Gather & Grounds is now open in Glenelg
Expect the staples of a good brunch, combined with Asian fusion flavours, washed down with their signature Vietnamese coffee.
Natalie Nguyễn wanted to replicate the bold, rich flavours of home-cooked meals and classic Vietnamese coffee from back home when launching her Gather & Grounds café, tucked near the corner of Waterloo Street and Jetty Road in Glenelg.
“As a Vietnamese [person who migrated] to Australia back in 2014… I wanted to create a space where people could experience the same warmth and passion, where every dish is crafted with care, just like the meals I grew up with,” she says.
Natalie has paired her 14 years of customer service experience with the culinary skills of her household to launch a true family business.
“I have my niece, Cynthia. She’s a barista, so she makes the coffee, and her boyfriend is a cook. He’s been working in a breakfast café and also a restaurant,” Natalie says.
“So, customer service, and coffee and food: we bring it all together, and we make this.”
Natalie says her team sought inspiration from near and far when composing their menu and determining how they could add to the beachside area known for their brunch locales.
“Before we opened the café, we went all around the cafes around Glenelg, and we even went to Melbourne, to pick up something special to put on our menu,” Natalie says.
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“Glenelg has a very incredible café culture. There [are] three or four cafés [with] brunch around, but we are here to offer something personal and unique.
“It took a lot of time to work [the menu] out, you know. We had a lot of arguments — what should we put in here — we put this, we don’t like it, put another thing.”
Part of the Gather & Grounds food offering. This picture: supplied.
Gather & Grounds offers a comprehensive all-day breakfast and lunch menu, featuring much-loved breaky classics, along with specialty dishes from eastern and south-eastern Asia.
“On the menu, we have chicken katsu sando – this comes from Japan – ube taro hot cake which is coming from the Philippines, our chicken waffle supreme… and also the bánh mì, with rustic, crackling pork”.
Natalie’s recommendation is the softshell crab croissant which is “[a] big buttery croissant, toasted, and then deep-fried softshell crab”.
Gather & Grounds also has an extensive drinks menu that will please the average coffee connoisseur and the more adventurous drinker alike.
“We have specialty coffee such as batch brew, cold brew – we make it every day. [We have] Mont Blanc [and] in Glenelg, they don’t have Mont Blanc,” Natalie says.
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“We also offer speciality matcha and hojicha from Japan – we have a lot of feedback from the customers that they love our matcha.”
This picture: supplied.
Natalie warns while Vietnamese coffee is unlike the classic brew that Australians may be used to, it offers a rich, full-bodied flavour that’s worthy of a try.
“In Vietnamese coffee, we have a strong flavour of robusta coffee beans,” Natalie says.
“The Vietnamese coffee is very bold in flavour, so when people come for the Vietnamese iced coffee, I explain to them we don’t put milk in there, just condensed milk and 120ml of coffee.
“It will be less than the normal iced coffee in Australia, but the customers [have] really enjoyed the flavour of the Vietnamese coffee”.
‘Brighten your day with every sip’ is emblazoned on the olive-green shirts the Gather & Grounds team wears. Natalie hopes that her café can do this by offering the community a cosy and comfortable getaway from Jetty Road.
“At our café, we want everyone to feel at home,” she says.
“Whether it’s a quick coffee, takeaway, long brunch or quiet moment alone, we want every visit to be relaxing and an uplifting experience”.
Gather & Grounds is located at 3 Waterloo Street, Glenelg and is open from 8am until 3pm every day.
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