Graze on King, Newtown

I popped into uni during stuvac (study week) to get some studying done with a friend, and after a morning of much hard work, we rewarded ourselves with a yummy lunch nearby at Newtown. We had wanted to try something a little more exciting than the usual Thai and Newtown, so a quick Groupon search led us to Graze on King. Google maps told us it was a short 15 minute walk from the library. It took us double that.

Oh well, it was a good chance to catch up on a bit of physical activity since I had been getting close to none lately!

Mixed Berry Smoothie

The cafe was empty when we got there, despite it being lunchtime, probably because of its location on the other side of Newtown station- the noticeably quieter part of Newtown. After spending a while deciding on which seat we wanted to take (there were too many to choose from!), we ordered drinks.

Although the coupon we had bought had only stated that soft drinks were included, we were informed that we were able to choose any (non alcoholic) drink from the menu, so I went for for the mixed berry smoothie, which was great, not overly sweet with the perfect amount tangyness and a generous serving too!

Braised Lamb Salad

I had great difficulty choosing what to order as all the options on the menu seemed enticing, and I eventually settled on the lamb salad. The salad consists mostly of raddichio and lamb, with a bit of fennel, pickled raisins, grains and herbs added which worked together quite well. I'm not usually much of a fan of raddichio because of its distinctive bitterness, but perhaps because of the salad dressing, or maybe its combination with lamb (which was deliciously tasty and tender), I quite enjoyed it in this salad! The pickled raisins also add an surprisingly pleasant sweetness to the salad also.

Cottage Pie

We had missed the daily specials when we walked in, as we were too busy trying to find the place, but luckily the waiter let's us know of the extra options, one of which was cottage pie. Interestingly, the pie came with a side of salad, which was quite similar to the lamb salad, albeit a smaller and simpler version. The cottage pie was extremely cute, with little balls of fluffy potato mash piped on top. I didn't get a chance to try the pie, but my friend was seemed to enjoy it :)

It's a shame it isn't any closer to uni- otherwise, I'd probably finding myself back here a lot more often!