West Fremantle is the city centre, the location of the original Swan River settlement. See separate posts for North Fremantle food and art and architecture. Here’s my Google map here.
Fremantle has some fantastic places to eat, these are my favourites:
Kazoomie’s(High Elementary A), E Shed Markets, E2 Peter Hughes Dr, www.nimrodkazoom.com
Located right next to the ferry quay, this is the perfect place to fuel up before heading to Rottnest Island (see next post).
Kazoomie’s specialise in North African and Spanish food but the star of the show is the Shakshuka; a traditional Mediterranean breakfast made with eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce containing chili, garlic, cumin and nutmeg.
They have a few choices but I loved the Lamb Red Shakshuka made with Kadaif, thinly sliced filo noodles and pita on the side. This dish has won numerous local awards including ‘Best Breakfast in Perth 2016’.
The Green Shakshuka with is a winner too. The eggs are poached with turmeric and garlic herb buttered spinach. There’s marinated eggplant and cows feta with the pita.
Shakshukas are very popular in Israel I later discovered which makes sense as chef owner Nimrod Kazoom is of Jewish origin. Here’s fellow Israeli, Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe.
Moore & Moore Cafe (Intermediate A), W D Moore & Co Warehouse, Building 46/42 Henry St, www.mooreandmoorecafe.com
Moore & Moore is a very laid back breakfast spot. I went three times because I liked it so much. There’s lots of shaded seating out in the back yard.
I can recommend The Avocado; avocado with fresh cherry tomatoes, goats cheese, organic tomato pesto, five seed rye and herb salad. Simple but very effective (A).
I also liked their Pulled Beef Burger; grass-fed organic beef tossed in aioli and served with pickled daikon, caramelised horse radish and onion (B+).
It’s a contemporary art gallery as well as a café. This amazing photo was on display when I went.
Bread in Common (High Intermediate A), 43 Pakenham St, www.breadincommon.com.au
Possibly the best place to eat in the centre of Fremantle, certainly in terms of its decor. I didn’t score all the dishes highly but there were many that I did.
I came twice; once by myself for lunch and again with my brother in the evening.
For lunch I had the Oysters which were decent (B+)…
…followed by the Barrimundi (a popular local white fish) in a tomato and olive sauce which I really enjoyed (B+).
The Vermentino, a favourite wine when I was in Sardinia and Genoa, was a bit of a flavourless disappointment sadly (C+).
Then to finish a flight of cheeses including Australian Cambray Ashover and Cambray Gouda, both from Nannup in the south west. Also a Gorgonzola from Lombardy in Italy.
This session wasn’t cheap at A$134 for one but the second time Dan and I only spent A$172 between us.
We kicked off with a bowl of olives (B+) and some of their own bread (Rye, Olive Ciabatta, Sourdough and Black Brea) which although baked on the premises, I really wasn’t impressed by (C).
We also shared a plate of San Daniele, my favourite Italian cured ham (A).
Dan had the excellent Beef Brisket (A)…
and I had Kangaroo once more, although it wasn’t quite as good as the one I’d had at Bib & Tucker (B).
We had the cheeses again to finish. The Frankland Shiraz went well with all this (B) but it was a bit pricey at A$65 for what it was.
So not cheap but definitely a good spot to check out.
Little Creatures Brewery (Intermediate B+), 42 Mews Rd, www.littlecreatures.com.au
As luck would have it, the brewery for my favourite Australian beer is located in Perth.
It’s an impressive space that has been converted to be a huge bar and restaurant. Not tried the food but I’m told that it’s okay.
I came a couple of times for a cooling pint. Temperatures were in the mid thirties when I was there.
You can sit outside and look out over the harbour as well. The boat garage is right next door.
The ferris wheel over the road has good views too I believe.
Manuka Woodfire Kitchen (Intermediate B+), 134 High St, www.manukawoodfire.com.au
I’d heard good things about this place from a staff member at Propeller so I decided to eat here with my bro on our last night in Perth.
We had the set menu for A$110 which was good but not amazing.
Proceedings commenced with a bowl of hot olives of various kinds (B+).
A bottle of Snake & Herring Riesling (B-) and a Negroni (B) added another A$75 to the total.
Char-grilled Honey Bugs which are a kind of slipper lobster I understand.
They taste a lot better than they look!
A good place, I’d go again.
And some stuff for the shopping basket…
The Fremantle Markets www.fremantlemarkets.com.au, located in a beautiful heritage building on the corner of South Terrace and Henderson Street, are definitely worth a visit.
Especially for this stall…
The Honeycake Shop (Elementary A), Fremantle Markets, 40/74 South Terrace, www.thehoneycake.com
I’d never come across honeycake before I had it here and as I’m a big honey fan, it totally blew my mind (A+). The prep must take forever but the results are amazing.
According to their website their recipe comes from Bohemian (in the Czech Republic) although I believe it’s from Russia originally where it’s known as Medevik.
And elsewhere…
Kakulas Sister (Intermediate A), 29/31 Market St, www.facebook.com/Kakulas-Sister
This is a great little deli which I’d definitely shop in all the time if I lived here. Instead I picked up two honeys to smuggle home; one from WA and the other from Tasmania. The Tasmanian Leatherwood (pictured) ranks as my second most favourite honey ever(A+)!
The first was Bangladeshi mangrove forest honey which was freshly harvested for me and would take some beating). According to the helpful shop assistant, anything from Tassy is going to be good.
So heaps of great things to eat in Fremantle!
Off to Rottnest next…