I have a lot of friends that have raved about Grace the Establishment and apparently its the place to be seen. At the front is bar area, which is nicely decorated with low hanging semi spherical light fittings and classically styled high dark wood tables. This leads to the restaurant dining area, which then leads to the beer garden at the rear.

There are basically two menus; a bar menu and a restaurant menu. We were told we could have the restaurant menu if we were sitting at the bar tables, but we couldn’t have the bar menu when sitting in the restaurant. The staff here were friendly for the most part, however, I thought one staff member was a bit intrusive. In the middle of a private conversation, the staff member who was obviously eavesdropping, proceeded to give his opinion on our personal conversation! Seriously?

Tonight, I ordered the Reuben Sandwich which is made up of corned Wagyu beef, sauerkraut, mustard and pickle in sour dough bread. It came with a serve of chili fries and aerated cheese. The meals came out after a 15 minute wait and all meals arrived at the same time. The dish was nicely presented, however, in this case, the description of the meal was better than the dish itself.

The sour dough bread was nicely toasted, however it was unbelievably tough. I had problems cutting into the bread with a steak knife. The corned beef looked like regular corn beef to me and I’m a bit skeptical the meat came from a Wagyu cow. The sauerkraut and pickle were what you would expect, and the sandwich as a whole was OK, but not to my particular tastes. The fries were thin and well cooked. The addition of chili powder gave the dish colour and a bit of kick. The aerated cheese was something I had never tasted before, but I thought the whole concept was just a bit of a wank.

The atmosphere was quite relaxed but only because it was a weeknight. I’ve been here on a Friday night before and the vibe was completely different. Personally, I don’t see what all the hype is about. A nicely decorated venue with nosey staff and overpriced food? No thanks.

WHERE: 127 The Parade, Norwood