One of my work colleagues walked into work with a coffee cup that I didn’t recognise. I asked where he got his coffee from and he told me it’s the best place in Woden for coffee – Urban Bean Espresso Bar, located in the Department of Health building. He loves it because Urban Bean uses Ona coffee. He also mentioned the chips were amazing there and they do good lunches.
So on a day I forgot to bring in my lunch, I headed there with a workmate. It occupies a large space of the ground floor of the Health building. There are tables inside, they could actually fit many more, and a few tables outside.
There’s lots to choose from for lunch such as burgers, fresh wraps, pies and salads. There is also a large breakfast menu written up on the blackboard on the other side.
You can see the fresh sandwiches and wraps in the display counters too. Good to see gluten-free options!
I decided on the Big Urban Burger ($16.90) which comes with a side of chips. The burger was massive and everything (bacon, cheese, onion, beetroot, beef pattie and lettuce) stayed intact with the help of a steak knife stuck in the middle. I liked that there were no fatty gristly bits in the beef pattie. The bacon was of great quality – not the fatty cheap parts that most other places use, this was a good lean cut of bacon. This burger is similar to the Almighty burger from Grill’d but not as tasty and there was too much mayonnaise for me. The best part of this meal were the chips. A nice thick cut with the best seasoning I’ve had in a long time. OMG yes! I guessed a paprika/cajun/BBQ/chicken salt combination but was curious what it actually was, so I asked one of the wait staff behind the counter. She said there are 20 ingredients in the seasoning. Wow. These chips are fantastic! I’d say even better than Kingsleys.
I also ordered a small soy mocha ($4). This came out looking very dark which is good news for me, it means more chocolate! I loved this mocha – so smooth, creamy and delicious. I will have to go before work more often to get my mocha fix!
My workmate ordered a chicken wrap that came with a side of chips which she enjoyed. And could not stop eating the chips even after she was full.
Great coffee and fantastic chips. If you work in the Woden area, I’d recommend you try it out. A small sized chips can be taken away for $2.50. I will be back for sure.
Foodgasm 7.5/10
