The Grounds, Alexandria

Sydney is a sprawled city, with little gems hidden in the most unlikely of places. You wouldn’t likely think to look for a hip garden-themed restaurant and café amidst industrial buildings near the airport – and yet, there’s The Grounds.

The Grounds is almost the theme park of cuisine, with delicate details cropping up each and every time I go, from a fire pit with complimentary sticks and marshmallows on a chilled winter’s night, to Kevin Bacon’s house (that’s the resident pig, who went missing a few years ago but was dutifully returned), and a magic mix of flowers, pastries and pumpkins on a pick-up truck.

But the real star is the food, which is spread across a restaurant (the Potting Shed), a café and a small ‘fast-food’ hut.

The Potting Shed opened last year, and so my good friend, Molly, and I sought out a table under the vines and nearest to the beautiful blue bird, which later clawed his way onto my arm and broke my bracelet! He was too adorable to be angry at though...

Whilst Molly opted for the pulled pork burger, I went for a medley salad of grilled haloumi, rocket and quinoa. Absolutely delicious...and a lighter meal so as to save room for dessert later of course!

Plus, we shared two rather adorable drinks – Molly with the fresh fruit juice, and me with a rose lemonade made on site. I was driving, but we still had a good ol’ chuckle and appreciation over the names of drinks on the cocktail list! A definite must-try next time I come.

For a quick respite (we, of course, were eager to get back to more eats!) we wandered around the pen contained Kevin Bacon, a horse we named Juniper, two goats, and a few clucky chickens. I seemed to have been the animal whisperer that day, as despite Juniper’s reluctance with everyone else, he came over for a (very) brief pat!

Ripped jeans from ASOS, ballet flats from Tony Bianco

But we all know why we came here...the food. So, we made a quick look through the florist and the pastry carts, and settled in for some good catching up over tea and a chocolate tart, with an almondine and blueberry slice to match. And suddenly, we had spent four hours at The Grounds! xx