One of my earliest foodie memories was when I was about five years of age being taken by Mum to the Coles New World (yes, that’s what it used to be called) cafeteria for a treat on the occasional weekend. Along with my two older siblings I remember struggling to try to push my own tray along the runners past cabinets of scones with jam & cream, glistening cakes and coloured jellies topped with fancy aerated cream. Yes, there was savoury food but somehow I only remember the sugary coloured stuff. These were the days when McDonalds was in its first four or five years of starting up in Australia; a place that was a bit fancier than other local family eateries and one we were never taken to. Thanks Mum. I really mean that.
Tap the fast forward button and we see the McDonalds plague has infested the nations towns, cities and arteries and the once popular supermarket cafeteria has packed up or dwindled to virtual nothingness. Whatever we have remaining tends to be frequented by older folk and for research purposes this particular, ahem, middle-aged man that likes to feel nostalgic now and again.
Still going strong for 45 years is the cafeteria at Woolworths on the corner of Park and George in Sydneys commercial heart. Now called Met 2 Cafeteria, it has an airy wrap-around corner dining room up on the third level with lofty views over the QVB and Town Hall. Perfect location for a snazzy wine bar or high-end restaurant but that it aint. The décor may be updated with splashes of bold colour, modern pendants and flat screen tv’s but the overall menu still seems to be caught up in a bit of a time warp, much like No Name Italian Restaurant in East Sydney and a few others about town.
Over the course of several days I became a regular at Met 2 and once again slid my plastic tray along the runners and chose what was on display in the cabinets or off the menu, paid up to the not-so-chirpy woman at the helm, took my change, table number, cutlery, salt & pepper sachets and sat with people twice my age peering into space wondering why the grandkids haven’t called.
Pie with chips and gravy is a bit of a fancy classic in a joint like this, made even classier when the person dishing it up tears your hot pie from a cellophane packet and slides it onto the plate next to some hot chips. Breakfast is made easy for us as well because all you have to do is point into the hot cabinet and nominate what pre-cooked eggs, bacon, tomato and buttered toast you desire. Bacon and eggs with a coffee made from a real espresso machine for $8. Now this is a paradise for the budget conscious.
The Scotch fillet special seemed to be running every day that I dropped in so it was a no-brainer that I give it a burl. A dizzying array of sauces to choose – pepper, gravy, mushroom or Diane. Gosh, what to have? Of course, something I last had in 1982. Steak Diane! Sided with roasted and boiled veg straight from the bain-marie, my requested medium-rare steak came at medium doneness. A tad over-cooked for me but nothing worth getting my falsies unstuck about.
I ended up having the seafood basket and coffee cake twice, not because they were amazing but because I accidentally deleted the first photos before I transferred them to the computer. Crumbed calamari, prawn cutlet, battered fish and scallops fresh from a freezer packet along with the finest bottled tartare and lemon wedge. Thank god for the three bits of cucumber and tomato on the side for a bit of fresh crunch. All that grease was chased down with a layered coffee and chocolate cream cake. Feeling ill, much?
Of all the pasta dishes on the menu I went straight for the classic spaghetti bolognese. It’s a tad on the watery side but still flavoursome and much like something you may knock up at home if you weren’t much of a chef. The beef rissoles with veg looked pretty impressive in the bain-marie but as soon as I took a knife to one of them I knew something just wasn’t right. The sauce is a combination of savoury and sweet with the discovery of small pieces of tinned pineapple wafting about the runny gravy and the rissole itself was so arid dry I got half-way though and just gave up. Eating these will surely test the strength of your denture glue and digestive system.
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Oh my I had no idea that cafeteria was still there. I used to pop in there as a starving student. Looks like the menu is still the same>
tania@mykitchenstories.com.au recently posted..Hello Sunshine
You’re too funny! I thought those old-skool cafeterias disappeared ages ago – they should be heritage preserved (for old fogies like us!). I, too, have wonderful memories of pushing that tray along and choosing a pie with sauce followed by red and green jelly for dessert. Ah, memories….
OohLookBel recently posted..Claude’s Woollahra – and (almost) another year older
One of my fondest school holiday memories was going in to town with my aunt and either heading to Grace Bros or Coles cafeteria, I think the one at Wollies must be the last one left. It was so much fun as a kid to be able to pick and choose what you wanted and put it on your tray.
Rissoles of yesteryear… yummo!
Tina@foodboozeshoes recently posted..Filling up at The Fern
Oh Jesus, I thought Woolies had closed that cafe a couple of years ago. My Mum who is 86 used to meet up with some of her old friends in that place for years. She is now in a Nursing Home and their food is a lot worse than this cafeteria. She looks back on Met 2 with very fond memories. As a kid I loved the cafeteria on the top floor of DJ’s Elizabeth St store. The same deal with the trays and the bain-marie but just fabulous as a kid. DJ’s also had a mezzanine art gallery on that floor which was just fascinating and terribly grand. Farmers nee Grace Bros, nee Myers used to have a basement cafe too, always reminded me of the bowels of a ship.
That’s a lot of peas! Your post has made me nostalgic, too. In my case it was the cafeteria at a department store back home after Saturday shopping with Mum, I used to have salchipapas (sliced frankfurters with potato chips, topped with a fried egg) and chocolate cake. Bad food, good memories
Gaby recently posted..Birthday day
This is classic. At my old work, there was a guy who use to come here every day, if not every second day. They don’t make them like they use to he would say.
Howard recently posted..Martinborough, Wellington New Zealand
I remember when Coles was still Coles New World and had a space travel theme about it. I also remember my local Big W having one of these cafeteria’s inside of it – located conveniently close to the toys and books sections.
And, uh, nice to see you catering your posts to an expanded audience =D
mademoiselle délicieuse recently posted..Sugar Hit: Sydney Harbour Marriott & InterContinental
My partner and I had dinner at the Met2 last saturday. I used to eat there regularly, now I wouldn’t even take my dog. The meal we had was absolutely disgusting, the worst meal we have ever eaten. The roast pork was as tough as an old boot, the baked potato and pumpkin tasted like it was cooked three days before. The whole meal was only lukewarm if that and to top it all off the can of coke we had with it was warm as well
Hi Heather, Pity about your bad experience but Met 2 isn’t somewhere you can visit with high expectations. Can I can assume you let them know how you felt rather than just vent on my site?