The Camperdown Commons has been on my radar for quite some time and I finally visited with the rellies one sunny lunchtime. The space is amazing, you would never know this pocket of greenery exists so close to the CBD! Grab a coffee from the converted shipping container at the entrance, chill out on the lawn and order from the (limited) brunch menu or do what we did and head over to Acre Eatery. The fully functioning farm provides produce for the restaurant, including the edible flowers for the cocktails.

We start with the Duck liver parfait ($18), it’s a bit dense for a parfait but plenty tasty with the mead jelly and slathered onto the sourdough crisps. Probs could’ve done with a few more crisps as not everyone slathers to my ratio of inch thick parfait to bread 😛

The Smoked potted fish ($15) is the very picture of summer. The salmon dip is deliciously creamy with a light smoky flavour that’s not too overpowering with the garden vegetable crudités.

We were a group of 10 so decided to order from the Sharing Menu instead of getting Mains. The Free Range Lamb Shoulder ($80), was fricken amazing, the lamb was fall apart tender and so flavoursome that it barely needed the accompanying jus. The salsa verde was a great burst of freshness for the palate when the lamb became a bit too rich. Also mad props to the brussel sprouts with a light yoghurt dressing which had a satisfying bite, and the tumble of roasted vegetables which provided me with enough nutrients for the week.

The Slow Roasted Porchetta ($65) is a beauty, the pork was tender and the golden crackle was spot on perfect. The pile of roast vegetables contained carrots, zucchini, beetroot and pear but it was the bucket of apple slaw that won my heart.

Pretty damn full but we couldn’t resist the Banana tart tatin ($15) with crisp pastry, sweet banana slices and a giant scoop of rum and raisin ice cream.

Acre Eatery
(Inside Camperdown Commons)
31a Mallett Street
Glebe

Trading Hours:
Mon – Tues: Closed
Wed – Fri: 12pm – 10pm
Sat: 8am – 10pm
Sun: 8am – 9pm

And oops just like that, 2 weeks a week flashes past! March has been kicking my ass and tbh the last thing I want to do after working all day is to jump right back onto my computer. But anywhos! Let’s talk about how I came to know about Cuppa Flower that opened a second cafe in Waterloo! My sole purpose of visiting was for this Totoro chiffon cake 😀 I mean cmon! Look at it! So instagram friendly and so kawaii! The totoro is a black sesame, ultra fluffeh chiffon with whipped cream in the centre. But don’t worry I ate other foods!

Cuppa Flower has an all day breakfast menu so of course I opt for the pretty as a picture Buttermilk Pancakes ($15.50). There’s 3 pancakes with fresh strawberries, kiwi, orange slices, grapes and served with a swirl of vanilla cream and a jug of maple syrup. Apparently there was crunchy honeycomb but I didn’t find any on my plate unless I ate it too fast?

Noods gets the Bacon and Egg Roll ($8.50) which comes with a generous amount of crispy bacon, gooey fried eggs and tomato sauce on Turkish bread.

We return the following weekend for the lunch menu which begins at 11am. I’d initially baulked at the price of the Wagyu Beef Burger ($20.50) which I thought was damn pricey for Waterloo but it does come with a generous serve of golden, battered chips and the burger was pretty damn tasty.

I quite enjoyed the beetroot relish which brought me back to tuckshop days of the classic Aussie burger with tinned beetroot! The pattie was nice and juicy and the cheese sufficiently melty though I did have to remove the lettuce because you all know my issues with lettuce on a burger haha 😛

Noods opts for the Linguine Al Funghi ($13.50) with bacon (+$2) which was a beautifully creamy pasta with a healthy amount of parmesan cheese and button mushrooms. It did get a bit too salty towards the end but that was one mighty fine pasta!

Aaaand for dessert the Taro crepe cake! Layers of crepe alternate with a light, creamy taro buttercream to create a dessert that’s the perfect amount of richness and not too sweet.

Cuppa Flower
Shop 1, 15 Allen Street
(cnr George and Allen St)
Waterloo

Trading Hours:
7 days: 7am – 5pm