Grasshopper's Feast Cafe, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

While running errands during a weekday lunchtime, the Lawyer and I stopped off at the Grasshopper's Feast Cafe for a quick lunch.

GFC is a cute cafe with nary a grasshopper in sight.  

Although we sat outside, I really liked the interior.  The focal point is the rectangular, ceramic tiled counter with a lovely conservatory as its backdrop... not to mention the display of baked goodies on offer.

Being called Grasshopper's Feast, I figured that the menu would be mostly vegetarian dishes.  Although it has a few veggie based choices, I wouldn't consider GFC to be a proper vegetarian eatery, and that's okay by me.  

What wasn't as okay by me was the disappointing menu.  Admittedly, they have some dishes that have a contemporary edge (quinoa salad, prawn and chorizo linguine, sweet potato chips), the majority of the choices were stuff you'd find in a menu in the 1990s (pasta carbonara, warm chicken and mango salad, chicken parma, etc).  It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to eat because nothing seemed particularly appealing.

A latte for the Lawyer.

To go with his latte, the Lawyer got the roast beef baguette w caramelised onions, rocket, mustard, cheese and tomato relish ($14).  Of the two dishes we ordered, this was the better one.  Crisp baguette and fairly long and generous with the roast beef.  It was okay but nothing exceptional.  If I had to compare it to something, I'd say it'd be one of the better quality sandwiches/wraps that you'd get on a plane.

I got the potato rosti w smoked salmon, sour cream, cucumber ribbons ($14).  This was rather dismal, so much so that I didn't finish it.  My heart (and tummy sank) when it got brought out.  Unfortunately, there was very little I liked about my dish.  Presentation-wise, the squiggly squirts of balsamic reduction and the chives made the dish look daggy.

Food-wise, I shuddered at the great big glob of sour cream that overwhelmed everything (including the taste).  The soggy cucumber slices would have benefited from being salted (or made fresh at the time of ordering so they wouldn't be quite so soggy) and there was only a small mound of smoked salmon.  The rosti themselves were bland and were really just two discs of grated potato.

Verdict
Food - 6.5
Ambiance - 7
Service - 7
Price - 7

Overall
I wanted to like GFC - I really did.  With it's cute name and cute fit out, I thought this would be somewhere I could come back again... but it won't be.  Despite having a dated menu, if the dishes that were served were actually tasty, then this I could overlook.  However, it was dated and not tasty.  Perhaps I chose wrong.  Alas...

Address
Grasshopper's Feast Cafe
Shop 13, The Causeway
Melbourne 3000
Telephone: 9663 8404