Urban Jungle in Rhodes

I always love trying local cafes, especially when they make their food in-house.  There's something exciting about ordering a dish you haven't seen everywhere else.  But I have to admit, sometimes I get a little sceptical because some places put so much effort into making their dishes look pretty, but taste doesn't really live up to the presentation.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case at Urban Jungle in Rhodes.  Their food not only looks pretty, but it actually tastes good too.  The only downside is definitely on the pricier side, with most main dishes sitting around $25-$35.

Truffle fries

My absolute favourite is their truffle fries.  We order them pretty much every time we go.  They're crispy, packed with truffle flavour and honestly just hard to resist.  At $19, they're not exactly cheap for fries, but they're one of those things I keep coming back for.

Urban benny

We also tried their Urban Benny, their version of egg benedict, which comes with sourdough toast, poached eggs, herbed yuzu hollandaise, tempura field mushrooms, hash brown and sauteed spinach.  It was nice overall, especially with the yuzu hollandaise and the tempura mushrooms were very crispy, but I felt the $27.50 price tag was a bit much.  There were only three pieces of tempura mushrooms, so for that price, I expected a little more.

 

This was the first time we tried the fried chicken waffle, and the portion was pretty generous.  Out of all main dishes, this was probably my favourite.  The combination of crispy and juicy chicken and waffle and the creaminess from runny egg yolk just worked really well.  And it was easily the tastiest dish for me.

Udon carbonara

The Udon Carbonara was another standout.  It was super creamy and tasty, topped with crispy bacon, furikake and a little touch of chili oil, then finished with an onsen egg and Parmesan cheese. At $34, again it's definitely not cheap, but the flavour was there. The chili oil added just enough kick to balance out the creaminess.

Overall, I'd say Urban Jungle is one of those cafes where the food actually lives up to the Instagram-worthy presentation.  Everything looks beautiful, but more importantly, the flavours are there too.

Urban Jungle Rhodes

In Rhodes Waterside

43/1 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes

Ph: 0414 524 156

They have other branches: In Rooty Hill, Hurstville and Parramatta