Grounds Keeper Cafe

Grounds Keeper Cafe. Ground Keeper's Cafe. Grounds Keepers Cafe. Only one of these is the correct name of this northwest Sydney outdoor restaurant.

But it is the 's' that confuses things. This is a cafe named for the keeper of the grounds. Not the ground's keeper. Although, the grounds keeper must, I guess, look after the ground as well. And, presumably, this is not the grounds keeper's very own cafe - open to others but primarily his or her personal eating spot in the park they maintain.

As it is, the name Grounds Keeper Cafe does provoke thoughts of D.H. Lawrence's sexy gamekeeper in his 1928 novel Lady Chatterley's Lover. Or perhaps only if you are very, very hungry, as we are on this sparkling, sunny winter morning.

Set in Ryde Park, the cafe was formerly known as Ryde Park Cafe (nothing confusing about that). In 2013 it had a makeover, with owner Sam Hayek bringing a new name and a Middle Eastern flavour to the menu.

The building has the feel of an inner-west food canteen at a modern Balinese resort - honey-hued wooden beams, sandstone pillars, hanging ferns and a calming blue-tiled pool with trickling fountain. There are tables undercover and tables out under the sun. Blocks of sunlight slant into the covered seating area, warming our backs.

We can see inside the open kitchen, a buzzing world of chef Hayek and staff creating breakfast for about 30 customers, all lulled by the park surrounds and the pool's trickling waters.

Beyond the water is a snazzy playground with slide, see-saw, swings and various climbing apparatus. Beyond that are landscaped lawns and plants surrounded by pathways and native trees. Rozellas squawk and nibble on branches while cyclists whiz along the path before resting their bikes and ordering a "Green and Lean" - kale, spinach, apple, mint and ginger drink served in glass tankards with a straw.

The small girl at the table eyes all this while chewing on a golden and oozing ham and cheese toastie and sucking on a banana smoothie. Then she is up and off to pelt around the grassy mounds and swing and climb with delirious pleasure.

Our pleasure also verges on delirious as plates of kafta tagine eggs, pancakes, eggs benedict and omelette arrive. The kafta tagine eggs are a Mediterranean marvel - peppery lamb meatballs and eggs baked in a tomato sauce with paprika and cumin aromas.

The pancakes, piled with strawberries, mascarpone, toasted almonds and a fair whack of maple syrup, resemble a fine Easter bonnet. They are wolfed down. The eggs benedict has fat pieces of smoked salmon and avocado rubbing up against luscious, wobbly poached eggs, and the omelet - with spinach, olives, ham, fetta and lovely chewy bread - is spot on.

Cups of Di Gabriel coffee are strong and creamy. As each member of the table takes a turn running wildly around the nearby lawn, dipping fingers in the pool's water and clambering over the playground with the small girl, the others enjoy a second round of coffee with house-made apple cake, strawberry, mango and polenta muffins and vast Anzac biscuits.

None of us have spotted a grounds keeper. Or even a gamekeeper speckled with sweat, his big, burly chest bursting from a soil-smeared shirt.

But there are a great many contented people relaxing in the sunshine and quaffing the kind of lovely food and drinks you would not expect to eat in a park, certainly not while watching their children play beside them in a well-maintained playground. The only thing missing is a gruff but good-looking type wheeling a barrow of pheasants or rabbits to his cafe for another kale and spinach shake.

THE LOW-DOWN
PICKS KAFTA TAGINE EGGS, PANCAKES
THE COFFEE DI GABRIEL
THE LOOK MIDDLE EASTERN/CONTEMPORAY AUSTRALIA IN A BALI-ESQUE PARK CANTEEN
THE SERVICE FAST AND CHEERY