Heritage Cafe is housed in the historic West Block in the Parliamentary Triangle. Photo: Heritage Cafe/Instagram.
If you live in Canberra for any length of time, you’ll likely find yourself in a conversation about where in the Parliamentary triangle public servants go for lunch. It’s probably item number three on the standard public service small-talk agenda (right after comparing department heads and how many flex hours they’ve accrued).
While I am not a public servant, I am a 30-something-year-old Canberran and therefore have many friends who are public servants. So, inevitably, I hear things.
And word on the street is that a new contender has recently entered the arena as the place to be, with Heritage Cafe opening in the newly refurbished West Block. After the $45 million West Block restoration project, the interior is airy, modern and warm. Heritage Cafe is decked out in terracotta tones – complementing the heritage red Canberra-brick exterior – and makes full use of tall archways for natural light.
The hot bar selection of foods is tempting: keep an eye out for their pork roast. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
A covered atrium welcomes you into the building, with the cafe taking up one corner of the ground floor (the remainder of the site is office space). Like many public service ‘canteen’ style cafes, Heritage offers a range of pre-made sandwiches and salads in the fridge, and a bar of prepared hot lunches. The dishes on display here are creative and look tempting: biryani packed full of veggies, hearty butter-chicken pies, slices of shiny glazed ham … I’m reliably informed that the crackling on the roast pork is top-notch.
I opt for the gado-gado salad. This Indonesian satay-dressed salad is a favourite of mine, and while this version contains more potato than I’m accustomed to, it’s a good deal at $15 for a large bowl. Coffee is delivered to the table promptly, and tasty too, with beans supplied by Sydney-based roasters Othersky.
The cafe is attracting office workers from across the triangle. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The name Heritage reflects the storied history of the West Block building, which is one of three original buildings from when the National Parliament relocated to Canberra from Melbourne in 1927. At one point, it housed the Office of the Prime Minister. The building had been vacant since the Australian Electoral Commission left in 2015. It was hand-balled between developers before being redeveloped and listed for $70 million in October of last year.
At midday on a rainy day, the cafe was beginning to fill up with office workers from across the Parliamentary triangle (one diner had walked in the rain from Treasury). A few tables were booked for a large party, while others tapped away on laptops or simply switched off.
The hope among my APS mates is that Heritage Cafe will prompt other cafes around the triangle to lift their game. But for now, prepare to see lanyard-clad suits from a multitude of departments at West Block.
It’s also conveniently located within just a few hundred metres of both old and new Parliament houses, so it should also be on the radar of any weekday visitors to national institutions looking for a lunch break.
Heritage Cafe is located at West Block, 21 Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes. They are open from Monday to Friday, 7 am to 4 pm. Follow Heritage Cafe on Instagram.
