I recently realised that the majority of Cheap Eats reviews I do are at Civic establishments so I was keen to branch out – not everyone works in Civic! I heard about a place in Belconnen called Benjamin Espresso and set off there in my lunch break last week.
It was a little difficult to find, because it’s literally up a set of stairs amongst the Benjamin offices and you have to walk across a car park to get to it. There’s also not a lot of signage so I had to ask someone if I was actually in the right place and they showed me the way.
A lot of the places I visit have a lunch special or a couple of items under $15, whereas at Benjamin Espresso every single item on the menu is under $15 and they have quite a bit of variety. Everything from wraps, to burgers, to curries, to stew, to quiche. I wanted a burger but they had run out of buns when I arrived which reminded me of my recent experience at The Waldorf. The staff were very apologetic though. I ordered a chicken and mushroom pie and took a seat outside.
It arrived really quickly and came with chips which I wasn’t expecting. The meal overall is very ‘brown’ and I think it would be more appealing if it came with salad instead of chips.
The pie itself was very good. Delicious flaky pastry and lots of filling. There was a huge amount of chicken inside and a fair few mushrooms. The flavour was good but the pastry really was a standout – much better than I expected it to be!
Benjamin Espresso has a decent amount of seating outside as well as inside, and with a wide range of menu choices it’s the perfect spot to catch up with friends or grab a bit to eat with colleagues… just make sure you get there early!
What: Benjamin Espresso
Where: 3 Chan Street, Belconnen (Benjamin offices, the Aqua building)
Opening hours: 7.00am – 4.00pm (Mon-Fri)
Website: http://www.benjaminespresso.com.au/
