautiful florist too! 
For those of you with kids, don't worry. Your kids will definitely like this place as they also provides Kids Area with slides and stuff.

Yep, that's the queue on Thursday 2PM!!! Amazing right.. I don't think this place has ever been quite at all!

Lucious looking fruit pastries on display!!! They can be a wallet rip off if you can't stand the temptation of those gorgeous delicious treats...

Inside the cafe, for takeaway customers, they provide the on-the-go water dispenser filled with lemons and herbs. So you can help yourself for the water ^^

So for my second visit, I went with my Siblings for Breakfast. The queue was not too bad and within 15minutes we were seated. My Brother got the Capuccino and I got the Chai latte. In my opinion, the chai latte is too milky that it lacks the strong spicy cinnamon and herbs in it. It's still good though but I quite like my Chai latte to have more spice in it :)

I ordered the The Grounds 'Soldier'. It is soft boiled eggs coated with quinoa and seeds crumb then deep fried, served with Crispy Polenta. The dish itself is quite interesting to me, the idea of using quinoa as a crumb to the eggs create a well match texture to the soft moist eggs. To be honest.. I do think that the price is quite expensive for the dish.

The Grounds 'Soldier' $18/$19

My sister got the egg on toast and she also ordered 2 sides, which is the spicy lamb sausage served with kipfler potatoes (Which I don't have a photo of it) and Croquettes filled with cheese and lemon.

Eggs on toast $12/$14 

Croquettes $4.50

My brother on the other hand, needs the bulk! So he got the Breakfast burger which consists of fried eggs, bacon, lettuce, tomato relish, cheese and spicy mayo served with Polenta Chips. The buns is moist and the polenta chip is crispy and fluffy.

Breakfast Burger $16

That is the end of our breakfast. We finished at around 11:45PM when they start preping for lunch and there we just remembered that they serve different menus from the breakfast! The lunch menu looks great! And so we decided to come back here again bringing our Mom cause we thought she'll love the place :)

Second visit was on a Monday and yes I took a day off again ;P When we arrived, it was around 1PM and the queue . ....... OMG.. so longggg :( We waited for almost 25mins? I saw the looked on my mom face signalling that she's not happy.. Apparently she hasn't had any breakfast that day and to wait just to have something to eat furious her....

This time I tried the iced coffee which is lovely and I got the Beef ragout Stracci which is a slow cooked beef ragout with handmade pasta, served with parsley and grated parmesan. The beef is so juicy and melt in the mouth.. The sauce of the pasta is great. The negative thing from it is just some of the pasta is undercooked. But overall, I like the dish and I would recommend it to everyone :)

Beef Ragout Stracci $19

My brother got the Beef short ribs on parsnip puree served with shaved brussels, garden peas, wild mushrooms and truffle oil. Unfortunately he is not a fan of truffle oil and so am I, so we found the dish not as great. But my sister loved it and she would come back for it again. Don't get me wrong though, the short ribs are flavourful and juicy! it's just a matter of liking the truffle oil or not :)

Beef Short Ribs $19

My mom as she is doesn't eat beef, ordered the Blue eye Trevalla which is a pan-fried fish served amongst kipfler potatoes, zhucchini flowers, speck and caper berries served with a sauce gribiche. Gribiche is a mayonnaise style cold eggs sauce in French Cuisine (looked it up in Wiki ;p). She said she liked the dish. Despite the queue, at least she got a delicious food.

Blue Eye Trevalla $19

My sister, she always wanted to try The Ground Burger and so she ordered it. There is nothing special to the burger I think, apart from the juicy beef and crispy chips. It's pretty ordinary :)

The Ground burger $19

For dessert, the strawberry tart.. pastry is crumbly and beautiful. The creamy custard is complemented by the tangy and fresh strawberry which is a match made in heaven :) 

Strawberry Tart $7

A Visit to Kevin in his House is a must if you visit this place hehehe...

Overall, it is a great place to eat and hang out. They change their menu every week so you won't 
be bored coming here.. :)


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