On so many occasions, the most fun and exciting things have happened when I have least expected them, and this situation was no different. For a week, my friends and I had been planning to meet up for brunch as it had been a while since we had seen each other due to work and university commitments, so we decided to meet at the 'Potting Shed' in Alexandria. Given that this day was quite cold and had been forecasted with a chance of rain, it was a risky choice as the Potting Shed is an outdoor area. Whilst we were driving to the venue the rain began to fall, however we decided to proceed given that we would need to wait in line for a little while and hoped that by the time it was our turn to be seated, the weather would have cleared up. Parking was quite difficult to find around the venue itself, and as we could not find any nearby, decided to continue along the streets and happened to stumble upon 'Grandma's Little Bakery'. As this had also been on my list of cafes to visit, we decided to change our plans to this location instead.
After putting our names down for a table, the staff ushered us to the little shop inside the cafe whilst we waited to be seated. This store had lots of little condiments and cute items such as hard candy bags, small grass rabbits, Grandma's Bakery cookies and loaves of bread just to name a few things. It was a smart move by the staff, because if any of their diners are like me, then they are suckers for caving in to purchasing such items. In the 15 minutes that we had been waiting, I had already picked up some Oregano seasoning for the Zatar I was planning to make when I got back home.
After being seated, we were given ipads which housed the menus on them. This is a really great idea and one that I had not yet seen in any cafes in Sydney, as not only did it clearly outline the ingredients in each dish, but also provided images of the item to help us better understand what it was. Given that the menu was not incredibly extensive and was organised on the ipad in an easy to follow format, there was minimal confusion about how to navigate through the pages and choose the meal that we desired. After much deliberation and a few questions to the waitress who was attending to us, we made our choices. My friend and I chose the Shakshuka (baked eggs) - I opted for the 'Grandma's Mazal Classic Shakshuka' (as it had capsicum in it), and she opted for the 'Spicy Shakshuka' alternative (as she preferred one without the capsicum). The others ordered the 'Beef and Mushroom Vol-au-vent', 'Spinach and Ricotta Pastry' and 'Grandma's Gourmet Basket Pie'.
Looking around at the other dishes that were being served to those around us, we began to really build an appetite. The dishes not only looked like generous servings, but also smelled amazing. When our meals finally hit the table, we were not disappointed. My classic Shakshuka was delicious - the eggs were baked to just the right amount, and the soft bread that was served with the dish was the perfect accompaniment to mop all the tomato and capsicum sauce up. Tasting the other dishes around the table as we each shared our meal, I thought that I would have actually preferred to have ordered the spicy alternative, as it gave the dish that little extra kick of flavour that mine lacked. The spinach and ricotta pie was also very tasty, with the pastry being beautiful and flaky. Unfortunately, as I am vegetarian, I was not able to taste the other 2 dishes, but from what I heard from the others, their meals were also full of flavour and delicious.
Despite us all being full and content with our meals, we were in the presence of a dessert blogger, so had no choice but to also try out the desserts on the menu (really it was just a perfect excuse to eat more!) From what he had read online, the 'Grandma's Haya Cream & Cheesecake' was apparently highly recommended, and in addition to this was keen to try the 'Malabi', so both these desserts were ordered. Luckily for us, the cheesecake was actually the last one of the day - we had snatched it up just in time!
To be honest, the cheesecake was a little bit of a let down. Although the sweetness was the right amount to me, the texture was just not right. The thing that excites me about a great cheesecake is the biscuit base that cracks when you put your spoon through it, so to get just a biscuit crumble base that was not solid but rather the same texture as the garnishing on top was quite disappointing. I however really enjoyed the 'Malabi'. This is a custard like dish with its origins from Israel. It had a good hint of rose water, and was accompanied by a berry syrup and pistachios. Definitely a lovely way to end the meal.
All in all, our experience at 'Grandma's Little Bakery' was a good one. Good food coupled with great company can never be a bad thing, so from me I would score it an 8/10.
For more information about this cafe, visit http://www.grandmasbakery.com.au/
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