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Melbourne Zoo, Elliott Avenue, Parkville, 1300 966 784
My score: 3/5
There’s no rule that food in public institutions has to be crappy, somewhere between junk food hell and a boarding school nightmare. It often feels that way though. I applaud Melbourne Zoo for providing interesting and healthy options, and for backing up its conservation aims with local produce, free-range meat and eggs, sustainable fish and ethically sourced coffee.
A DIY approach is fabulously expressed in the on-site bakery, which serves sandwiches and rolls on its own bread, and bakes stonking sausage rolls, pies and kid-friendly Vegemite scrolls and pizzas. The mini pain au chocolates are pint-sized but they’re actually for grown-ups – that’s my story, anyway. You can even buy bread for home: how nice to leave the zoo with a fragrant loaf rather than a koala keyring. Bakery snacks can be taken away or eaten in the bricked plaza but for a longer lunch, linger in the adjoining Lakeside Bistro, a dressed-up cafeteria with pleasant outdoor tables by the Japanesque lake.
At the Bistro, ordering is at the counter where tired display salads do nothing to sell the food. Luckily, the lunches are pretty good. Fresh baguette is stuffed with juicy satay chicken, piquant pineapple relish and crunchy carrot pickle. Larger dishes globetrot from barley risotto with peas and oregano salsa to stir-fried pork with egg noodles (scarily called ‘Asian bolognaise’) and impressive Mauritian-style biryani with crumbed whole egg, spiced and saffron-tinged rice, and roasted carrot and cauliflower. A shot glass of tomato salsa adds fresh kick. There are heaps of vegetarian and gluten free options, and a fab kids’ menu of house-made tzatziki, sushi, crumbed fish and suchlike.
Sometimes little people won’t sit still during the seal show without the promise of an icypole so there are still some industrial goods at the kiosks, but it’s great to try bribing children with Zoo Bakery custard brioche instead. Liberty Catering oversees the various venues and menus (there’s also Mexican food near the lions on weekends and a pan-Asian cafe by the elephants). Service across the outlets is professional if not exactly engaging, which is probably the most you can hope from a large, high turnover operation like this. I’m happy to roar, bark and honk my approval though, and I’m honestly more likely to take my crew to the zoo now that I can approach lunchtime with excitement rather than a sinking feeling.
More institutional restaurants:
Tsubu, Building 1888, University of Melbourne, Swanston Street, Parkville, 9035 3410
Enter at Gate 6 to find this Japanese bar with shady beer garden and simple dishes like cured salmon, soy caramel pork belly and okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake).
Arts Centre Melbourne Members Dining Room, St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 9281 8453
Arts Centre membership opens the door to various discounts and special events, as well as an exclusive dining room for pre-show eats and drinks.
McClelland Gallery Cafe, 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin, 9789 1671
The mood is peaceful at this sculpture park and gallery cafe and the food is simple and appetising: think French fruit toast, fancy open sandwiches and smart tarts.
First published in The Age, September 29, 2013
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