Fifty Acres

I had often wondered why there were so few good eateries up the city end of Bridge road, especially considering the presence of the Epworth hospital and the high number of surrounding shops. Surely that amount of foot traffic would be good for a cafe? When Fifty Acres opened up earlier this year I couldn’t help but get a bit excited at the prospect of having a decent mid-shopping lunch break spot nearby.

We headed down for brunch on a Saturday morning to find a full cafe. The turnover was quick and we only had to wait for 5 minutes to get an outside table. The inside seating was quite limited though and I can imagine that in poor weather the wait might be a bit longer.

The menu was short and simple, consisting of mostly standard breakfast options (baked beans, omelette, pancakes) and a small handful of more ‘lunchy’ things (e.g. beef burger).

Breakfast burrito ($13, $17.50 with bacon)

Bob’s breakfast burrito was filled with scrambled egg, manchego, tomato relish, corn, and avocado and black bean salsa. It was hearty, filling and reasonably tasty, but it lacked a bit of ‘something’ to take it to that next level. Perhaps the avocado could have been served on the side with a bit of lime, to add a bit of temperature contrast and freshen it up a bit?

Citrus cured King Salmon ($16)

The salmon was fresh and light. The olive tapenade wasn’t overly salty and was surprisingly well matched with the salmon. Dark rye was a bold, richly-flavoured change from white toast.

The verdict

The food was satisfying and the coffee decent, although it wasn’t rave-worthy. It’s a nice brunch option that I’ll definitely revisit but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it (read: it’s no Top Paddock).

In a word: pleasant.