Everybody loves a food truck and what’s better than a food truck? Lots of food trucks in one location! Grazeland has taken this concept to the next level with over 50 different eateries to choose from in one small location. Let me start by saying that this is quite possibly the best place in Melbourne if you want to sample lots of different styles of cuisine in one location.
Grazeland Melbourne – Photo by Dylan Gatt
I’ve long heard of the reputation of Grazeland and I finally got the opportunity to go down and sample some of the food available. There was so much that it will take multiple visits to try everything and I’m looking forward to doing so.
A good friend and I had a plan on how we would maximise our time at Grazeland and would highly suggest if possible to do what we did to get the most out of your time there. We took turns buying a single meal at a new place and shared it between us. It allowed us to try 6 different outlets before we physically couldn’t eat any more food. Keep it in mind when you go down to make the most of your experience.
Grazeland Melbourne – Location, Transport and Parking
Grazeland is located only 5km from Melbourne CBD at 20 Booker Street in Spotswood, Victoria on the old wharf with the West Gate Bridge proudly in view behind the park.
If you’re traveling from the West, turn right at the Williamstown exit onto Melbourne Road. Alternatively, if driving from the CBD take your first exit to the left as soon as you pass over the West Gate Bridge. Turn left onto Hudson Street and follow the road right to the end and you will see the massive shipping containers making up the entrance to the park.
There is plenty of free on-street parking all along both Hudson Rd and Booker Street. There is also a dedicated EasyPark parking station with 6 hours of parking to the left of Grazeland.
If public transport is your method of transport then taking the Metro Werribee/Williamstown line is the way to go. Get off the train at Spotswood Station and Grazeland is only a short 10-minute walk away.
Entering and Navigating Grazeland
Enter Grazeland from the main entrance between the large shipping containers. There is a $4 per person fee to enter the park but for those with children, little humans 12 years old or younger get in for free!
A row of outlets at Grazeland – Photo by Dylan Gatt
Grazeland has been designed to fit right in with the wharf aesthetic of the town. Your typical food trailers have been replaced with custom-designed shipping containers stacked together like a shipping yard. Two containers per outlet provide lots of room for staff to work and create. The benefit of having wide shipping containers as outlets is simply that the lines of people ordering and waiting for food aren’t converging with one another between restaurants so it makes for a very pleasant experience. The entire park is undercover as well so even on days when rain is forecast your day won’t be ruined by rain or wind.
There are 3 main corridors of food. None have a real theme with foods of different styles, cultures and ethnicities all mixed together providing a gorgeous, vibrant aroma anywhere you are. Each corridor is serviced by a bar that serves multiple beers on tap and spirits as well as a cocktail bar. There is also a small section called “Sweet Street” where 8 different dessert containers are set up ranging from crepes to cannoli, pancakes and ice cream!
There are also a small number of arts and crafts stalls with local artists selling merchandise, paintings and photography of Melbourne and the surrounding suburbs as well as two stages that showcase local and national talent performing music. You can find out which artists are playing on the Grazeland website as well.
The last thing to note is the park is dog-friendly so if you want to bring your pooch along for an adventure Grazeland is the perfect place.
The Food at Grazeland
I mentioned earlier the vast array of outlets there, so sampling everything in one go is not feasible. Each restaurant has anywhere from 6-15 items on the menu so with around 500 different meals to choose from you’re going to find a few things that you really resonate with.
Whilst the pricing is different from store to store the average spend per meal was around the $17 mark. In some places you spend a little more, some a little less. If you set a budget for $20 a meal you’ll have a little left over to treat yourself to a nice dessert.
It’s worth noting too if you plan on sharing meals with friends, every vendor we spoke to was happy to split one meal into two portions or provide multiple sets of cutlery per plate. All cutlery was in the form of disposable wooden/cardboard forks and plates. A real effort to eliminate single-use plastic is in action with 90% of waste at the park ethically recycled.
I visited 6 different locations for my first time at Grazeland and here is what I thought.
Zuya African BBQ
Our first stop was Zuya which specialises in African BBQ. Right behind the counter, a large charcoal grill was firing with slabs of beef and chicken slowly cooking covered in various herbs and spices. 9 different meals were available not including sides which consisted of various combinations of rice, vegetables, salad and of course chicken or beef.
We opted for the Zuya Sandwich with beef. The sandwich was actually a soft roll that was filled with beef, onion, capsicum and some lettuce. Nothing too fancy but the BBQ meat was up there with some of the better I’ve had.
Lucky Little Dumplings
Conveniently next door to Zuya, the craving for dumplings hit hard and who am I to resist? Within just a few minutes of ordering, our 8 steamed pork dumplings were served alongside some coleslaw and a tub of their “Secret Chilli Sauce”.
These dumplings were some of the best I’ve ever had. Packed full of flavour and so, so juicy. As a bonus, the pastry didn’t fall apart like some dumplings I’ve had in the past which is a big tick. The secret sauce was definitely unique. It was very spicy and there were some flavours in it that I couldn’t quite pick but overall complimented the dumplings perfectly.
Ink-redible Calamari
Next on the list was Ink-redible Calamari. I love the pun in the name and I certainly loved the food. We opted for a cone of salt and pepper calamari rings. 8 in total with a wedge of lemon in the middle. Whilst a little pricey compared to say a local fish and chip shop you’re paying for quality. These calamari rings were soft, tender and packed full of flavour. You’ll be hard-pressed to find better calamari rings West of the Melbourne CBD.
Que Rico Paella
A taste of Spain was next on the agenda and Que Rico Paella had us covered. Que Rico provides a small menu with just chicken, seafood and vegetarian paella. That being said, the visual sight of the large traditional paella pans with mussels bubbling away on a hot plate is something you could never get tired of seeing.
We decided on the chicken paella. A plate well stacked with rice, a couple of pieces of chicken, some sprouts, cauliflower and other vegetables. We felt that the chicken paella needed a little bit more to add to the flavour but was still definitely worth the money spent. Next time I’ll opt for the seafood paella just to taste the difference.
Okinami Japanese Eatery
We refreshed ourselves with a beer before making a stop for some Japanese food. We witnessed a few people around the park eating takoyaki and the craving hit us hard so we ordered a serving for ourselves.
Within minutes 8 takoyaki balls covered in Japanese mayo, brown sauce and topped with shaved bonito flakes were served. These were so rich and full of flavour it was almost too much. Almost. Without a doubt these were the best fried octopus balls I’ve ever had.
BratBoy
By this point, I was completely full and almost opted against trying Bratboy but I’m glad I did. Quite possibly the friendliest staff at any of the restaurants we approached, food was ordered and served nice and quick!
The BBQ Brat caught our attention. A bratwurst sausage with grilled onion, bacon, cheese and BBQ Sauce. As an added bonus, the outside of the roll was toasted on the same grill the sausages are cooked on. This was the perfect way to end the afternoon. A juicy bratwurst sausage packed with toppings. You couldn’t ask for anything more.
Conclusion
Grazeland is the kind of place that you don’t visit just once. There is just so much to choose from that you simply won’t be able to experience it all in one go. The fact that the park is just so inviting and accessible to everybody from groups of friends to families with young children, Grazeland is simply a wonderful place to regularly visit.
The visual stylings of each restaurant paired with the wharf aesthetics of towering shipping containers feels extremely inviting and there’s no way you could be in a bad mood navigating around the park.
Make sure Grazeland is on your list of places to visit.
Vendors
48h Pizza Bar
Award-winning Italian woodfired pizza.
Anatolia Gozleme
Authentic Turkish gozleme
Bao Down & Katsu King
Delicious Baos & Japanese katsu sandwiches
BratBoy
German hotdogs & bretzels
Boulevarde Bar
Enjoy a champagne or aperol spritz on the deck
BBL Tea
Tea-based drink with tapicoa balls
Bun Tessa
Vietnamese noodles & soups
Cannoleria by That’s Amore Cheese
Freshly filled cannoli
Chimnutz
Donut based pastry filled with ice cream
Churroland
Spanish donuts
Cielo Gelateria
Italian ice cream & waffles
Claw & Tail
Fresh oysters, lobster rolls & more!
The Crunch Range
Parma’s, super-sized drumsticks and the famous blooming onion
Croioli
Fruit filled puff pastry with toppings
Doughville
Fresh doughnuts, cookies and thickshakes
Drums
Sri Lankan streetfood
El Gaucho
Argentinean BBQ
El Taco
Authentic Mexican
Fat Tony’s
Sandwich Deli
Flame Skewers & Flying Noodles
Melbourne’s famous flying noodles
Frencheese
French Streetfood
Golden Popcorn
Fresh hand popped, kettle corn
Ink-redible Calamari
Fresh calamari made with Nonna’s secret recipe
Juicello
Fresh juice, mocktails & fruit salad
Kustom Burgers
Mouth-watering burgers
Lokma Lokma
Famous Greek lokmades
Lucky Little Dumplings
Freshly made Chinese dumplings
Meadow Bar
Visit us near the main entertainment stage
Metro Bar
Located near our 2nd live stage and big screen
Miss Wonton
Homemade wontons, banh mi & pho
Mr Toum
Lebanese streetfood
New Orleans
Southern fried chicken
Nuts About Ma’amoul
Traditional Middle Eastern semolina cookies
Oceania
Fish & Seafood
Okinami Japanese Eatery
Gyoza, tempura and other Japanese cuisine
Pasta E Basta
Fresh, hand-made Italian pasta
Pierogi Pierogi
Famous Polish dumplings
Que Rico! Paella
Authentic Spanish paella
Rainbow Fairy Floss
Fairy floss made into fun characters
Soft Drink Stand
A variety of soft drinks and water available
Smokeworks
BBQ’d and smoked meats
Stix
The original frozen cheesecake on a stick
Street Crepes
Sweet crepes with all the trimmings
Tandoori Land
Indian Cuisine
That Arancini Guy
Arancini balls & parmigana meatball subs
The Grillin’ Greeks
Greek streetfood, Greek cuisine
Tiger Prawn
Try their famous Pad Thai
Toyoki Souffle Pancake
Light fluffy pancakes made with souffle technique
Twistto
The orginal Korean twist potato
Wired
Great Melbourne coffee
Zuya
African BBQ
Links
Grazeland Website: https://www.grazeland.melbourne
Grazeland Vendors: https://www.grazeland.melbourne/food-and-drink
Performers Schedule: https://www.grazeland.melbourne/whats-on
