Contained within Old Parliament House, one of the most unique locations in Australia, this stylish cafe was awarded the Best Cafe Restaurant at the NSW Restaurant and Catering awards in 2005. Ginger Catering operates the cafe (and functions/special events), offering breakfast, brunch and lunch into the afternoon. With alfresco dining in the House of Representatives courtyard, the setting is complemented by the superb food from the seasonal menu and warm, attentive service. Offering dishes like a succulent Mandarin chicken and grilled prawns on coconut rice with peanut and mint dressing, or a variety of tempting gourmet sandwiches and toasted wraps, Cafe In The House has an excellent selection of local wines with daily specials to complete your meal. Coffee in the courtyard with a mousse or tiramisu is a great way to ease into an afternoon as you invoke a sense of history.
Marty Begbie
Open
m
t
w
t
f
s
s
Breakfast
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Lunch
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Dinner
Late
Daily 9am-5pm
Modern Australian
Mains: $7.50-$18
Dessert: $6.90-$9.90
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, American Express and EFTPOS
Licensed. Wine is available by the glass.
This venue accepts bookings. It is advisable to make a reservation ahead of time. Group bookings are supported.
Seats 160
Outside dining area
Wheelchair access
and wheelchair-accessible toilets
All reviews and ratings are the expressed opinions of our users, and in no way reflects the opinions of yourRestaurants, its staff and its affiliates.
Posted by:
TheGastronaut
|
1 October 2009, 10.28am
A good cafe in a magnificent "house"
Working in the Barton/Parkes area, I never get tired of lunching at Cafe in the House - and recently refurbished, it is better than ever. It is possibly a tad overpriced, benefitting as I'm sure it does from the patronage of many a hungry tourist, and sometimes the service staff get a little confused but overall I always find dining there a pleasant experience. The main meals are generally good quality and the coffee is great. I have had an overcooked breakfast or two there but on the up-side, the Chai Latte is second to none in the ACT. On top of it all, the location - in one of the nation's best historical attractions - is hard to beat.
Food:
Visit: Wed 26 August 2009
Mealtime: brunch
Service:
Atmosphere:
Posted by:
actdiner
|
22 August 2009, 8.57am
Not Impressed
We hadn't booked a table but on arrival a table was found for us. We were served water first off and waitresses were efficient and friendly. Our 7 year old's kid's meal was good value and tasty however the Eggs Benedict I ordered was rather cold and small for the price. My Husband ordered the Big Breakfast which was not as big as it calimed to be. Have had much nocer breakfast offering at other restaurants in Canberra. Main complaint is that another couple sitting behind us sat down about 10 minutes after us and yet they got their meals about 15-20 minutes before our meals arrived! We mentioned this to the staff member when paying the bill. She just said they were really busy. Not good enough. Won't be going back to Cafe in The House.
Food:
Visit: Sun 16 August 2009
Mealtime: lunch
Service:
Atmosphere:
Posted by:
Mat&Pamela
|
11 April 2008, 3.37pm
Promises much but ultimately disappointing
It's not often we are pushed to write a bad review. But as this is supposed to be an icon of Australia and something we hold up to visitors as an example of Aussie hospitality we felt we just had to write.
As it was a nice autumn lunchtime we would visit The Cafe In The House as local papers had recommended it, it boasted awards as long as your arm on its website and the venue sounded great.
We arrived at 1:45pm and a pleasant waiter took us to a very nice al fresco table.
First dissapointment; Pamela is vegetarian and they had run out of the only veggy main-dish (the usual, veggy 'Quiche'). So while Pamela was forced to order the only veggy option - Pumpkin chilli soup with sourdough - Mat ordered the James Squire Amber Ale battered fish fillets with fries salad and tartare.
We were offered drinks by attentive wauting staff and Pamela had a Tomato Juice, Mat happy with the water.
Second disappointment; Although the order was quickly and efficiently served, the bread was a slice of ordinary white and there was no butter. The soup was overpowered by the chilli, leaving little else to taste and the Fish Fillets quite ordinary. Nothing was unpleasant, but nothing other than you might expect from an ordinary local cafe rather than Old Parliament House. Only exeption was the fries, they have flavour and were very well presented with a crispy outer and powdery white flesh.
Third and main disappointment. On coming to pay we were told the Eftpos/Credit-card machine was not working and we would have to pay cash. Well, we didnt have cash, on the door and counter we have checked that Eftpos was taken and that Credit cards were taken too if Eftpos didn't work.
"Oh, didnt the waiter tell you? The system is not working" - Um, no, otherwise we would have left to eat elsewhere as we had no cash on us! The only help was to tell us where the nearest ATM was. So with Pamela left as hostage, Mat had to drive to Kingston, where we knew a St George ATM was, and return with the cash. At no point did the manager offer a complimentary drink - even water! - or even appologise. Why there is no manual backup, using the old paper system is a mystery. We left The Cafe in the House disappointed.
Food:
Visit: Fri 11 April 2008
Mealtime: lunch
Service:
Atmosphere:
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