WINE
DINING
Flora and food at Pollen Photos Eva Schroeder
taste
FOOD
Pollen Café has opened at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Pollen café offers healthy, seasonal food that represents Canberra’s flourishing dining scene to visitors and locals alike.
Poppy & Maude Director Tracy Keely is on a mission to find cafes in key locations that she can transform, like her new café, Pollen, at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
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As I sit sipping my freshly squeezed watermelon and mint juice, deeply sunken into a lounge overlooking the tranquil greenery of the Australian National Botanic Gardens, I’m waylaid by complete and utter relaxation, accosted by an alarming lack of worries and hit with temporary memory loss – I forgot I was on assignment! Pollen café bears no resemblance to its predecessor; instead it feels as though one has stepped off the boardwalk straight into a Parisian cottage. It’s hard to pinpoint where the garden ends and the café starts, as now they now seamlessly flow into one another. Generous bouquets of fresh florals set the garden theme along with marble patio tables, cane chairs and pod chairs arranged on fake turf in the serene outdoor seated area; yet the setting still exudes a homely feel with throw rugs, cushions, bookshelves and picture-perfect buffets. “The opportunity came up and I saw huge potential in what this café could be,” Poppy & Maude Director Tracy Keely says. “Through the success of Bookplate (at the National Library), I just knew I could transform this space … make it a destination in its own right.” After reinventing Bookplate with the backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin, Keely had a penchant to dine at iconic Canberra landmarks and the Gardens became her next quest.
“We are about providing a whole experience; making sure the environment is contextual to wherever that café sits in the cultural landscape,” she says. “Bookplate is classic and refined and has a degree of elegance about it because it’s in a National Library amongst a marble foyer. Here, we wanted to keep within the garden feel and make it light, comfortable and home-based.” The venue has pulled away from its previous rustic cafeteria vibe and transformed into Pollen with new paintwork and panelling, soft furnishings and attention to detail with finishing touches in every nook and cranny. The menu is both seasonal and health driven, steering away from carbonated drinks and instead offering a range of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies, along with an emphasis on good coffee. The food, much like at Bookplate, presents the classics with a modern twist – all of which are brought to your table looking picture perfect. “This is a national institution, where tourists come; we need that connection to good food and to promote Canberra by having places that are both beautiful to look and dine at.” Pollen is located at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Open 7 days 8.30am4.30pm; pollencafe.com.au - Talia Liolios