Gallery Café – Bendigo
Bendigo Art Gallery
42 View St
Bendigo
During my almost 2 hour lunch break from the GP practice (LOLz), I decided to abscond to a nice cafe adjoining the Bendigo art gallery (recommended by Majella from Parisian Patisserie – Bendigo local). Not realsiing there was a “back” entrance I happily strolled though half the gallery… before finding myself in a sleek white cafe with light streaming through the high glass walls, which provided views overlooking Rosalind park.
Although a little heavy-handed with seasoning, the roasted flavours from the capsicum + tart’ness from the tomato still shone through. The sharp flavours were rounded off by the sweet onions + sour cream (alas a little too much for my personal liking). The “crunchy” (? fried) prochiutto was indeed “crunchy” (hard). After an initial shock leading to neglect, it not-surprisingly softened in the soup to a good crisp texture, providing that little extra savoury aroma. Rating – 13/20 – It was a hearty soup (which comes in a HUGE portion, only $9), perfect for a wintery day.
Soup of the day
Whilst sitting at the table, i observed a steady stream of well-dressed coffee buying traffic (seemed like mostly locals who “just” come in to get coffee). Gah, disappointed I had to rush off back to the clinic…. sigh, will be back for the coffee! !Service – attentive and polite
P.S. I did take photos LOL, will upload soon (didn’t bring my camera cable up to bendigo)
At a second visit …
Following a short stroll in Rosalind park after a unfussed lunch, I was pre-occupied with taking snapshots of Bendigo parklands and of kids amusing themselves amongst the green grass and Spring flora. Somehow, though not surprisingly, amidst the photography, I wandered towards the Gallery. Clearly it was my “always hungry” subconscious playing up here.
Vanilla & almond friand
Vanilla & almond friand ($3.5) – It came on a huge rectangular plate, served with served with double cream, “a” strawberry (funnily enough only 1) and a raspberry jam relish literally spelling out a conspicuous “delicious”, which I thought was rather corny but equally not unwelcome. (Plus I felt a little special, having occurred to me that this was possibly complimentary service in preparation for my SLR-photo-whoring) – Rating: 15/20The golden Friand arrived warm with a buttery aroma. Biting through the crunchy almond flakes scattered over the friend, you get to a light spongey-cake texture with a comforting hint of vanilla. The accompanying rich cream & jam relish works really well with the friand, much in the way a ganache helps bring together a cake both in flavour and texture.Latte ($3.5) – smooth foam, well brewed moderate strength coffee.
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[…] Gallery Cafe at the Bendigo Art Gallery, 42 View Street A review from Almost Always Ravenous from 8Sep10. […]
Almost Always Ravenous 
oooooooooooooo that vanilla and almond friand looks SO good!
it was good =) warm and slightly crumbly …mmm
My term to give you suggestions. I think rating each food item with a score is a bit of overkill. Maybe just a recommendation of “recommended” or “dislike” would do?
hm… maybe i should come up with a scale like:
very bad, bad, average, good, very good, divine… that would make more sense ?
Lol, “delicious”…. riiiight… seems a bit tacky 😛
yes indeed, well at least they tried… LOL. could’ve been worse
i think the delicious is a nice touch, it gives you the option to mix jam with your dessert. everyone i know loves it. it doesn’t look at all tacky or corny on the plate. I have been to cafes recently, and they have begun to do the same thing! the food there is great, and the staff are really friendly. they have a great reputation for good reasons.
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