Love Grub, Alexandria – Rating: 12.5/25

Love Grub

From the road, Love Grub looks like someone has set up a birthday party on the street. Random chairs and tables are scattered around and the place has a very relaxed atmosphere. We booked a table outside however it was much too cold so we squeezed inside the café. There wasn’t really enough space for a party of five so one person had to sit in the corridor. This wasn’t much of a problem as the café was mostly empty for most of our visit. We found this strange as most places are generally buzzing by 10:30am.

Fruit salad smoothie

Smoothies are available in either banana or fruit salad flavours ($6). Dane opted for the fruit salad smoothie but was not impressed with the drink. Consisting literally of just fruit blended into milk , the result was too chunky and flavourless to be recommended.

Skim cappuccino

Our guests ordered regular skim cappuccinos and flat whites ($3), large ($4). Everyone was happy with the coffee and ordered another. The menu claims that they use “Melbourne’s favourite coffee – Gravity – 6 degrees darker blend”.

Genmaicha

We also ordered the genmaicha ($3) also known as brown rice tea which was a nice alternative to coffee or black tea. It was hot and came as loose leaf so we could let it brew to our liking.

Vegie brekkie

The Vegie brekkie ($16) consisting of grilled haloumi, eggs, spinach, tomato, mushroom, potato hash and toast was a decent meal. One of the eggs was perfectly peached, however the other was overdone. They didn’t have wholemeal so we asked for rye which was thick and delicious. The hash was almost non- existent, perhaps 3 pieces of potato in total.

Corn & spinach fritters

We ordered the corn & spinach fritters ($17) with the included hollandaise sauce on the side. This dish consists of layers of spinach, fritters, bacon and two poached eggs. All of the ingredients were cooked well. The eggs were slightly overdone for our liking but this was no tragedy. We found fritters themselves to be slightly dry but the warm hollandaise was there to save the day.

Muesli

The muesli ($7) was the stand out dish of the day. The fresh fruit combined with yoghurt, honey and sprig of mint looked delicious and tasted great. There was a nice mix of fruit and a generous serving of yoghurt.

Sushi hand roll brekkie

A Love Grub signature dish is the sushi hand roll brekki ($17). We didn’t think we could visit without trying it but unfortunately were not satisfied with the result. While some will undoubtedly enjoy the fusion of bacon and eggs and sushi hand rolls, the cold egg and bacon encased in an overabundance of rice did not satisfy. Dane was looking forward to a warming dish on this cold winter’s day but chose poorly. The avocado however was fresh and ripe while the tomato and potato were both warm (but in need of seasoning).

We’re spoiled for choice living in Sydney and we’ve come to expect high standards of our cafés. While Love Grub tries to offer something different, it doesn’t quite deliver on taste. The interior was quite dim and uninviting, try to sit outside if you can. With so many other places to visit in Sydney, we probably won’t be back.

On a side note, Alexandria is a very interesting suburb with plenty to see and do. We recommend a trip to the Antiques & Design Gallery at Mitchell Road Auction Centre. It’s like stepping back in time and there are so many fun things to look at (or buy). Sydney Park is also close by, so bring your bike and roller blades to work off your breakfast afterwards.

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