*I was invited to dine at A Bite to Eat in Chifley for dinner, however all opinions are my own.
A Bite to Eat in Chifley has been a much loved suburban local gem for at least the past decade and more. With our invitation to try the new menu, we had originally asked to reserve a spot on the weekend, but as the cafe gets very busy on weekends, we were asked if we could book in during the week instead. As we both have 9-5 jobs, we booked in for dinner one week night.
We started with some drinks – a mocktail surprise for me which ended up being a strawberry and mint fauxito and a whiskey sour for Mr FPJ.
The menu has a pub-like feel with steak, parma, pasta, salads, some entrees and desserts. We decided to try the Southern Fried Chicken burger (usually $20) with herbed smashed avocado, chipotle slaw, lettuce in a potato bun and served with a side of shoestring fries. I loved the crunchy fried chicken which we found out got its crunch from crushed up tortilla chips (so good I put this on my recent 10 Must Eats in Canberra list). The chicken itself was soft and juicy, very easy to bite into through all that burger.
The steak frites (usually $30) came with 300g of scotch fillet, Paris butter, shoestring fries and pickled zucchini salad. We were asked how we wanted the steak cooked, and we asked for medium rare. It came out a little more well done on the edges, but was still pink in the middle. Juicy, buttery and with some fragrant garnishing on top.
I had already eaten salmon for lunch and quickly skipped over the salmon on the menu. However, this was brought out to us as a surprise third dish and we both thought this was the best main of the night. The crispy skin salmon (usually $24) came with creme fraiche, pickled zucchini and harissa salad, shaved fennel, olives and chives. The salmon was so silky smooth, I thought it might have been poached first before crisping up the skin. The fresh crispy salad was light and added a nice tartness to round out the dish.
Mr FPJ ordered a Moscow Mule from the cocktail menu (usually $15 for a glass or $30 for a jug).
Both desserts on the menu arrived a short while after our plates had been cleared. The first was the lavender-infused panna cotta (usually $15) with lemon curd, raspberry gel, almond sponge and black sesame. This was silky smooth with the perfect wobble, though I couldn’t really taste the lavender. A very light dish in contrast to our next dessert.
The chocolate and raspberry fondant (usually $15) came with caramelised white chocolate soil and house made pistachio ice cream. After cutting through the centre, the warm chocolate lava slowly oozed out. Quite a sweet dish with the combination of the white chocolate soil, but a chocolate-lover’s dream. I was also happy with the fragrant pistachio ice cream with real chunks of pistachio in it.
It took a while for our dishes to come out due to the new chef getting into a rhythm, but we had an enjoyable dinner and made a plan to head back for breakfast that weekend. We were seated in the outdoor courtyard at the back of the cafe, which I never knew existed. We ordered the chorizo benedict ($20) which came with grilled chorizo, two poached eggs, smoked potato puree, grilled corn, paprika hollandaise on a rye English muffin. A nice twist to the classic eggs benny. We loved the addition of the smoked potato puree which was delicious.
That weekend’s special was the chocolate and orange bread and butter pudding (unsure of price) with seasonal fruit, dehydrated mandarin and a scoop of the house made pistachio ice cream. I thought the pudding was still a little tough from the layers of bread. It felt like there wasn’t enough of the egg custard mixture set in the pudding. However, it was warm and the chocolate had melted into this breakfast pastry. Another scoop of that pistachio ice cream also made me happy.
We had friendly faces from staff during both our experiences (dinner invite and breakfast non-invite). The mid-week dinner service was a little slow but I think they had worked out any kinks by the weekend brunch service. There are a few tables outside at the front, tables indoors as well as some couches if all you want is a coffee and a book in the retro-styled lounge area, and the courtyard at the back which had sun umbrellas and was very peaceful. We could see fresh herbs and flowers growing, all used in A Bite to Eat’s dishes.
The menu and food styling has definitely been refreshed and modernised from a few years ago. The $20 weeknight specials – steak Wednesday, and schnitty Thursday, are also popular with locals. There are more items from the menu that we would like to try and will definitely go back.
A Bite to Eat
Chifley Shops, 8 Chifley Pl, Chifley, Canberra ACT
Opening hours:
Tuesday: 7.00am – 4.00pm
Wednesday-Friday: 7.00am – 9.00pm
Saturday: 8.00am – 9.00pm
Sunday: 8.00am – 4.00pm
If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal