NGA Cafe, National Gallery of Australia

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Posted 2016-01-21 by Sue W ⇒ follow

The NGA café is located inside the National Gallery of Australia in Parkes. The National Gallery is one of Canberra's most popular tourist attractions with blockbuster exhibitions held throughout the year and permanent exhibitions to enjoy. At the time of writing, the National Gallery is showing the Tom Roberts Exhibition (until 28th of March, 2016), however see their website for the latest exhibitions.

To get to the National Gallery entrance, it is easier to park your car in the underground carpark (paid parking during the week at $2.50 an hour, free on weekends) and walk up to street level.
At the entrance of the Gallery is the more casual Street Café, selling traditional Vietnamese street food and coffees between 8am to 4pm - weather permitting.

As you walk into the Gallery the sheer size is overwhelming. It is free entry to get in and wander around the permanent exhibitions, however the temporary exhibitions have a cover charge. If you wish to start your Gallery experience with a coffee, visit the NGA Café at the back of the building overlooking the Sculpture Garden. The café can be viewed from the floor above as you make your way along the gallery.

The café has high ceilings with long flags down one wall promoting the current exhibition. At the end of the café are floor to ceiling windows to let the light in, looking out to the leafy Sculpture Garden below. There is a pleasant feeling to the café with diners happily enjoying a coffee or meal before exploring the Gallery again. If you are visiting for a quick lunch, like we did, then there are a number of hot food items on display to choose from such as gourmet sausage rolls and pies with salad from $10 as well as a variety of healthy gourmet sandwiches, wraps and rolls for $11 (which is on the pricey side).

The à la carte menu includes Salt and Pepper Squid ($14), Spicy Tofu ($16), Crispy Pork Belly with slaw and apple sauce ($17), Fish and Chips ($18) and a range of kids meals between $6 and $12. This Menu is available between 11:30am - 3:30pm. If you would like a glass of wine with your meal they have a variety of wines and other hot and cold drinks to choose from.
If you visit with children there is enough space between the tables for prams and they provide colouring in pencils at the counter.

The NGA Cafe it is an enjoyable place to rest your feet and recharge whilst enjoying the gallery and other attractions nearby. It has an old fashioned quality to it, which is perfect for such a location. After exploring the Gallery, it is an easy walk across the road to the Portrait Gallery and High Court or Lake Burley Griffin is just at the end of the road. The National Gallery of Australia is a fascinating place to explore and with constantly changing exhibitions - a place that you can keep going back to time and time again.