Muse, East Hotel, Kingston – Food, wine and books

Muse is new to Kingston and has much to offer.

Being part of the East Hotel, it is open early 7 days and most days closes late.

Being nestled in a book shop, it has a lovely relaxed, inviting atmosphere.

Being unique in menu, at lunch the menu includes two salads/sides for $16 or three for $20 (ideal for light eating or to share).

For larger appetites, a main at lunch with two salads/sides is $26 or with three is $28.

In fact the whole menu is very well priced.

Mains are $22-$28….

Desserts are $12…

Wine by the glass starts at $10….

Share plates start at $8 and range up to $28.

Breakfast includes two eggs with delicious sourdough for $10 (great for smaller appetites or light eating)…

…and the more substantial Weekender for $22 with thick full flavoured bacon and excellent Irish corn and potato farl (as well as eggs, Casalingo sausage, baby spinach, truss tomatoes and sourdough).

Juices are $6 and you can mix several together to your taste.

Service staff are charming, flexible and helpful!

There are lovely places to sit both indoors and outside.

With a similar feel as the popular eateries in Braddon and on the Kingston Foreshore, Muse is not as busy and a great spot to head for a drink and share plate after work, coffee and dessert, workday lunch or weekend brunch.

EAST HOTEL

69 Canberra Ave

Kingston ACT 2602

02 6178 0024

OPENING HOURS

Monday – Thursday 6.30am – 10pm

Friday 6.30am – midnight

Saturday 7am – midnight

Sundays & Public Holidays 7am – 6pm

Monster Kitchen and Bar, New Acton – the best place for coffee or a drink after the movies

If you are seeing a movie at the very lovely Palace Cinemas, do consider also visiting Monster Kitchen and Bar at Hotel Hotel next door for a coffee or a drink.

There’s so many gorgeous places to sit, it’s hard to choose.

Wine by the glass, coffee and cakes, are priced competitively and similar to what you would pay in far plainer settings.

The Courgette Chocolate Cake $6 is large enough to share between two with coffees. It has a dry texture, that still works with coffee, but an excellent chocolate ganache.

There’s also a very good light lunch menu available 12-5pm that’s well priced and worth checking out.

One of the very best things about Monster is, that being part of a hotel, its open very early and closes very late, every day!

Well worth trying!

Debacale, Braddon – two for one pizzas

Debacle in Braddon, is always busy and popular – offering good casual outdoor eating in the warm weather, a nice range of specials and two for one pizzas on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

It’s also very helpfully open all day and every day.

While it’s not BYO, the wine is well priced (about $38 for a bottle)and you can get a 25% discount if you own a Canberra Entertainment Book.

The pizzas are $14 for a small, $21 for a medium or $30 for a large.

For a group of four people two medium pizza is enough if you like to leave feeling comfortable (two large pizzas are just a bit too much).

You might also consider ordering a salad or two (and while there’s no discount for the Canberra Entertainment Book on the two for one pizza special, there is a discount for the salads or anything else you might order).

Do make sure you choose pizzas with plenty of tasty toppings.

The Mexicana…

and the similar Carnivore are good choices.

The Bombay Chicken isn’t quite as tasty.

If you have a large group, ask for the long table, especially in the cooler weather.

Urban Pantry, the Lawns, Manuka – gorgeous spot on a warm summer evening

Warmer days in Canberra mean wonderful opportunities to dine outdoors in the evening and it’s hard to beat Urban Pantry Manuka, for an excellent mid-range spot.

Ask to sit outside at one of the tables overlooking the lawns and if you’re lucky there may even be some great live music that completes the relaxed, romantic mood.

Offering BYO wine at $5.50 per person and 2 meals for the price of 1, for Canberra Entertainment Book holders, it’s very good value.

There’s a new menu that’s well worth a look.

The dishes on offer are interesting, a little different, beautifully presented and delicious.

The Grilled Haloumi with smoked tomatoes, pickled zucchini, wild roquette, chickpea puree, Labneh and zaster $21, looks like a good choice if you’d like a light meal or are getting a few dishes to share.

For something more substantial the Pan Fried John Dory $34 with baby clams. white wine, cauliflower 3 ways (steamed, roasted and pureed), salsa verde, roasted hazelnuts – is really very good. The combination of different textures and flavours is well chosen. The crisp fish and the hazelnuts are especially good, as is the cauliflower puree.

For a more traditional choice the Steak Frites $34, with grained eye fillet, broccolini, cultured herb butter, roasted organic garlic, and french fries is also good. There’s a choice of two sauces, but the pepper sauce is excellent!

Open 7 days it’s a very useful spot to keep in mind.

Mon – Tue 7.00am – 6.00pm
Wed – Fri 7am – late
Sat 7.30am – late
Sun 7:30am – 4pm

Wheat and Oats, Phillip

Wheat and Oats is thriving, and it’s easy to see why.

It’s close to the Woden CBD, has easy parking, offered an all day breakfast menu….

….as well as a good lunch menu…

…daily ready made specials…..

…blackboard specials….

….a good range of sweet treats…

…a casual and inviting atmosphere…

…true hospitality, quick service and a readiness to be flexible with orders..

…great prices and an extra 25% discount for Canberra Entertainment Book holders.

The blackboard specials are always good…and the current Chicken Korma with rice $12 is light, flavoursome and full of chicken – delicious!

It pairs well with a side salad if you are sharing between two.

A garden salad is $5, but for $7 the tandoori chicken salad is well worth the extra.

Open 7 days for breakfast and lunch, it’s good for a quick weekday lunch or a leisurely weekend brunch.

A Bite to Eat, Chifley

A Bite to Eat, at the Chifley shops, is just a short walk from the Woden CBD.

It has always offered an eclectic, casual and friendly atmosphere that’s very popular with locals.

The lunch menu offers a range of differently sized and priced salad and bread-based meals.

The larger meals can be shared and this is a good idea as they can be quite heavy with dressing… like the Cos and Effect for about $17.90 with Tumut smoked trout, baby cos, crisp beans, cherry tomatoes, dill dressing and boiled egg.

The Ava-Bit-A-Cado, also about $17.90, an avocado bruschetta with herbed ricotta and semi-dried tomatoes is a good choice.

PHONE

(02) 6260 3703

LOCATION

Shop 8
Eggleston Crescent Chifley ACT 2606

OPEN HOURS

Mon 8am–4pm
Tue 8am–4pm
Wed 8am–9.30pm
Thurs-Fri 8am–10pm
Sat 8am–4pm
Sun 9am–8pm

Ivy and the Fox, Acton – gorgeous and delicious

The relatively new Ivy and the Fox must have the most lovely brunch setting in Canberra during the good weather.

Located in Old Canberra House, Lennox Crossing near the National Museum, the garden setting is warm and welcoming.

The shaded tables on the lush lawn are ideal for relaxed sharing of food with good friends and family with a great view to Lake Burley Griffen.

Alex has brought the magic of Fox and Bow in Farrer, to the former Ivy Cafe and it’s a perfect match.

Dishes start from $6 for sourdough or fruit toast with butter and jam and there are add ons to custom design your perfect portion.

Ordering the toast can also be a useful addition to make it easier to share with a more substantial breakfast dish like Señorita Fox that has two poached eggs, smoked salmon, haloumi and feta on sourdough $20.90

There are banquet options starting at $29 per person which are a good way to try a range of dishes on the menu, but you could also create your own sharing menu by ordering one each of the very delicious sounding My Little Pecan salad, The Godfather fish and chips, Cruebanos sandwich and The Rocket Man croquettes between four.

Serving the all day brunch 8am – 4pm seven days, the kitchen closes at 3pm.

Licensed but not BYO, there’s also a good range of baked treats to enjoy (or share) with coffee.

It’s good to book, but if it’s busy, extra tables can be moved out onto the lawn. The most popular time is 10-12 Sundays.
If the weather is not so great it’s also cosy inside.

Parking can be tricky during the week but it may be possible to park at the museum and walk over.

Loading Zone, Canberra City – a first look at brunch

It’s not always that you find the perfect combination of genuine, old style hospitality and modern food served in hipster style. So Loading Zone, down the alley of the Melbourne Building in the city is pretty special.

New owner Ian, is your host, making sure you feel special and valued. He is well supported by a great team of chefs and baristas with broad experience from some of Canberra’s finest and most popular restaurants.

Open for breakfast and lunch six days ( closed Sundays) it’s a blackboard menu that varies daily.

Very helpfully breakfast is served all day and local wines are are available.

Serve sizes are generous for sharing and prices are reasonable. Good choices include the….

….smashed avocado, mushroom, bacon, poached eggs and toast $18…

…..and the artisan fruit toast $7.50.
But the ricotta hot cakes with strawberries, mascarpone and honey $16 and the poached pear and blueberries with house made muesli $10, both looked great on other tables too.
Like all breakfast dishes, serves are generous and great for sharing between two modest appetites, especially if you have more interesting eating to share that day.
Open Monday to Friday 7am – 2:30pm, Saturday 8-2pm.

Wilbur’s Cafe, Hackett – a real suburban treasure!

Canberra is famous for the suburban gems located at its local shops. Wilbur’s is truly one of these.

Well love and well supported by locals, it is also a well kept secret that it has terrific food!

Serving breakfast ( for extended hours), lunch and dinner and offering plenty of great specials it also generously offers a two for one option for Canberra Entertainment Book holders.

A new menu is to be launched soon, but some of the current good picks are….

The Cozza Burger $18.90 – marinated portobello mushroom, slow roasted tomato, caramelised onion and Camembert on toasted Ciabatta with chips, is very good.

As are the Lemon Pepper Squid Salad, perfect with mango, coriander and a great aioli $17.90 from the specials board…

…and the Angel Hair Pasta $24.90 full of garlic prawns, bacon, roast capsicum, roquette in a white wine, basil butter sauce finished with Parmesan and lemon is surprisingly delicious and light.

The coffee is excellent and wine by the glass or bottle, very reasonable.

A dessert case of cakes is also tempting.

It’s impossible not to relax and enjoy the friendly atmosphere, welcoming staff and wonderful food.

It would be perfect on a Sunday evening for the happy hour 4-6pm and $10 dine in pizza, but a weekend brunch or lunch is also not to be missed.

Space, Woden- amazing breakfast dishes all day!

One of the great things about Space, the newest restaurant in Woden CBD, that opened last week, is that it serves it’s lovely breakfast menu all day.

Inspired by Her Canberra’s post, to try the Space Benedict $17.90 – the pulled pork croquette is just so delicious, goes well with the poached egg and the beetroot hollandaise is wonderful. The pork cracking brioche crumble is lovely flavour and texture contrast.

This must be the best dish yet, closely followed by the Felafel and Salmon Salad.

The Breakfast Fritters are also excellent – $17.90. The corn, zucchini and halos I fritters are especially good, also nice with the poached eggs, a tasty feta and harissa yogurt, beetroot hummus and a lovely contrasting texture in the corn cous cous.

The Polenta Waffles $17.90, next door looked excellent as well and were served with a ‘theatrical’ touch from Ricardo which made it worth ordering just for the show.

The Muesli $15.90 also looks gorgeous and no-one seems shy about ordering it for lunch either.