Boasting hundreds of dishes from all corners of the globe, Grazeland is a new playground for food-lovers in Melbourne’s inner west. After being in the works for two years, the food precinct has finally opened at the end of March.
It features around 50 food and drink vendors – some you might've seen before at events around town, and others that are making their debut. Grazeland is outdoors, with a deck overlooking the Yarra River, but most of the precinct is covered to account for Melbourne’s unpredictable weather. Open every weekend of the year, the precinct is pet-friendly and offers live entertainment.
If you’re not sure where to start, here are five dishes you must try.
Kilted Haggis’s battered haggis
This small family business is all about Scotland’s national dish, haggis. “Often, people think of having haggis with potatoes and vegetables, but back in Scotland, we’re used it to being on a menu in fish and chips shops, dipped in batter, with chips and spicy sauce. That’s what we missed from Scotland,” says co-founder Elisabeth Paterson.
Kilted Haggis uses the award-winning Pacdon Park haggis, which is made using local lamb pluck and flank. Also on our radar: it's haggis pakora.
You can find Calcutta Club's paneer kathi rolls at Grazeland. Source: Audrey Bourget
Calcutta Club’s paneer kathi roll
Williamstown’s Calcutta Club is taking its Bengali specialties to Grazeland, with a strong vegetarian offering, including the paneer kathi roll. “Kolkata is big with street food, there are street food carts all around the city. We’re trying to recreate a bit of that in Grazeland with our kathi roll counter,” says owner David Chatterjee.
After being in the works for two years, the food precinct has finally opened at the end of March.
His eatery makes its own paneer, which his team cuts into cubes and stir-fried with capsicum, onion and tomato. This gets rolled into a hand-made paratha; you can also have it marbled with a beaten egg and shallow fried.
Tasty Suya’s suya platter
Tasty Suya’s founder Leo Chofor is from Cameroon, where suya is a way of marinating and grilling various types of meat. He uses his grandfather’s marinade recipe, which includes a secret mix of herbs and spices (such as Cameroon's country onion), and grills the meat on a custom-built wood-fired barbecue.
Tasty Suya is serving its signature beef suya, as well as chicken and lamb. The share platter gives you a taste of all the meat. Make sure to add plantains, and to try the red chilli sauce if you like an extra kick.
Claw & Tail’s lobster roll
Chris and Rachel Barlow, the couple behind Claw & Tail, are mixing pieces of Australian crayfish with Canadian lobster claws to make the perfect lobster roll. Served on a buttered toasted roll with mayo, chives and lemon, it’s the star of their seafood-focused menu.
Toyoki Soufflé’s Kyoto Nakashi matcha matcha pancake
Toyoki Soufflé co-founders Simon Shao and Freeman La have worked with friends in Japan to source all the best ingredients and special griddle pans needed for their soufflé pancakes. “We use eggs, but in the process, we separate the egg whites and yolks, mixing them later with flour, milk, vanilla and sugar so the pancakes become fluffy, airy, jiggly and soft,” says Shao.
When Covid prevented Shao and La from opening a dessert store last year, they jumped on the opportunity to serve their pancakes at Grazeland.
You can’t go past their matcha pancake, which is covered in matcha sauce and powder imported from Kyoto (the Nakashi matcha is made with tea leaves from the second harvest, so they have a stronger flavour profile). The dessert is topped with a sweet red bean paste. Toyoki Soufflé’s stall has even been painted green to match the matcha perfectly.
Grazeland’s entry fee is $2.50 per adult (free for children under 12). Parking and bike racks are available, and Spotswood train station is a short walk away.
20 Booker Street, Spotswood
Fri 5 – 10 pm
Sat 12 – 10 pm
Sun 12 – 9 pm
