Famished? Feed the Kids and Your Sanity at Famished!
Famished on Frasers has the ultimate location for a family looking to eat without drama: adjacent to a large shady park. Situated on Frasers Road Ashgrove this delightful venue is mere metres from The Enchanted Forest (Dorrington Park) partially fenced park. But such is the calm and cosy atmosphere of the venue that you will probably resort to that as a pre or post meal negotiation tactic once you’ve had at least one coffee.
Our family is the ultimate representative for Get Out with Kids: two adults, three children, one vegetarian, one celiac. Don’t let the maths fool you, it equals hard work. The owner/manager Dan seated us at the front entrance which was open enough to feel airy but contained enough to inhibit our roadrunners. The table was already set up for the kids with mini cutlery and although Famished On Frasers has a dedicated kids menu we like to order from the adults menu for everyone so when they don’t like it we get a second breakfast.
The coffee and fresh juice was brought promptly and our waiter was attentive without being overbearing as we laboured over the excellent variety on offer. The options are very well balanced between savoury and sweet, modern and classics. In the end we went with the Maple Carrot Salad, Chipotle Pulled Tortillas (gluten free for the celiac), Bacon and Egg Bagel, The Famished (signature big breakfast) and a Breakfast Wrap. And a partridge in a pear tree.
The wait time was long enough to know the food was being prepared fresh but not so long the children turned feral which is the perfect mix. I took my son for a wander to see the park where we witnessed Spiderman leaving a party and getting changed next to his old Datsun. The proximity of Famished On Frasers to the park makes it the perfect place to grab coffees, pick up extra snacks when the kids have eaten the entire morning’s food in one hour, grab a takeaway picnic lunch or you can book one of three rooms at no charge to meet with friends or family after a park date and have a civilised lunch (BYO iPad).
The food is excellent. Prepared with care from great ingredients everything has an interesting balance of flavours and enough variety to make it feel like a ‘treat’. My Maple Carrot Salad had the perfect mix of savoury and sweet with heavily spiced falafel and roasted pepitas and almonds to add a nutty depth. My partner reported back that the signature breakfast was satisfying in both size and flavour and there was a Game Of Thrones style fork battle as he and my daughter tried to pillage each others plates.
The meals are of a substantial size and I enjoyed nearly 15 minutes of silence as everyone munched through their choices; this was interrupted by my son falling off his chair. The waiter was very compassionate and offered a complimentary babychino but we declined, eyerolled at our son and carried on eating– if we ceased activity every time he fell off something we’d starve.
The parking is easy with plenty of on street parking and a dedicated car park next to the Enchanted Forest park. If you are looking for a relaxed breakfast, easy morning meet up spot for playgroup or friends or a place to quietly meltdown with good coffee and delightful staff then call up and book a table now!
You can find opening hours, contact details and the menus on their website.
