So THE GROUNDS OF THE CITY has been around for a few months now – but actually getting in is seriously difficult. In the first couple of weeks I kept walking past and was always told the wait would be at least 2 hours. Wow! That’s pretty crazy. But let’s be honest, it was also to be expected. Of course everyone in the city and, actually, all around Sydney was going to go nuts for this new place. Luckily my friend Ella had the foresight to book ahead so eventually we got to dine there!
Once you step into the doorway, it’s like someone literally told the designer to make every, single, thing instagrammable. Every corner has been meticulously crafted with every perfect detail. It’s like you’ve stepped into another world, almost like an immersive experience. It’s pretty amazing, I kind of love it!
The menu is pretty extensive for lunch and it was pretty hard to choose what to get. Luckily it turned out that one of my friends works there so he had some handy tips for us! I started with a Einstein Formula – kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, lime, ginger ($8). I’ve become a huge fan of green juice, not just for the health factor. I actually really like the taste and find it really refreshing! Definitely needed that refreshing aspect for this meal as well, because I picked one of the heavier dishes on the menu. The Fresh Egg Linguine – with braised pork shoulder, pecorino and sweetcorn ($24) was excellent. The sweetcorn was an unusual ingredient and it was kind of pureed at the bottom of the dish to form a thick sauce. Not a dish for the faint hearted!
Ella went for Spiced Steak Tartare – with seeds, horseradish, bitter leaves and fresh toast ($22). Look at that cute little quail egg perched on the top! Ella totally enjoyed the tartare, she said she was dreaming about it for weeks afterwards. We also shared the Heritage Beets – raw & roast with wild leaves, buffalo feta, organic wildflower honey and apples ($19). We thought we’d share it as a side but it was such a huge portion that we could’ve had it as a main. I love that they used all different types and colours of beetroot!
So…while you’re sitting in a cute little booth at THE GROUNDS OF THE CITY you can’t help but notice this rather impressive cart trolley rolling down the aisles. It’s AMAZING. I felt like a kid in a candy store, there are so many perfect looking cakes rolling past you that you can’t help but pick one after your main. That in itself is a very difficult decision…but I ended up going with the Lime Meringue Tart/Pie (can’t exactly remember what it was called!).
Look at how pretty the tart is! Almost too pretty to eat – almost! Ella, on the other hand, ordered a Hot Chocolate ($7) not realising that it would be the coolest hot chocolate ever. But of course – THE GROUNDS OF THE CITY does not do anything by halves. This, in fact, is the Deconstructed hot chocolate. No, it doesn’t come with any instructions so we were a bit perplexed of how to drink it…I think we eventually figured out to just mix a couple of the things together in the glass and enjoy! Either way, it’s totally instagrammable.
We really enjoyed our experience at THE GROUNDS OF THE CITY. It’s so stylised but not tacky, and the food and drinks are high quality too! I would definitely recommend booking though – it’s not worth queueing for hours when you can book ahead. And remember to take your camera and take photos of EVERYTHING!
THE GROUNDS OF THE CITY
500 George St
Sydney
http://thegroundscity.com.au/
