Carousel
| Where | 22 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, Victoria, 3205—View map |
Contact | 03 8646 6008 info@carouselevents.com |
Website | www.carouselevents.com |
Open | Monday to Sunday 08.00am to 04.00pm |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, Cash |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Welcome |
Jogging buttocks, bastourma and swans
Francesca Fogarty
If you’re looking for that special place to take Gran, visitors, the family to brunch, or just yourself, then Carousel’s it.
Proudly perched on the edge of Albert Park Lake, Carousel combines location, décor and food with quirky service, great coffee and ample space for the dog. There are views of the CBD, St Kilda road, swans, windswept waters and jogging buttocks.
This place also caters for the twenty-and-thirty-something crowd without making either party feel like they’ve stumbled into the wrong venue. There is also a bottleneck of prams in one corner, which indicates this place is very kid friendly (and also indicates that you should avoid this place if bubs aren't your thing just quite yet).
The breakfast menu isn’t huge, but offers enough creative diversity like poached eggs on a zucchini and feta fritter together with old faithfulls such as seasonal fresh fruit salad with natural yoghurt and nut-n-oat sprinkles. Deciding what to order wasn’t difficult as our party contained two foodies, a hangover and a bar mitzvah. Well, to be fair, the bar mitzvah wasn’t part of our party, nor did it consciously influence what we ordered, but the classics pumping through the wall that separates the function venue from the café, such as “footloose” and “please don’t stop the music” certainly added a festive feel to the air.
We got the lot. Well, nearly the lot (two items on the brunch menu had sold out).The breadth of our order actually caused some confusion for the waiting staff with two meals being forgotten, however we didn’t hold it against them seeing as 8 items were ordered for 5 people.
A starter of toasted banana bread with whipped honey ricotta and toasted almonds was quickly devoured by the hangover and the foodies complete with“yum” murmurs. Highlights were the poached eggs with dukkah, bastourma beef and harrissa mayonnaise, served with a red pepper, herb and onion salad, a fresh and light meal packed with sufficient amounts of punch and goodness. The carousel breakie was also a standout. A brimming plate of scrambled eggs, tomato pesto and sautéed mushrooms were nicely complemented by bacon with the perfect amount of crispiness and juicy goodness. Honorable mentions were also the croque- monsieur and the Bircher muesli, although Hamish, being the man that he is, wasn’t a fan of the Bircher muesli. Despite his hesitation, I’d recommend it to those guests who’ve followed a stroll round the lake with breakfast, rather than to those who’ve backed up a night in the city with brunch.
Emma and Tom’s juice and consistently good coffee (we should know, we ordered about 12) kept the table happy, whilst the vista from the indoor/outdoor window seat meant that people watching was mandatory, as were cheeky comments about the various states of neuroses from the city dogs let loose.
So dust off your running shoes and take the kids around the lake before settling in to a communal table and ordering a piping hot grinders coffee. You never know, you might be lucky enough to spot a blushing bride or a freshly christened baby in the adjoining function room.