The Meating Room @ Weston Creek

I’m officially a new homeowner. Hello mortgage. Over the last week, I’ve been packing, moving and unpacking. With no time to cook, it meant a lot of take away food. One morning, I decided to get up early to try a new eatery for breakfast before continuing on with more moving and unpacking. I drove to The Meating Room at the Weston Creek shops which opened up a few weeks ago offering a gastropub experience – cafe, grill and bar. The two entrances are hard to miss with bright red signage and entry down into the basement of the building.

I like the graffiti art of the three owners of The Meating Room on the wall near the kitchen. It makes the space a little more personable. (Read more about the owners at the This is Canberra post. I think one of the three owns Vizaar Cafe in Woden).  There are plenty of high tables, stools and television screens for those that don’t want to miss a sports game.

A kids room with a small television, stools, bean bags and a wall covered in comic book pages should keep the little ones entertained.

More wall art on a pillar outside of the kids room.

There’s also a lounge area with couches and comfy chairs for those that just want to enjoy a drink. A blank blackboard against the wall is begging for some daily specials to be written up.

The bar’s down lights are surrounded by plastic crates emitting a warm glow and highlighting the exposed bright red piping that weaves its away around the gastropub.

Pastries check at the front counter – pecan tarts, apple and blackberry crumble, chocolate hazelnut tarts, a range of sweet breads and muffins available.

I started off with a mocha ($4.50) and was really pleased with the perfect ratio of coffee to chocolate. Creamy too!

Breakfast options are limited but includes items such as a bacon and egg roll, eggs benedict, croissant French toast (may need to try that next) and muesli. Gluten free bread is available for those that are gluten intolerant. I opted for the breakfast pizza with bacon, cheese, rocket and baked egg ($11). I added on the avocado salsa ($3.50) to be a little bit more healthy. Served on a wooden board, the pizza is medium in size and packed with ingredients on top. It was nice and cheesy with cheese strings visible when I pulled apart a slice. The thin pizza base held the weight of the toppings and was crispy around the edges. I’m glad I added the avocado salsa for some freshness and juiciness from the cherry tomatoes. I only managed to eat half and asked if I could take away the rest. This was not a problem and a plastic container was provided.

Food options for lunch and dinner includes classic pub grub food like chicken parmagiana, schnitzel, burgers, pastas and salads. The dinner menu has more options with $10 tapas, sizzling prawns, pizzas, ribs, lamp chops and steaks. When I asked why there were no steaks on the lunch menu, I was told that the chefs are still finding their feet and they plan to add steaks to the lunch menu in a few weeks. Of the four items on the dessert menu, the deep fried cheese cake is what I’ll be trying next!

One half of the space at The Meating Room

The Meating Room is already popular with the locals and a friend tells me that it is booked out with early dinner reservations during the week. It was pretty quiet when I was there for brekky during a weekday, but I suspect it will get loud and cheery at night!

The Meating Room is located at 45 Liardet Street in Weston. It faces a large car park so parking will not be an issue. Open seven days for breakfast and lunch, and Tuesday to Sunday for dinner. Bar service until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

Check out its Facebook page for more details.

Foodgasm 7/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 7/10

FPJ score 22/30