Look – you’ve forgotten about it, once again. But don’t worry! We can help. Mother’s Day in Australia is on the 9th of May, and that means you’ve got about zero minutes to make a plan. Block it out in your diary now, take a second to earmark a placeholder one week before, and let’s make sure you’re the best child ever (whether that means gazumping your useless siblings, or finally making a show as an only child who gives a damn).
Here are our informed, and appetising, ideas on where to treat Mum on Mother’s Day in (and around) Canberra.
Tipsy Bull – 2/5 Lonsdale St, Braddon
Hurry up and grab a table for ‘Drinks and Nibbles in the Garden’ between 12pm and 4pm at Tipsy Bull right freaking now. The venue describes itself as offering “friendly, fine-ish dining, designed to share with friends, and delicious cocktails, served up classic or with a tipsy twist.” And who better to share such an experience with than MUM?! TB has won all of the awards for the years that matter, and their cocktails (including a DIY G+T) and shares bring us back time and again.
Rizla – Unit 146 Mode3, 24 Lonsdale St, Braddon
Mum wants to stay close and walk from your hovel or her hotel to her well-earned meal (which you’re putting on credit)? NP. Check out Rizla. Riz is also a fab option if mum, like you, enjoys a lie-in (mornings are for slippers, afternoons for decadent dining) and prefers being treated to a nice glass of Pinot and an Instagramable food menu. Mum as influencer = done. Evening bookings are the only ones left, so jump in now.
Siren Bar – 30 Anthony Rolfe Ave, Gungahlin
Want to share something special, or contentious with mum this Mother’s Day? For the low, low cost of $39pp you can host her in a beautiful setting, provide her with limitless mimosas and a brekkie item of her choice, lay out the news you’d rather not share sober, then hug it out over delicious nibbles in the Gunghalin sunshine! We love Siren’s brunch menu (they do chorizo correcto), and their price point will not be beat in the ACT, especially if mum has a soft spot for spirits. Purchase tickets online.
QTea at QT Canberra – 1 London Cct
If you’ve been a bit negligent of late, make up for those missed FaceTimes and host a collective ‘thank you’ for all those last-minute babysitting pickups with an indulgent Afternoon (Q)Tea at the QT on Mother’s Day. Their bespoke menu has something for teeth both savoury and sweet, and Mum will get a flute of Mumms on arrival. Book for 1:30pm or 2:30pm and it is just $65 per adult, or $40 per ankle biter if you need to bring along the kids (because, of course, mum is not available to ‘sit).
Amici Wine Bar & Deli – 59 Northbourne Ave
Amici have you covered all day so you can treat mum to a boozy brunch with bottomless mimosas, charcuterie and cannoli, a lunch of antipasto, pizza and house-made pasta, a tipsy afternoon with live music and wine, or cheese platters and a selection of dishes from their a la carte menu for dinner. Bookings are recommended but walk-ins are welcome. Visit their website to find out more.
Maple + Clove – 7 Burbury Cl, Barton
If mum’s a fan of ethical chow, a lovely, leafy walk and your precious company, book a table at Maple + Clove. Open from 8am-3pm on her special day, you can sit al fresco and enjoy delights like a Blue Swimmer Crab Omelette with Coconut Ginger Rice paired with a glass of crisp New Zealand white, or detox with a beetroot and ginger smoothie – one of our favourite tastes done two (very different) ways!
Donate, dine and dash
If your family’s been affected by breast cancer, as all too many of ours have been, consider taking part in the annual Mother’s Day Classic fun-run at either Lake Burley Griffin or Lake Ginninderra. Throw about fifty bucks per person to an amazing cause, don your pink leggings, pack a sparkling piccolo in your picnic hamper and head to the nearest lake for a feel-good, fresh-air option mum will surely appreciate. By the time of publishing registrations may have closed, but that doesn’t stop you and mum from pinking up, packing a lunch, and donating to the ladies who are running the show as you spread out your blanket having run or not.
Joshua Crouthamel
Joshua Crouthamel brings decades of experience writing, filming and producing culinary reviews and dining trend talk to columns both digital and print across four continents. His most recent move, from Brooklyn (NYC) to Belconnen, keeps him on the lookout for the bestest bagels and brunches, but in his day job at the Canberra Innovation Network and the UNSW Canberra he's on the lookout for new ideas across the spectrum. @JoshOnTheBus on all the things.