Mowbray Eatery, Lane Cove

Last month, Sydney Public Relations extended an invite to MSG Cafeteria to visit Mowbray Eatery, which recently opened along the busy Mowbray Road in Lane Cove. As it's a relatively new cafe, there is limited information available online but all of the reviews that I came across online were positive so this place looked highly promising, especially with their focus on serving seasonal and fresh ingredients on plate.

So on the night of our visit, I picked up Ally on route to the location and arrived with minutes to spare before our booking.

Entrance to Cafe

When we first arrived, the area was relatively quiet and serene, mainly because the neighbouring public library was closed. Directly outside the cafe is a small, enclosed playground suitable for young children:

Play Equipment

Whilst taking pictures outside the cafe, I got caught out by Tasia, the owner of Mowbray Eatery, who kindly led us to our tables outside.

Inside of Cafe

I was a little disappointed when Tasia mentioned that their calamari salad was sold out as we were then left with the two other entrée options:

Tomato & Chick Pea Salad with Onion, Greens,
Cucumber and Vinaigrette ($14)

Share Plate with Taziki, Artichokes, Pickles, Sun-dried Tomatoes,
Baba Ganoush and Flatbread ($14)

The tomato and chick pea salad was light and fresh - tossed in olive oil vinaigrette but didn't taste oily. It was maybe a little bit heavy-handed with the ground pepper but otherwise a good start to the meal. The share plate offered an array of food that allowed people to graze on as they chat. I loved the baba ganoush, which was a flavoursome, garlic-y dip that I just smothered onto the flatbread. Sadly (or fortunately for me), Ally was sticking to her no-gluten diet so the flatbread was all mine.

Both of the entrées were simple (maybe even too simple?) - all the elements can be prepared in advance and then plated up. In retrospect, I would expect a little more from the entrées (not that was anything wrong with them), considering what was offered for our mains, which blew our minds.

Crispy Skinned Pork Belly with Braised Lentils and
Spicy Smoked Corn Salsa ($34)

The pork belly was awesome - seriously crispy skin on some succulent, soft pork belly meat. The cut of meat was a little fatty (expected from pork belly) but that skin! It was probably one of the best crispy pork belly dishes that we've had - Ally would not stop raving about it during and after dinner... and all the way home (I kid you not!). The spicy corn salsa was a sweet, refreshing addition to the dish. Although the lentils were a little salty, it worked well with the pork that was on the blander side, which I actually prefer, and not over-salted like at other restaurants when they attempt to achieve the crispy pork skin. The serving portion was unexpectedly generous with two pieces of pork, which appeared to be the standard serving for everyone, given the plates that were served at other tables.

Market Fish (Kingfish) with Asparagus and
Pea Salad, and Salsa Verde ($30)

The other main that we ordered was the kingfish served on a warm asparagus and pea salad with salsa verde. The fish fillet was fresh and well-cooked - crispy skinned with soft and tender flesh that reminded me of barramundi, which is my usual fish of choice along with salmon. The salad was still warm even after taking photos (the warm plate certainly helped), which was a definite plus, and the seasoning for the salsa verde was just perfect.

We were offered sticky date pudding for dessert but we were both full after the mains (I blame the pork.. but I'm not complaining) to fit anything else.

The tree lights in the courtyard lit up around 7:30pm, which were a pleasant surprise:

Fairy Lights in Courtyard

In summary, Mowbray Eatery serves good, wholesome food with fresh ingredients that are sourced locally. Their dinner menu is rather small but changes every Thursday so there will be something different to try every time you visit (unless you go multiple times in one week of course). Tasia and her staff were very friendly and accommodating with all of their customers.

I am interested in checking out their brunch/lunch menu during the daytime because some of the pictures on Instagram look amazing.


Disclaimer: MSG Cafeteria was invited by Sydney Public Relations to Mowbray Eatery. All food consumed were paid for by the cafe. Thanks to Tasia and the team at Mowbray Eatery for hosting and serving up some awesome food!