There’s a lot to like about The Grounds in Alexandria. You’ll find an organic vegetable and herb garden supplying the kitchen, a bakery, a café, a children’s play area, a takeaway space, well-kept chickens and a “research facility” in bold yellow neon lights with an in-house roastery.
The Grounds, Alexandria
Set amidst an industrial zone in Alexandria with a tall factory chimney within view, the Grounds is a welcome oasis headed by creative entrepreneur Ramsey Choker and renowned coffee expert and former World Latte Art Champion Jack Hanna.
Roaming through the urban garden before sitting down to a table is part of the charm of visiting the Grounds, a product of The Artistry interior design. Rustic, dog-friendly and well-organised with arrowed signs pointing to different sections, there’s a lot at which to marvel. You’ll even find a horticulturalist on board.
Flat white
Inside the café, from the large blackboard with illustrations of coffee production to the explanations and tasting notes alongside diagrams in the menu, this is a place that takes its coffee seriously.
Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Cheddar
The breakfast menu ranges from smaller items such as the Grounds Granola ($12) with fruit and vanilla bean yoghurt, and more substantial dishes such as Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Cheddar and garden herbs, roasted field mushrooms and toasted miche ($15), pork and veal sausages with free range fried eggs ($17) and the excellent Grounds Breakfast Board ($19) with double-smoked ham, poached eggs, Persian fetta, avocado, and more.
The Grounds Breakfast Board
Equally tempting from the lunch menu is the tortilla of spring onion and potato ($14) and the Grounds Picnic Box for Two ($28) to savour on the premises.
Pork and veal sausages with free range fried eggs
Breakfast runs until 11 am before a lunch menu takes over at 11.30 am, leaving a half hour gap for a coffee, one presumes.
Still in its early days phase, the Grounds will also offer cupping and coffee making classes as well as garden workshops.
At the time of visit, the Grounds had only opened its doors ten days earlier and it was still finding its rhythm. A massive Saturday morning crowd, a long wait for service, a stressed waitress with no customer service skills then being informed after placing the order that it was a cash only facility are factors that didn’t make it a glowing first-time experience. But don’t let this dissuade you. Like any new establishment, it needs time to settle particularly as Sydney’s food fashionista converge en masse at the latest hotspots.
The Grounds is an innovative concept combining a passion for the bean with designer surrounds, a beautiful place to come to be it for a coffee, a hearty breakfast or the lunchtime menu. The crowds aren’t likely to disappear so allow plenty of time and explore the surrounds at a leisurely pace.
And that is exactly what we intend to do.
(Click on the photos to navigate through the gallery)
The Grounds are featured in our guide to Sydney’s Top Breakfast & Brunch Spots
The Grounds
Building 7A, 2 Huntley St
Alexandria NSW
www.groundsroasters.com
Oooh, breakfast looks a treat! I want those scrambled eggs..!
That’s what I had, definitely a good choice as is the breakfast board!
I’m either going to wait until the crowds die down or go on a weekday. The weekend hoards are unbearable at the moment
I’d suggest weekdays if you can make it, though I’ve heard that it’s just as busy…
Long wait and chaotic at times. Will wait till they get more organised before I go back. Great grounds to wander in.
Lovely grounds, aren’t they! Let’s hope the chaos settles soon. Definitely a place to come back to and enjoy the surrounds.
This sounds like the sort of place I’d like very much. Especially for breakfast. I do so love going out for breakfast. 🙂
I was very disappointed with my experience at the Grounds of Alexandria, I went there with my seven month old daughter and two and a half year old son. They have only 3 high chairs none of which were available at 0830 on a Saturday morning. They seated us under the espresso machine. I kept my daughter in her stroller for safety and was really disturbed to have someone stretching over her to stack cups and mugs in the machine. About two minutes later my son’s chair fell over backwards, he was not doing anything stupid, just tried to push his chair back from the table and the base is too small to be stable. This is not a child friendly cafe, they endangered both my children in less then 5 minutes, we left.
[…] and herb garden, a children’s play area, a bakery and a “research facility”, go down to The Grounds in Alexandria. And don’t forget to visit Kevin Bacon’s house. This little piggy likes […]
[…] Potting Shed The Grounds of Alexandria 41-43 Bourke Rd Alexandria, […]
[…] at the intimate setting of the Lock’n at The Potting Shed in The Grounds Alexandria, John Quinn announced the opening of a new distillery in the town of Tullamore, bringing back the […]
[…] within the Potting Shed at the Grounds in Alexandria you’ll find The Lock-In, a private bar kept under lock and […]
[…] a new expression from the Singleton single malt launched in Sydney at a sensory event held at The Grounds in […]