Bowery to Williamsburg, Melbourne CBD by Ruby Grapefruit

To celebrate Miss No Meat’s birthday we had lunch at Bowery to Williamsburg which came highly recommended by some of her friends. American style eateries are definitely big at the moment and Bowery to Williamsburg’s niche is New York style deli food, e.g., Reuben sandwiches and mac ‘n’ cheese. Our group arrived just after noon and the restaurant was already filling up but we managed to nab a table outside.

Miss No Meat had the field mushroom sandwich which had good flavours but would have been improved by being in a crusty roll rather than the wholemeal bread it came in. Most of us had a side dish of macaroni and cheese and all agreed that this was the highlight of our meal. It was rich and creamy and had a delicious cheesy crust on top. We would definitely return for this dish alone. We were surprised that they don’t have this as a main dish as it would be a best seller.

As it was a chilly day the Bureaucrat was in the mood for something hot and comforting so she decided on the chicken matzo ball soup. She had never eaten this soup before and it wasn’t really what she was expecting – instead of a clear chicken broth it had more of a deep savoury meaty flavour. However, she did enjoy it as it had a lot of flavour and the matzo balls were light and fluffy and tasted quite meaty. It was a great meal for a cold day. The soup came with a toasted cheese sandwich which was only okay as there was very little cheese and wasn’t really that toasted.

The peanut butter hot chocolate wasn’t what we were expecting. Most (or maybe all) of the peanut butter flavour came from the Reese’s peanut butter cup that you had to add to the hot chocolate. This meant that you didn’t get the peanut butter flavour until you got to the bottom of the cup. 

Big Fil and I both had the pulled pork sub which we both enjoyed but thought that the flavour of the pork lacked a little bit of punch. The pickles that it came with had a nice firm texture but was a little sweeter than normal.

We did plan to have some of the lovely looking desserts but we were so full after the mains that we decided to postpone these for the next time we visited. Oh yes, there will be a next time as that awesome mac ‘n’ cheese beckons.

Overall

Our visit didn’t disappoint as it was a great opportunity to try some classic American dishes. We enjoyed our food, the service was good, and the café has a relaxed and quirky ambience.

See also Bureaucrat's review back in August 2013.

Verdict

Food – 8

Service – 8
Ambience – 8
Price – 8

Address

16 Oliver Lane

Melbourne 3000
Tel: (03) 9077 0162