CBD Cafe Bar

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Part of the Rydges hotel but more like a stand-alone venue, CBD is a large, open, street-level bar/cafe overlooking increasingly busy Grey Street. An attractive venue, it’s polished and modern, with curved lines, atmospheric lighting and a handsome solid timber bar. The centrepiece of the semi-open kitchen is the mosaic wood-fired oven.

Lunches are a fairly quiet affair attracting a mostly office-worker crowd. Pizzas and cafe standards with good quality ingredients are the order of the day; rib fillet steak sandwiches stuffed with salad and apple and beetroot relish, and light meals like the nut-crusted chicken strips with Spanish onion, cherry tomatoes and vodka orange mayo among the most tempting options on the large menu. In the evening, CBD comes into its own, drawing good crowds with its cruisy atmosphere and chilled-out music. The excellent wood-fired pizzas remain the most popular dinner option, with inviting toppings like chilli crab, caramelised shallots, roasted capsicum and bocconcini. An eclectic menu of Asian/Mediterranean influenced main meals includes crispy Chinese pork belly with potato, bok choy, pickled ginger and chilli caramel sauce. A concise, well-priced wine list and a good selection for beer drinkers ensures CBD is busy till late.