Overview
The team behind The Grounds of Alexandria has been teasing us with whispers of a new CBD outpost for a while now — the venue, their second, was announced almost two years ago. Since then it's been in development, but the team behind the wildly popular Alexandria venue has finally opened The Grounds of the City inside The Galeries on George Street.
The new venue is a 'nod to times past' with throwbacks to 1920s hospitality, and is distinct departure from The Grounds' existing vibe. "The Grounds of Alexandria is all about bringing families and the local community together, so we started off thinking about who it is that we want to bring together and connect in the city," says The Grounds co-founder and creative director Ramzey Choker. "We really got inspired by the 1920s, a time when the inner city was a place for real social gathering and connection between professionals."
Design studio Acme & Co. have again worked with The Grounds, creating a truly 'spare no details' kind of space, from the antique theatre pendant lighting, up-cycled timber floors and marble details to the hand-crafted stained glass windows and custom-made enamel fridge doors. Even the light fixtures have been carefully curated and the cast iron doors were actually hand-casted by The Grounds team. "The building took a lot of craftsmanship and is going to be really different than what you're used to," says Choker.
The Grounds of the City also aims to bring socialising back to the hustle and bustle of city life. Shoe shines for waiting customers, a cake and 'Tea Lady' tea trolley that circles the room and a top-of-the-line barista's bar with 'coffee sommeliers' on-hand are a few services on offer at the new venue. The new venue draws inspiration from traditional coffeehouse culture, complete with The Barista's Bar fitted with state-of-the-art espresso and filter technology highlighting The Grounds house-roasted coffee and Roastery.
Food-wise, executive chef Paul McGrath's team will be doing breakfast (7am-11.30am) and all-day menus (11.30am onwards) with late trading on Thursday evenings, and late opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays coming soon. The menu features the likes of house-made crumpets and cakes, alongside ethically and sustainably-caught seafood and premium steak cuts — and you can dine-in or take away.
For truly next-level service, the new members app allows customers to let The Grounds get to know them a bit better – from where they work to their favourite coffee order, which will be ready for you on arrival. "When corporate workers come for a morning coffee we want to make their time pleasurable and really get to know them as individuals," says Choker. "We want to give them something a bit extra."
"We want to create a place that becomes like a city home away from the office and somewhere you want to go that is just really comfortable. It's going to be really different, really unique and really special."
The Grounds of the City is open inside The Galeries, 500 George Street, Sydney. Opening hours are Monday to Wednesday, Friday to Sunday 7am-6pm, Thursday 7am - late. Late Friday and Saturday hours coming soon. For more information, visit thegroundscity.com.au.