As well as family picnics and sitting under shady trees, people go there to run, ride their bikes or walk laps around the park. Basically we go there to eat brunch at the Parramatta Park Cafe and watch crazy people exercise in extreme heat.
The cafe has a lovely outdoor section over looking the beginnings of Parramatta River, a huge air-conditioned indoor area and more outdoor seating overlooking the jogging/cycling path.
The Boy and I choose a seat overlooking the exercise path...and then order burgers! Surely eating burgers whilst watching people exercise has some calorific benefit to us, right?
The Boy orders a Hamburger ($15.00) which turns out to be a monster.
The plump meat patty is deliciously juicy and is adorned with cheese and a generous dollop of smokey BBQ sauce. All the necessary salad elements are present and accounted for: tomato, lettuce, onion and of course beetroot which is a necessity for all good Aussie burgers
I'm not feeling in the burger mood, but the Steak Sandwich ($17.50) takes me eye.
The bread is splattered with a generous amount of savoury garlic aioli and the steak is cooked perfectly, not chewy at all. This is no small accomplishment considering just how well done I like my steak (which is super-dooper well done...I don't mind a bit of charcoal, but if I see blood I might just faint). The sandwich also comes with a beetroot relish (the posh version of beetroot on a burger), rocket and a big fat juicy mushroom. The chips are super crispy and perfect with a shake of salt added.
After brunch/lunch we decide to follow the lead of the fitness fanatics in the park and take our swollen burger-bellies for a bit of a
Parramatta Park Cafe is located in....Parramatta Park. If driving you almost have to do a full lap before you come across the cafe, which is located in the Old Visitors Center. It's pretty much just behind Parramatta Stadium.
