Fortysevenkirwanstreet, 6014

Existing quietly among the leafy homes of Floreat is Fortysevenkirwanstreet. Here you will find a cafe that treats brunch with far more finesse than poached eggs on toast.  Peaceful ambiance, creamy coffee and a dish for every mood.

My favourite menu item would be the Mushrooms and Asparagus breakfast.  Comprising a small mountain of three of my favourite yummy things, it is a dish of plenty.  Button mushies, perfectly seared asparagus and a generous glob of soft, salty goats cheese.

Mushrooms, asparagus, rocket, spinach, goats cheese on multi-grain toast

On the mornings when you're craving that savoury saltiness, I recommend the Potato and Leek Bake. An oven made hash brown making nice with smoked salmon, runny egg and crowd pleasing Hollandaise.

Potato & Leek bake, smoked salmon, poached egg, rocket, hollandaise

These days every second cafe seems to have a Middle Eastern style egg dish.  Served in some sort of claypot/basket/rammekin, its offered as a alternative breakfast item...now not so alternative. Fortysevenkirwanstreet is no different, creating their own (delicious, still) version of a Shakshuka.  The sauce is thick and rich, teeming with tomatoes, peppers and fetta cheese. Eggs are cooked just right with a lovely inclusion of fresh herbs.                         

Shakshuka

The Bircher muesli is one of the most attractive birchers i've seen.  A mound of shredded apple, sultanas, cherries and toasted macadamias, it is very fruit-rich. This ones a bit light on the oats-factor for my liking and I couldn't taste a hint of cinnamon but its an enjoyable, wholesome breakfast all the same.

Bircher muesli, cinnamon apple

Shakshuka sticks around for lunch and joining it are  dishes involving (from memory) Pork Belly, Slow cooked meat and parpadelle, a salad of smoked trout, egg, potato and my choice that day; salad of beetroot, baby zucchini, green beans, mixed leaf and fetta tzaztiki. Fresh, summery, scrumptious!

Beetroot, herbs, beans, zucchini, roasted onion, tzaztiki

Tempting you at the counter bench are a small selection of ready to enjoy goodies like paninis, mini brioche, custard tarts, chocolate-postachio brownies and sweet and savoury muffins. We couldn't help but grab ourselves a treat for the road.

Blueberry -coconut slice.

Custard tarts

If you like a brunch menu with interest and enjoy being tucked away from hustle and bustle, Fortysevenkirwanstreet is for you.

Food: 4/5
Coffee: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Space: 3/5

Collodel Ice Creams & Sorbets, 6076

Don't be fooled by the generic blue and white cups because what's inside is far from ordinary. Collodel is a family-run Ice cream parlor located on Haynes Street in Kalumunda. This place sells the real deal, and often misleads new customers with it's ho-hum exterior, making that first lick of Collodel gelato, even more memorable.

The dreamy gelato is made using traditional techniques that come from the Dolomite region in Northern Italy, and they make it every day, right there on the premises. How it should be.

Soft, rich, voluptuous gelato, the stuff here is on par with that I’ve tried in Italy and Spain. With flavours like Coconut, Crème Caramel, Coffee Cream, Vanilla Bean, Yoghurt & Berries, Cookies & Cream, it’s very hard to settle on a single serve. Faced with this difficulty, I ended up choosing three scoops; Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Rocher and the stand out flavour - Mascapone with Cointreau and Lemon Curd.

My goodness they were delicious! The Chocolate Rocher tasted like Nutella and is honestly the best chocolate/hazelnut version I've ever tasted. Eye-popping good. The Mascapone with Cointreau and lemon curd was exquisite; a perfect balance of tartness, sour and sweet. It tasted like a richly creamy cheesecake, stained with citrus. The Cookies & Cream was a treat too; a real vanilla bean base with crumbled bits of what tasted like half-baked tiny teddies.

At $4.50 for three scoops and $3.50 for two, I think this is pretty decent value. For amazing quality gelato, this is definitely worth the drive (and the calories). I'm calling it. Collodel Ice Cream & Sorbet; best gelato in Perth!

Food: 5/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5

Spice Shack, 6053

Its slim pickings out in Bayswater and Spice Shack is a welcome relief from the monotony of grotty lunch bars around this industrial area. I discovered this little oasis driving on my way to work one day and have been back a few times since trying their delicious Sri Lankan home cooking.

The curries are SO tasty and not to mention great value. 1 Meat + any mix of vegetable curry is $10.50 and 2 Meat + Veg combo is only $12.50. They also have a "Pick Me Up" pack, which they describe as a "quick, fresh and tightly packed box of takeaway goodies".
Its also nice to try some spicy food that's a little different from the plethora of Indian and Thai curry options around Perth. So today I got the special which was some sort of hot pot of Roast Pepper Chicken along with a Dahl, a Pumpkin curry and rice ($8.50). The rice was fragrant, light and not starchy. The chicken had a tasty smack of pepper and chilli and the pumpkin was mushy and mildly honeyed. I generally find Dahl to be a runny, bland excuse for a vegetarian curry but the Dahl I had today was a lovely lumpy texture and full of flavour.

Great taste and rotating daily specials have made spice Shack a lunch time favorite. They also sell a selection of refrigerated meals and Ceylonese snacks like Roti breads, cutlets ($1.50), fish cakes, curry puffs ($2.50) and a sweet home-recipe iced coffee. An assortment of curry pastes, chutneys and spice mixes are also available, making it possible for customers to make their own spicy creations at home.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Decor: 2/5
Value!: 5/5

P'tite Ardoise Bistro, 6003

I had been eager to try P’tite Ardoise ever since I saw the cute chalkboard sign had been raised outside its doors on Beaufort St in July. The name transaltes to "Little Blackboard” which nakes for a recurring motif around the restaurant. I found myself playing a game of spot the baby blackboards, picking them out on the menu, the napkins, on the waitstaff as well as bearing the tasty bonne bouche!

After being warmly greetd by the staff and seated at our table for 8, we all took a very lengthy look at the menu. It was so hard to choose! After changing my mind about 4 times, I settled on sharing ‘Snails My Way’ for entrée and the casserole of the day, which was seafood, for main.

Orders in, the doting waitstaff moved around our table with baskets of freshly baked assorted breads. I love that we got to choose what bread took our fancy (seeded? Herbed? Baguette?) and whether we even wanted bread to begin with. I usually shun carbs before my meal so I can squeeze in dessert, but the bread (along with trio of butter, e.v.o. and olive tepenade) looked to good to pass up.

The snails arrived; three ramekins lined up on a rectangular slate. I was a snails virgin before this night and I definitely chose the right time and place to try, because these were delicious. Sealed under a toasted circle of buttery bread, in a luscious sauce of cream, herbs and tomato – simply yummy!

The mains were excellent too. Each of the Pork, Beef and Salmon were paired with the sweetnees of apple or pear and sealed with a lusty wine reduction. Each element of my casserole; the catfish, the prawns, the clams, the potato; cooking was timed perfectly. The accomapnying sauce was really delicious too. Despite a reluctance towards parsley, I ended up spooning it up like it was soup.

The vegetarian main was "superbly tasty” according to my company. The French aren’t famous for their ‘tolerance' for vegetarians, so this was another gold star to P’tite Ardoise’ name. The last authentic French meal I had in Perth was at La Caascade and whislt delicious I ended up leaving the restaurant feeling like I’d ingested the furniture too. P’tite Ardoise remains true to its Noman roots in flavour, but not in terms of heaviness.

Extra- mile service is where P’tite Ardoise truly distinguish themselves. I really respect their attention to detail. The owner, who I must mention was humbly dressed it the same uniform of black slacks and yellow waistcoat as her waitstaff, asked me discrettly between courses if were celebrating a Birthday and should she bring a candle with dessert. Well she didn’t just add a candle to birthday boys dessert but presented us with an additional little cake on a plate decorated with ‘HAPPY BRITHDAY’ in chocolate.

Other details I was impressed by were the vegetables that came as a side with every main - they were cooked just right and complemented the dishes perfectly. The sweet-tooth in me also adored the wooden box they brought around at the end of the meal. It was brimming with strawberry clouds and Carambars - a quintessentially French confection, ensuring your night ended on one final (sugar) high.

Whilst the standard of food and service is 5 star, there is no ego at P'tite Ardoise. Seen in the modest surroundings of pale yellow and burgundy (very Old-France), to the friendly service, the demeanour here is warm and unpretentious. From the first encounters when you walk in the bistro's narrow wooden door, to the personal meet and greet from the Head Chef at the end of your meal; its clear this is a restaurant that really understands the concept of dining experience. The owners are clearly very passionate about what they do and want to share what they know about good food with you.

I'm giving P'tite Ardoise Bistro top marks. Me and my fellow diners are already talking about going back. Can't wait.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Mood: 4/5

The Dancing Goat, 6011

Named after the effects coffee bean consumption is said to have on goats (they go a little nuts...I imagine it to be a little something like this);  is my favourite place to devour a Breakfast Burrito.  Not too heavy and completely satisfying, these babies are a little bit cheesey and a little bit healthy.  Choosing from a hero of mushrooms or bacon, its wrapped with creamy scrambled eggs,  delicious corn salsa and a teasing of sweet chutney. 

Mushroom Breakfast Burrito

Live a little far from Cottesloe?  Well conveniently, The Dancing Goat has a sister cafe on William St in Northbridge.  Little Willys mirrors the big sister menu and executes it just as well.

Both venues have a humble and effortlessly cool charm that complement the character of the surrounding suburbs so well.  The barista work deserves a bit of praise here too. The coffee - damn good, the barista - damn good-looking.   

Not surprisingly, The Dancing Goat gets a lot of repeat business with half the customers being on a first name basis with the staff. Well why wouldn't you be a regular with tasty brunch, a laidback vibe, and some yummy coffee and eye candy to motivate you in the morning?

Food: 4/5
Coffee: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Mood: 4/5
Space: 4/5

To To Vietnamese, 6101

Are you a visual person? I am, and I love it when Asian restaurants design their menus complete with pictures and number references.  Almost like taking a jab at Western ignorance where we need it spelt out for us....It is quite handy when you want to avoid the anti-climax when the meal you're presented with is a far cry from the image you conjured up in your mind.  Picture menus allow you to avoid order bungles - you know exactly what you're getting and pronunciation is not a problem, "No. 16 please".  Like that scene in (500) Days of Summer.  Expectations > Reality =  disappointment.

The perfect lunch

Easy to navigate menu

Vermicilli with braised beef, lemongrass

Mixing it up is a fun ritual

You MUST try the beverages at To To's too! They make the most delicious traditional Vietnamese iced drinks I have tried...although they say 'beverages', but they're more like desserts; shavings of ice mingling with cubes of jelly, lychee, creamy coconut milk and exotic fruits. So refreshing on a warm day! Sometimes the contents of this fabulous concoctions are unidentifiable, but thats all part of the fun.

To To's 'special' drink

Dessert+beverage in one

Bill  -$15 such good value

No skin off my back

Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 3/5

Space: 3/5

The Pear'fect Pantry, 6014

Approaching this unassuming little café which hides behind a laundromat, you might think you’d stumbled upon a school canteen in the Perth hills. The furnishings that look like they’ve been sourced from either IKEA or a yard sale, only add to this humble little cafes character. 

A homely ambience usually comes in the form of plush couches, twinkly lighting and pretty music. At The Pear’fect Pantry it springs from the way you sort of feel like you’re at your friends house you used to go to for after school sugar and stuff your faces with Wagon Wheels. But this place offers much more than Arnott’s assorted favourites.  Fluffy frosted cakes and crumbly slices sit in the counter and you can see mother hen baking away in the 90s kitchen at the back.

Gluten-free choc-raspberry brownie $5.50

On an mission to find the best brownie in Perth, the gluten free raspberry-chocolate brownie was my pick of the sweet stuff. The brownie was good but i can't say it was worth the $5.50 it cost me.

The brunch menu here is great too. Presenting patrons with a menu thats got a bit of interest and traces of Mexican flavour; ideal for a hangover.   Two amigos chowed down black bean/pitta bread/guacamole breakfast and last nights G&Ts were forgotten. Who says a hearty morning meal is incomplete without eggs?

Mexican black beans w/ avocado, spring onions, nut cheese (vegan cheese?) & fired (not fried) tortilla.

Food: 3.5/5

Coffee: 2.5/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 1.5/5

Space: 2.5/5

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