Restaurant Review: Ona on the Lawns

Another weekend, another brunch! S and I found ourselves in Manuka mid-morning on a Saturday so it seemed only right that we would get something to eat and given that he hadn't managed to have a coffee yet, Ona on the Lawns felt like the right place to head.

In case you haven't heard, back in April, Sasa Sestic the founder of Ona Coffee won the title of world's best barista. Ona Coffee has had a great reputation as brilliant coffee for quite some time now, with many cafes stocking their beans. In addition to stocking the cafes of Canberra with quality coffee, they have three restaurants, Ona Coffee House in Fyshwick, The Cupping Room in the city and Ona on the Lawns in Manuka.

Manuka was buzzing but we were lucky to score a table right away. We sat outside, but they have tented the area with plastic screens and had heaters on so we were quite toasty despite the very wintery weather.

S quickly ordered his coffee but to my disappointment they were out of their hot apple pie drink, so despite the cool day I ordered a dark chocolate and rose milkshake.

The drinks quickly arrived and S immediately got stuck into the coffee which he said was excellent. My milkshake looked gorgeous, a dark brown topped with pink persian fairy floss and the taste was great. I presume they add rose water and they have the proportions down pat. It has a lovely rich dark chocolate taste (complete with flecks of real chocolate) but is lifted with a gorgeous hint of rose. It is sort of what I imagine a chocolate turkish delight would be - no reference to that hideous stuff Cadbury makes. It was very rich though and I was pleased that S helped me finish it.

I'm sure you will all be shocked and amazed to discover that S had the Ona Roll. They do actually have traditional burgers on the menu but we were in brunch mode so he went for their version of an egg and bacon roll. Two eggs, plenty of great bacon, cheese, a delicious BBQ type sauce and avocado which he scrapped onto my plate as he doesn't like it.

In contrast to the roll at Mood Food & Co last week, this one ticked all his boxes as a great roll. Generous tasty fillings which balanced each other well - but did up the eating difficulty. His fatal words were "lets see if I can eat this without getting it all over me" before he bit into it and promptly shot egg yolk all over his hand and sleeve. If you order this, consider your yolk location to ensure the bun catches the perfectly cooked, still runny yolk!

I ordered the Mexican Avocado. It was two pieces of sourdough toast topped with smashed avocado, two perfectly poached eggs, a chargrilled corn salsa and a side of bacon. Again in contrast to last week this was a fantastically balanced meal. The corn salsa was deliciously dressed with a tangy dressing. The poached eggs were topped with grated parmesan and the whole dish just held together. There was the perfect amount of avocado, to corn, to eggs. The bacon was delicious, but it was a BIG meal when accompanied by the filling milkshake, so S ended up eating the last of it with my second slice of toast.

We both loved our meals, the service was great and both our food and drinks arrived promptly despite the packed cafe. We also really liked the 80's themed sound track. I'm sure we will be back!

Ona on the Lawns
Shop 4 Palmerston Lane
Manuka

Resturant Review: Mood Food & Co

I love brunch. I know what you are thinking, this girl loves every meal. But brunch is a real favourite of mine. I think it is the combination of the opportunity to eat things that I don't usually make, with the inevitable catch up with friends that brunch heralds and the fact that it makes the day seem longer because by lunch I've already socialised and eaten out.

On a freezing Canberra morning we headed to Braddon to meet friends at Mood Food & Co. It was full, but we agreed to wait outside under their heaters for the next available table and 10 minutes later as our friends with impeccable timing arrived, we were beckoned into the warmth.

Drinks orders were quickly taken and it wasn't long before we were ready to order.

S, true to his burger roots, ordered the breaky roll. While the filling was tasty, good bacon, nice egg, delicious onion relish, he said that the bun was wrong. Too big, so the balance was out and not the kind of soft bread that easily soaks up the egg yolk and bacon grease so that it doesn't drip.

One of our friends ordered the french toast which came with caramlised pecans and a banana marscapone. If it wasn't for the banana I might have gone for it but I just don't like banana. She does though and really enjoyed her dish.

The other friend had fried eggs with avocado and mushrooms. He didn't have much to comment about it, I guess there isn't much anyone can really do with an order that simple.

I ordered the "one pan". In my pan was herbed potatoes, Italian sausage, chorizo and tomato topped with a poached egg. Each of the elements was delicious BUT it didn't hang together. Maybe if there had been a second egg so there was more gooey yolk, or more tomatoes to create a kind of sauce it would have worked but it just ended up being a random pan of stuff rather than a complete dish. It was accompanied by two lovely pieces of sourdough toast but with no sauce to soak it up I had to get some butter to enjoy it.

By the time we finished eating the restaurant had quietened down and the staff were happy to let us sit talking for probably another hour. It is always nice to not feel rushed out of a restaurant or hounded to order more.

Overall there were some great elements and we had a lovely morning but each dish just seemed to lack a final finesse that would have taken it to the next level.

Mood Food and Co
132/24 Lonsdale Street
Braddon
http://www.moodfoodco.com/ 

Restaurant Review: Fox and Bow

A few weeks ago a few girlfriends and I gathered for our semi-regular brunch catch-up. I had heard that a new cafe had opened up at the Farrer shops, a very convenient location for all of us so we met there at 10am.

Fox and Bow was buzzing! Only open a couple of weeks the locals and not-so locals alike had discovered this funky new cafe and we initially thought we wouldn't get a seat. However we found ourselves a table and some stools and set ourselves up with a few other people across the access road to the back of the shops on the footpath. It may seem like an odd location but it is pretty close to the cafe and was out of the bright January sun.

Fox and Bow is an order at the counter type place which I do like in groups as it allows everyone to simply order separately without having the issues of split bills. Our orders were quickly taken and drinks arrived quite promptly, however the food did take some time, probably a good 30-45 minutes although I will admit I was too busy catching up with the girls and having a detailed conversation on the pros and cons of top-loader vs front-loader washing machines to watch the time.

That said, we had definitely arrived at the peak, by the time we left at around 12 there were tables free and I think the time taken was a reflection of a new cafe finding its feet and being completely swamped with patrons on a Sunday morning.

But onto the food. Apologies, for not having photos of everything, I haven't trained everyone into the necessities of food blogging photos and it all looked so good they dived right in!

I enjoyed the "Senorita Fox" which was toasted sourdough, smashed avocado, 2 poached eggs, tasmanian smoked salmon, lemon, parsley and grilled haloumi ($18). It was delicious, everything I want in a breakfast. It was a little on the salty side because of the combination of the haloumi and smoked salmon so you definitely didn't need to add any salt but the salad topping added a really lovely fresh note to the dish.

Everyone else at the table also greatly enjoyed their meals which ranged from a corn fritter dish that I can't find on the current online menu, to custom ordered eggs and bacon and a gluten free version of "This is how we roll" Darrel’s smokey bacon, free range egg, house-made bbq relish, hash brown, jack cheese which is normally served on a toasted brioche bun. When this came out my friend was initially very suspicious of the bread as, in her words, it looked way too good for gluten free but she risked it. Later the owner came by to ask what she thought of the bread as he was getting it from a new supplier. In her opinion it is the best gluten free bread she has ever had and is now tracking down the supplier herself.

For drinks, I'm assured the coffee was good and second rounds were ordered (the only downside of counter ordering came here in that we had to go back in to order). I had an "Ohh Darla" Smoothie made of watermelon, pineapple, sorbet and berries topped with sorbet ($6.90). Aside from being spectacular looking this was extremely delicious and very refreshing.

While our food did take some time to come we found the staff easy to grab (even from the other side of the road) and very helpful. The atmosphere was great with a live jazz singer most of the morning and the buzzy happy people enjoying great food on a sunny Sunday morning. The fitout is fun and funky with mismatched furniture, a large group table, and bar seating as well as individual tables. There are lots of opening windows which is great for summer, it might be a little more crowded come winter but I'm sure they will invest in outdoor heating like every other Canberra cafe.

As we left I popped in and bought a cinnamon cronut and caramel donut to take home. The donut was a little on the stale side but the cronut was supremely delicious. They came out of a cabinet of yummy looking treats which make me think it would also be a great place to stop in for morning or afternoon tea.

All in all, we had a lovely morning at Fox and Bow and I'm looking forward to heading back there in the not too distant future.

Fox and Bow
Farrer Shops
Farrer Place, Farrer