Having gone to the Grounds of Alexandria with Iron Fist, I was pleased to see them open a secondary store in the CBD, making it a lot easier for me to try out when I went with Queen V during our last trip. Conveniently situated in my favourite shopping mall, the Galleries, it was one of the few cafes that open early on a Sunday morning (we were particularly impressed at the online reservation system). With its eye catching neon red sign on the ground floor, it was definitely hard to miss.
Like the Grounds of Alexandria, presentation was paramount, and despite the limitations of operating in the CBD, it did an absolutely splendid job.
One step inside the restaurant and you would easily forget that you were in Sydney CBD. It was as if we had walked onto the set of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. I could definitely see myself getting dressed up to go to dinner here.
The menus provided were also extremely beautiful, hence all the photos I took of it. It is quite rare these days to see such beautiful (and accurate) illustrations, when most places opt for photos instead. Being there for breakfast, our focus was of course on the breakfast food and drink.
Unlike the Alexandria store, our food came long before our drinks that morning. For some reason, my companions always order the brekky burger. With a slight variance from the Alexandria store, it contained bacon, sausage, a fried egg, avocado, tomato salsa and spicy green sauce with no sides.
I ordered the King Crab Croissant. It was served fresh, not toasted, with creme fraiche, lettuce and dill. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a cold dish, and would much have preferred a warm/hot dish to start the morning, but it was undeniable that the portion of crab was very generous. The creme was smooth and light, with a little more sweetness than I would have cared for, and the croissant was definitely very flakey. I can only imagine how much more enjoyable this would have been if warmed up.
After a considerable wait, our coffee tasting platter arrived.
First up were two espresso shots, which were bitter, but not overly so, and reasonably rich. Fruity flavours were strong and we both appreciated the caffeine hit it gave us.
Next we tried the pour over, in Karimukui blend. It was noticeably less bitter than the espresso, and we both enjoyed the floral peachy tones of the coffee with its mild acidity.
Last on the tasting platter was also my favourite, the cold brew Hartmann Black Winey, which did have a sweet wine like taste to it. It came in a bottle, and we had two massive balls of ice to keep it chilled. The result was definitely less intense than the espresso and pour over, but I really enjoyed the delicious fruity tastes that it brought to our palate.
Price Range: $20 - $35pp
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 9.5/10
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