Good food, but experience totally spoilt by the hired help. The front desk did me a huge favour on receiving me and showing me to my table. The waiter then did me an even greater favour by taking my order, after 10 minutes. He was acting that I was the one free meal that they had to give away the night. At least I did not see him again the whole night. The others that dealt with some other requests during dinner were much better though.

We went for breakfast, very noisy and our coffee order didn’t come until our breakfast.

Great food and service once you are in. Unfortunately we had to stand in a line for 10 minutes just to see someone to tell them we had a reservation. There needs to be two
lines- one for pre-booked reservations and one for walk ins

Always great service by staff. A lady was serving us and she was amazing. Recommended the pour over for my dad who wanted to try something different. Even when my dad was brutally honest and admitted it was not to his taste, she took it in her stride, was super friendly about it and recommended other coffees to try next time. Don't know her name however her attitude and personality are to be commended! Will definitely be back.

The attention to detail at the Grounds of the City is incredible. You really do feel like you’ve stepped back in time.
The place is always busy but there is no shortage of staff to take your order or top up your water glass. They allocate each booking an hour and a half time slot, which is more than enough time to have a meal, (and follow it up wit coffee and cake) as the food comes out in a very reasonable amount of time, despite the high volume of customers.
The food is lovely - The ingredients are fresh and the servings are generous. I got what was probably the most generous amount of avocado I’d had at any cafe.
The only criticisms I have are that the espresso shot for my iced mocha was quite small compared to the amount of milk they gave me, and also the noise level can be so high, that it’s hard to hear the person across from you at times!

Highly recommend ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Definitely will be back in the near future

It was my son’s first birthday and I thought I’d treat myself to a beautiful lunch. Yes myself. Ordered the slow cooked ox cheek and yum so soft my son ended up eating the lot. The staff were very helpful and accommodating even made a mini ox cheek plate for my son when they noticed he was eating all of mine.

Ordered 2 cakes and they took 30 minutes to serve it after prompting them 2 times. It was a total let down given that the ambience was good but service is lacking.

I book brunch at the Grounds of the City ever so often and it's always a great experience. A booking is a must here because it gets busy here. However, the food is awesome!

Would be thrilled to have some oyster with my girlfriend next time.

Absolutely fantastic!
Great vibe, excellent service and delicious food and drink!

Last night we visited the Grounds in the city for my wife’s birthday. I booked easily online and we were looked after so well, even with complementary beverages and a cheeky dessert!
I can’t recommend this place enough and will definitely be back!
Thanks for having us Grounds!

Take it from me, Leave the kids at home and go to the Grounds in the city for dinner, it’s great!

Good food and reasonable value in a cool 40s style dining room.

Staff are Very attentive, steak sandwich is amazing!!!

Great place for a breakfast with friends or business colleagues. Convenient to get to with public transport.

I felt that our food came very quick then they wanted to give us tea and coffee and cake , they kept coming every 3-5 mins which was annoying as we kept saying not yet

Then all of a sudden our bill arrived which we didn't ask for , we said that we felt that you were kicking us out the waitress explained no no the waiter said you asked for it if which we didn't

We felt they were kicking us out . We were then ready for our tea and cake and a rude waiter cake over and explained about they had another booking for our table then the waitress came as she needed to take our order the waiter said we've extended you to 13:45 it was 13:29 and quite frankly we didn't feel like rushing our tea and cake down and agreed with my friend that another establishment could have our money

If there was a time limit it should have been explained or at least reminded us of this procedure it was very disappointing as my friend and I catch up once a year for a good chat

I shall not be recommending them at all
The whole experience left me feeeling rather sad especially when there were other diners whom didn't seem to he harassed

Deb

We booked a table for a birthday and clearly stated the occasion. In the past I was so chuffed as The Grounds staff make such an effort to wish the person and even bring a little cake out, on the house! This time even noting the occasion, they just missed the opportunity to make it special and we booked The Grounds not only for the food but for their effort in making an occasion special. Asked the waiter on my way out and he was clueless!

Service was a bit slow towards the end (getting the cheque, waiting for someone to collect the payment)

Made a reservation but was placed in a table sandwiched between two tiny tables. But pleased that we were moved to another table when asked.

I've eaten at Grounds in Alexandria many times. Overall I've always enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Yesterday I was bit disappointed we each had Poke bowls which were pretty small for $24 and not that flavourful. I'll need to come back for the more substantial parts of the menu going forward.

food was delicious.great customer service. loved the ambience and atmosphere of the whole place.

This is the place to go. Super courteous staff, delicious food and a great vibe. I’m making this my breakfast go to every time I’m in Sydney

A wonderful place for breakfast with great service and a delicious menu. The green bowl was super tasty and very fresh. Hopefully will return soon!

After the initial confusion regarding our seating requirements which was clearly noted on our booking request, we did end up having a really nice time at the GOTC. The food menu was different from the last time we were there which is good to see as it indicates that the kitchen is offering new options to keep things interesting. We ordered a few different dishes to share including their house salad which was delicious. The highlight though is their dessert trolley, which includes favourites as their 'Cake of the Day' and their popular strawberry sponge cake. Our table ordered both (to share)! Our table was there for a birthday lunch and can recommend this place for such special occasions, or even a nice meal with a few friends.

Great ambience, but overcrowded with tables and super noisy. Portions on the small side. Fantastic sweets, snacks and coffee from the takeaway section!

Joseph the host found me a table in the busy restaurant straight away without having a booking. Marie our waitress was lovely and welcoming and saw to us straight away. It was early in the morning and the restaurant was very busy but our food was lovely and came out quick.

Its great to have somewhere where you can have coffee after 5 pm without it being a bar or pub. Although they do sell cocktails that look really yummy and definitely would have tried if I wasn't pregnant , and other alcohol. It's really busy, but it's great you can book a table online and I even got a nice comfy seat after my request.

It was a lovely lunch and the food delicious, the waitress that served us was friendly and inviting, the second was efficient and fast, it felt like she was moving us on, even though she said she wasn't when she put the bill down... she probably would be great at welcoming guests and showing them to their tables as the front entrance was a little chaotic. Overall we had a really nice time.

Staff is rude, they are constantly rushing you to order even when they only give 1 coffee menu for 4 people at the table. Ridiculous

I always look forward to dining at The Grounds. Always a treat.

I was pleasently surprised! Fantastic spot for breakfast in the city. Will return!

Great value, beautifully fresh ingredients, exceptional service from Sonny-Joe

Service was so poor, Expensive for what it was and menu was limited.

Was wonderful, food and drinks amazing. However, the waitress did forget to get our bill so we were left for quite a while with no one attending us. Overall though, awesome experience!

Overpriced food, terrible ambience. One of our 6 dishes was cold. It’s a place to go and take some Instagram snaps, not to get a good meal. That said, wait staff were lovey.

Not great, food sub par and service slow...../ compared the the Alexandria one we were disappointed

Very noisy. Loud music and guest. Terrible for business meeting. Food waa ordinary. Wont try lunch here again. Prefer breakfast

Good food and service. Had the seared beef salad which was filling and left us satisfied. Cakes looked amazing.

I love the atmosphere of flower child and Alexandria. But I thought it was too noisey and squashed in the city. Very disappointed , I also thought the menu was limited , so disappointed as this was a special occasion

This is my third visit here. The food and service is always outstanding. Booking ahead of time is recommended. This place is popular!

My new favourite place to go! Love the relaxing atmosphere and the service is excellent!!

If the time can be longer than 2 hours, it will be great. I only can finish the meal but cannot finish the coffee and desert.
By the way, I order the fish but there is no fish...beef is nice.