For our second cheap eats, I tried Treehouse on Northbourne Avenue. Already a rising star in the nigh club space, Treehouse is trying its hand at lunches.
I had expectations of pub type meals – tapas put together by a kid chef. However, owner Mike Kadinski has hired two chefs with solid restaurant backgrounds and the menu is impressive.
The décor is surprisingly bright during the day and the hero tree within the treehouse was glittering away. There were nice high tables and good seating. I sat at the end of the bar and was greeted by the bar manager.
I kicked off with Grilled haloumi, cherry tomatoes, zucchini ribbons and babaganoush at $14. The halloumi was soft and the zucchini ribbons were complimented with a lovely olive oil dressing.
Treehouse also serves rollers, which are rich meals served in a tasty roll. I went for the Chilli beef meatball, caramelised onion and cheddar. On Wednesday it was $10 for a roller and a beer – exceptional value.
I am a big fan of squid – so the went the $9 Szechuan squid with Asian slaw and lime aoili, The dish still provided reasonable value and good flavour but I found the calamari rings were a tad small.
So overall we can tick the cheap eats box with this one.
Lunch is available Wednesday to Friday.
With its well-stocked bar, quirky cocktails and lunch specials – I can also recommend Treehouse as a long boozy lunch venue , as we were talking about last week.