GRANO - WETHERILL PARK, SYDNEY

Grano
1009 Canley Vale Rd,
Wetherill Park, Sydney

Where do we start with a place like this?

It’s bursting at the seams with charm and appeal - you can’t go past without promising yourself a meal there.

In a fairly bland semi-industrial area, Grano is a magical scene of colour.

You will see wheelbarrows and trolleys filled with geraniums and herbs as well as hanging baskets of greenery everywhere you look.

An ornate vegetable display features in the entrance.

There is indoor and outdoor seating and little rustic ornamental touches add to the character of this beautiful place.

In fact, the attention to detail has me wondering if the food is just as perfect. So we were just as keen to check the menu out!

The menu was tempting, with entrees, salads, mains, pizzas and pastas. We decided on the Piatto Fritto per Due which was a very big selection of crumbed goodies including eggplant, feta-stuffed olives, salt and pepper calamari and others on a bed of balsamic greens.

It was for two people but a very generous serving. We both agreed it was possibly the best calamari we have had!












For mains we chose the intriguingly named Granchio e Aglio.

This was in fact perfectly cooked spaghetti with a beautiful mix of spanner crab, zucchini, garlic, shallots, cream and tomato.

It was so delicious! The flavours were delicate and it all combined so well and was nicely presented in its own small pan.

Our next main was Filetto di Manzo Occhio.

This was a beautiful grilled eye fillet of beef (260g) with wood fired vegetables, wilted spinach and truffle pumpkin puree.

It was cooked to perfection and very tender. It was such a wonderful and generous dish and the plate exploded with colour!

Thumbs up indeed.

Could we possibly fit in dessert? No, but the choice was too tempting. 

Apart from a dessert menu, there was a pizze dolci (sweet pizza) menu. So we chose the Roche Roche. This delicious thing was covered in Grano’s special caramel sauce, whipped cream, tim tam pieces and ferrero roche chocolate crunch. I don’t know if it was because it was lighter than expected, or if it was just so moreish but we couldn’t stop eating it. That caramel sauce was just superb!

Would we come back here again? Absolutely. 

It was a wonderful experience and a place you could comfortably recommend to others. The food certainly was a match for the décor which we would describe as excellent. 

These Dames would like to get back to explore the menu further. It is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, with shorter hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays.


Those Dames, who review for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of Grano. Thanks to Christina for looking after us so well. Special thanks also to Carmelina for the invitation.

 

THE FACTORIA - WETHERILL PARK, SYDNEY

The Factoria
1003-1009 Canley Vale Rd,
Wetherill Park, Sydney

This place is just bursting with character!

Located in an otherwise ordinary semi-industrial area, Factoria is like an oasis in the desert.

As you approach, you are immediately impressed with the colour and charm of the garden setting.

Rustic outdoor seating with umbrellas and pots of leafy plants and flowers adorn the entry and a gorgeous old bicycle tops it all off.

Factoria has an awesome array of counter goodies, especially cakes and pastries.

There is also a range of ready-made savoury pastries and focaccias and a gelato bar at the back.

 If that isn’t enough to make you smile, turn around and you will see an attractive layout of specialty imported gourmet products such as pastas, oils, vinegars, condiments…..so much lovely stuff you could browse for ages.

There were also plenty of things we had never seen before. There is even a room out the back with backlit shelves which are packed with more of these fascinating foodie items.

We were there for lunch so we headed for the savoury section.

There were roasted vegetable foccacias, croissants and frittatas but Dame M chose a spinach quiche and Dame K had the shepherd’s pie.

The quiche was vegetarian and very tasty with a nice soft pastry.

The pie was not the usual looking shepherd’s pie, but a pastry-enclosed turnover style.

The meaty filling was delicious and full of vegetables (including potato, of course). We also had the house coffee, Will and Co, which was superb.

The staff here are super friendly and our lovely waitress Vanessa suggested we try a selection platter of dessert items. After a lot of mind-changes, we came up with a good looking and good tasting combination. Strawberry cheesecake, cannoli with vanilla custard, Chantilly raspberry tart, chocolate hazelnut stick and lemon biscotti! It was hard to choose which was the best but Dame M nominated the Chantilly raspberry tart. But each to his own – Dame K liked the cannoli and the biscotti the most.

Factoria is decorated inside like a retro style kitchen. The bright orange and white cupboards and café curtains made me feel like I was at Grandma’s house for morning tea. There’s certainly a lot of fascinating things about the place which makes it a great spot for a visit. It has a lot more than your average coffee shop and we really enjoyed the experience.

Those Dames, who review for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of The Factoria. Big thanks to Carmelina Catanzariti the General Manager there for this invitation.

 

XS ESPRESSO - WETHERILL PARK, SYDNEY

XS Espresso
9A/1183 The Horsley Drive
Wetherill Park, Sydney

In the middle of a group of shops in Wetherill Park, you can find this buzzy little café.

There is a parking area outside which makes it a convenient spot to stop for a lovely breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Obviously very popular among the locals – as we approached there was a line-up outside the door. Don’t let this frighten you.

These people are here for the take-away and if you walk in past the line, there are tables inside. We managed to find one straight away, even though it was also very busy inside.

The menu is not overly complicated but very effective and also memorable.

Dame M started with what was unsurprisingly a great Campos coffee.

It’s not surprising that there were so many take-away coffees flying out the door here.

Good coffee is so valuable in our lives!

Dame J ordered the Berry Blast, served in a jar, which hit the spot.

It was big, fruity and very tasty.

Dame J then ordered the delicious Grilled Chicken Salad with nicely crispy bacon, beansprouts, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, snow peas and leafy greens.

She thought it was very fresh and the marinade on the chicken was very good.

She also commented on the tasty house-made chilli lime dressing.

Dame M decided on the XS Chicken Burger, which arrived on a board with a basket of chips.

The chicken was marinated and the peri peri sauce was totally delicious. She would definitely recommend this burger!

The brioche bun was soft and very light so she didn’t feel weighed down afterwards.

There seemed to be an extremely high level of traffic in this popular little eatery.

The lunch-time locals were filling up the tables and the staff were very busy providing for the take-away crowd.

It was all done smoothly and efficiently.

Behind the counter there were ready-made rolls and a beautiful array of pastries, scrolls and cakes.

You can’t come to XS Espresso without trying one of the many amazing milkshakes on offer. These crazy indulgent treats actually taste as good as they look. Dame M ordered The Monster, which was a dark chocolate shake with cream, ice cream, chocolate Belgian waffles and Tim Tams. It felt like it was our birthdays!

Dame J had the Superstar, which was equally sensational, piled with caramel, cookies, Maltesers and Kit-Kats  and decorated with M&M’s. Wow! She loved it of course and managed to drink more of it than she thought possible!




















You really should come to XS Espresso for a unique and worthwhile experience.

Good food and amazing beverages are on offer which we haven’t seen anywhere else.

It was indeed a treat.


Those Dames, who are now doing reviews for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of XS Espresso. Special thanks to Claire McPherson of CPM Online Marketing Services for the invitation.