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The Potting Shed at The Grounds of Alexandria

Rachel Olding
Rachel Olding

Linger late: The Potting Shed offers garden-inspired cocktails and more.
Linger late: The Potting Shed offers garden-inspired cocktails and more.Supplied

Contemporary$$

You know by now that the coffee is good. The breakfast is good. The baked treats are good. Kevin Bacon the pig is good. 

The queue, however, is not so good.

At last, there is a way to get in on the delicious Grounds of Alexandria action without the inevitable crowds.

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Their bar spin-off is a beautiful vine-covered spot within the sprawling complex, still within a whiff of Kevin Bacon but with the added drawcard of cocktails, grown-ups, charcoal sliders and little, if any, wait.

It looks stunning day or night but once the sun goes down and the petting zoo has shut up shop, there is a magical feel here among the hanger plants and fairy lights.

Coming with a few friends for relaxed, afternoon-into-evening drinks is the way to do it.

Cute garden-inspired cocktails, shed brews and produce-driven food will please weary souls after a day toiling in the garden but the quality can be inconsistent.

The food menu uses a lot of fresh produce grown within the grounds and covers a huge range of bases, from comfort food (lamb shank pot pie, chicken schnitty soaked in buttermilk) to paddock-to-plate fare (spiced freekah salad) to more exotic options (Kurobuta pork belly sliders with kimchi and red-eye mayo on a charcoal brioche, slow cooked grain-fed angus short rib in sweet and sour glaze).

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Theo's pulled pork burger ($21) and the David Blackmore full-blooded wagyu cheeseburger with shed-made toppings ($21) had plenty of juice but the simplest dishes shone the most, like jacket-roasted sweet potatoes roasted on rock salt with crispy shallots ($9) and heirloom tomato with ligurian olive and feta salad ($9).

The cocktails have names like the Smoking Shovel and Toiler's Tonic and aren't shy of adventure. They've chucked watermelon into a bloody mary, chilli mustard into a fruity vodka drink and even dared to mix grapefruit-infused rhubarb spirit, almond milk, lemon juice and Indian Pale Ale into the Porch Crawler ($15).

Despite the crazy ingredients, most of them were weakened by far too much ice. The more fruity and flowery options, like the Toiler's Tonic (basil vodka, limoncello, strawberry, lime, ginger beer, $15) were lovely.

You could scrap the cocktail jugs in favour of a 1.8 litre growler of beer or cider which hangs above your table until you've eked it dry.

Any of the brews can be served in a growler, like a the very drinkable Red Hill pilsener ($32) or toasty, biscuity, hop-tastic Swell amber ale ($34).

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Lush wines go well with the fresh produce too. A hot arvo calls for a chilled Head Nouveau Touriga Montepulciano grenache from the Barossa Valley ($9.50 glass) or a bottle of Spring Seed Wine Co 'Forget Me Not' sauv blanc semillon from McLaren Vale ($41).

The rest of the extensive list is heavy on Australian wines with some intriguing international drops thrown in.

Linger late for an easy, casual night. Expect friendly service and don't forget dessert.

Banana Banoffee pie, self-saucing chocolate pudding and baked apple pie will give nanna a run for her money and have you bedding down in this garden again.

THE LOW-DOWN
You'll love it...
you want a more grown-up trip to the Grounds
You'll hate it if... you're expecting the cocktails to outdo the coffee and breakfasts next door
Go for... grifter of cider or craft beer, Kurobuta pork belly sliders, jacket-roasted sweet potatoes 

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Rachel OldingRachel Olding is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in the United States.

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