The Grounds Pop up – Bondi

Alex: Waking up at 4am generally doesn’t put me in the greatest mood (unless it involves jumping on a plane to go to Europe), even when I write this I cringe just thinking about it. To make that early morning a little bit easier I decided to try out The Grounds Pop up Eatery at the Sculptures by the Sea at Bondi/Tamarama. 

The eatery opened at 7am, we got there ten minutes early and as soon as they opened there was already a line of 20+ people.  I was still half asleep at this point being a sour puss and watching beautiful fit people run past me as I was ready to stuff my face.

It was very interesting how they set up the Pop up cafe. They aimed at mimicking the layout and ‘warehouse’ design of The Grounds of Alexandria whilst obviously taking a lot of influences from the laid-back surfer vibe that Bondi is known for. There was a station where you could get your takeaway coffee as well as another station where you could order the famous Grounds Lemonade.

To satisfy my famished state I ordered the ‘Brioche Brekkie Burger’, a cheeky collaboration of fried egg, bacon, cheese, avocado, tomato relish and smokey mayo all snuggled into a fresh brioche bun. $12. I’ve been going through an avocado phase for the past few months where I have become utterly obsessed with it so I was delighted to see that it was big thick chunks of avo and not just a smidgen smeared on the bun. The brioche bun itself didn’t have that particular buttery taste to it that it should have. It just tasted like a toasted bread roll. The tomato relish and mayo had great flavours and helped to mesh everything together but I would’ve loved if they lathered on a bit more! I was also very happy to see the golden yolk dripping onto the basket as I picked the burger up and squished it. Perfectly cooked!

My good friend and health freak Gillian ordered (thanks to my helpful guidance) the Bircher Muesli By The Sea bursting with coconut, almonds, quinoa topped with poached pears, strawberries, blueberries and banana. $10. This was a complete surprise. A fantastic dish that encompassed everything a good meal should! Texturally it was perfect. The quinoa had a bit of a bite to it that was also accompanied  by the crunchy almonds. The shredded coconut helped to give everything that refreshment otherwise it would’ve been to sweet with all the different fruits. If only I had the energy to make this every morning!

I couldn’t say no to the morning pick me ups! I ordered the Berried at Sea, strawberry, raspberry, banana, mango, ground flaxseed, and coconut water $9 A wonderfully thick and refreshing smoothie that seemed to pull me back to Hawaii! This was definitely the drink to be sipping while walking along the beach in the morning. I did order it to come in a coconut but unfortunately they didn’t have any in stock.
My favourite health freak ordered the High Tide Mango Mulch with mango chunks, mango juice, chia seeds, non fat milk, low-fat yoghurt and LSA. $9 This reminded me of the passion mango at Boost Juice but a thousand times better and obviously a lot more fresh.
While the early morning was not ideal, the breakfast more than made up for it! I just wish this wasn’t temporary because it would be a great permanent addition to the Bondi scene, especially those fresh juices and smoothies.

Until next time! (after 6am)

Alex Squadrito