Gratia Cafe
Gratia Cafe is the sister cafe to Folonomo Restaurant, a 'for purpose' restaurant which donates its profits to charity (review coming soon, stay tuned!). Its service, however, cannot be compared to that of Folonomo. My friends and I experienced what is one of the most bizarre experiences we have ever had at a cafe. Scroll down for my rant - but as this is a food blog, let's talk about the food first.
The food at Gratia is so over-priced for what they are that it has single-handedly lead me to believe there might be some truth in the infamous suggestion that us Gen Ys would be able to put down a deposit for a house if only we forgo our smashed avos.
This is a bagel. With some sour cream, one thin piece of smoked trout, and some leaves (branded as watercress and sorrel). And a wedge of lemon. Such thrills.
And this, my friends, is a bacon and egg roll. Except the menu makes it sound so much more mysterious than it is - I had to perform statutory interpretation methods to work out that the item described is actually a bacon and egg roll. It is very wet, but the tomato chili jam is admittedly nice.
This is an omelette. With zucchinis. Be amazed. And it comes with a weird, unbuttered piece of bread with a decorative (?) piece of lettuce on top. Ok then.
Served with a slice of mango (it is in season, after all), I was unable to taste the coconut in the coconut rice pudding. The mint is a nice touch, and the rice is...well you could call it al dente or half cooked. Also, it's very small.
Probably the only decent thing we tried today, the granola, though small, is not bad: there are large pieces of nuts in the toasted granola, and the poached fruits are quite lovely. The natural yogurt is also creamy and rich.
The coffee is not bad. But then again, it's not notably good either - we are in Surry Hills after all, where good coffee is a dime a dozen. However, the coffee does stand out as the only item on the menu that is not over-priced, so there's that.
On one hand, I like that it's not sickly sweet as many other chai lattes tend to be. On the other hand, I don't like that it is watery.
Now onto the bizarre, sub-par service. Take this opportunity to grab a drink and go to the loo because you have several paragraphs coming your way.
An hour into our meal, we signaled the waitress for another round of coffee. When she reached our table, she briskly asked "bill?" - I was taken aback by this. As far as I know, there are many reasons why a patron might signal the wait staff: for example asking for water. Or the menu. Or, in our case, some more food and drinks.
Alas, it was not to be. We were told that we must vacate our table within 5 minutes because they have booked another group of 5 into our very seats, which we have only warmed for 60 minutes. I have been to restaurants where they enforce seating schedules - but those are very different to this Gratia experience for a few reasons:
First, these restaurants warn guests about the existence of such a seating schedule before you sit down and order; or before you even walk into the restaurant (when you book) so that the guests are able to make an informed decision about whether they want to gobble down their food, or find another place to eat. We were completely caught off guard, and this particularly affected us because we decided to visit a cafe rather than a bustling cheap-eats restaurant especially because we wanted to have an uninterrupted catch-up to farewell a friend.
Second, in restaurants with seating schedules, the usual seating period is two hours - so the guests could enjoy their food. And maybe get another coffee or some shiz. I don't know.
Third, it is true that there are some restaurants that give you a bit of an 'off you trot' vibe - think busy, packed Chinese restaurants which are clearly adapted to the eat-and-go situation, rather than encouraging socialising with friends: and the prices of these spots usually reflect that. Gratia, as I have already intimated, is a very over-priced cafe. The kind of cafes in Surry Hills with pretentious, faux-rustic decor that are always billed towards allowing patrons to spend a lazy afternoon with friends, chatting and soaking in the sun. In a way, I understand why some of these cafes are so pricey - you are also paying for the opportunity to take your time. This was taken away from us.
Fourth, at the time of our visit, Gratia was not packed or busy by any means - the place was half empty. The problem was that they apparently find groups of 5 just huge and over-whelming. But I must point out that it is not our fault that the design of the place is so poor that more than half of it involves long bar-table-like benches unsuitable for groups.
So my verdict? Don't go.
Score: 1 / 5
The food isn't bad - it just isn't worth the price.
Cost: too much for too little
Address: 372 Bourke Street, Surry Hills
Website: http://www.gratia.org.au/
The food at Gratia is so over-priced for what they are that it has single-handedly lead me to believe there might be some truth in the infamous suggestion that us Gen Ys would be able to put down a deposit for a house if only we forgo our smashed avos.
 |
| Bagel, $15 |
 |
| Bacon and Egg Roll, $12 |
 |
| Zucchini Omlette, $15 |
 |
| Coconut Rice Pudding, $13 |
 |
| Granola, $12 |
 |
| Various Coffees, $3.50-$4 |
 |
| Spicy Chai, $5 |
Now onto the bizarre, sub-par service. Take this opportunity to grab a drink and go to the loo because you have several paragraphs coming your way.
An hour into our meal, we signaled the waitress for another round of coffee. When she reached our table, she briskly asked "bill?" - I was taken aback by this. As far as I know, there are many reasons why a patron might signal the wait staff: for example asking for water. Or the menu. Or, in our case, some more food and drinks.
Alas, it was not to be. We were told that we must vacate our table within 5 minutes because they have booked another group of 5 into our very seats, which we have only warmed for 60 minutes. I have been to restaurants where they enforce seating schedules - but those are very different to this Gratia experience for a few reasons:
First, these restaurants warn guests about the existence of such a seating schedule before you sit down and order; or before you even walk into the restaurant (when you book) so that the guests are able to make an informed decision about whether they want to gobble down their food, or find another place to eat. We were completely caught off guard, and this particularly affected us because we decided to visit a cafe rather than a bustling cheap-eats restaurant especially because we wanted to have an uninterrupted catch-up to farewell a friend.
Second, in restaurants with seating schedules, the usual seating period is two hours - so the guests could enjoy their food. And maybe get another coffee or some shiz. I don't know.
Third, it is true that there are some restaurants that give you a bit of an 'off you trot' vibe - think busy, packed Chinese restaurants which are clearly adapted to the eat-and-go situation, rather than encouraging socialising with friends: and the prices of these spots usually reflect that. Gratia, as I have already intimated, is a very over-priced cafe. The kind of cafes in Surry Hills with pretentious, faux-rustic decor that are always billed towards allowing patrons to spend a lazy afternoon with friends, chatting and soaking in the sun. In a way, I understand why some of these cafes are so pricey - you are also paying for the opportunity to take your time. This was taken away from us.
Fourth, at the time of our visit, Gratia was not packed or busy by any means - the place was half empty. The problem was that they apparently find groups of 5 just huge and over-whelming. But I must point out that it is not our fault that the design of the place is so poor that more than half of it involves long bar-table-like benches unsuitable for groups.
So my verdict? Don't go.
Score: 1 / 5
The food isn't bad - it just isn't worth the price.
Cost: too much for too little
Address: 372 Bourke Street, Surry Hills
Website: http://www.gratia.org.au/
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