Category Archives: Cafe

Mirage, I see

This is a blog for the coffee lovers! Thank you to guest blogger Pradeep Gurung for his coffee trekking and writing, he also took the photos (and he does know his stuff when it comes to coffee, we’ve tried it!)

Coffee crawling is what I like doing – and I do it whenever I get the chance. Whilst I do have my favourite cafes that I visit regularly, I check out new places to see how they match up. Two places stood out over the other on a recent crawl. They were: Brother Cafe; and Black Cherries Espresso Bar.

Brother Cafe is located in the suburb of Menora and has been open for only a few months. This place uses Toby’s Estate coffee, based in Sydney, which now has a roastery in Perth – meaning the beans don’t have to go through the shipping process it went through before. I’d never had a good experience of this coffee prior to my visit to this cafe, so I was hoping this place would change my opinion. And it did! Although I prefer a light roast profile, the espressos, in my two visits, were very pleasant.

Apart from the sexy coffee machine that they have, Kees van der Westen’s Mirage Veloce, the place has ample space inside and has a small alfresco area. They also have food on offer; and are open Monday to Saturday. An ideal place to stop to grab a cup of coffee on the way to work. A place worth visiting, I say.

Black Cherries Espresso Bar in Fremantle Markets was the place I always wanted to check out for a long time. And I did for the first time two weeks ago. Not only had they moved to the middle of the yard (they used to be in the corner) I noticed they also got themselves a new machine: Mirage Triplette Classic. Seeing that, I almost clapped in excitement. I’d never tried Dark Star Coffee prior to my visit there but read about it being a darker roast, something which I’m not a fan of. I ordered an espresso which was very fruity and sweet and none of the darker roast element was noticeable in the cup. I was content and left with a smile on my face. On my next visit I tried an espresso and a long black. This time I did find some bitter elements of the roast, which overcame the flavours of the espresso a bit, but it was still good. I sat at the bar and spent almost an hour and a half reading a book while sipping my second coffee. It’s amazing how serenity can be found in a place such as Fremantle Markets. The staff are very friendly and are happy to have a chat. The ambience of this place is quite amazing and you get a communal feeling that just makes you enjoy the coffee even more. A must visit, I say.

Brother 

Address: 300 Walcott Street, Menora WA Perth

Phone: 08 9272 5787

Black Cherries Espresso Bar

Address: Fremantle Markets, Stall Number ‘The Yard’, South Terrace and Henderson Street, Fremantle

Phone:  Timothy Lock 0413 735 196

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Text Shots, what?

Text Shots is an odd name for a cafe. But then this isn’t your standard cafe.

I only found Text Shots recently, and I live half a block from it!

Nearby Angove Street is well known for it’s good coffee shops, but this cafe is easily missed as it’s a few blocks down on Scarborough Beach Road. Text Shots is wedged between Nandos and some modern shops, opposite the big BP on Scarborough Beach Road.  It’s a neat simple layout of red and grey interior, local gig posters, photos of local regulars, magazines and menu’s are all you’ll find on the wall.

It’s called Text Shots because you can text them with your order (on 0448 874 687) and by the time you arrive they’ve usually made your coffee ready to go. No waiting in long lines to order then 10 minute waits for coffee… genius!

Plus unlike most ‘convenient coffee’  or ‘drive by’ cafes the coffee is actually amazing. They use 5 Senses coffee and every cup is made with love and attention. All the coffee goes into BioCups which seems to be better for the environment somehow (according to the writing on the boxes) and if you’re a coffee addict they sell ‘coffee cards’ for $20 (6 coffees!)… genius!

Free wireless and great staff also make this a favourite for me to do my lap-top work from time to time. The staff are just beautiful, friendly and hilarious. Sometimes it’s hard to find a great cafe with staff who aren’t ‘too cool’ to serve you. These guys are the bomb and keep the cafe in order even when it gets busy.

And the food is tops too.

I’m not going to go on about Text Shots much more.

Best to keep this post simple and to the point, because that’s what Text Shots is like.

Simple, logical and personal. I like!

Coffee bean artworks on the wall

Colouring in books for kids!

Photo wall of the regular customers and locals


Tea anyone? Chapels on Whatley

This post has been written by Gab Barnes, student and self diagnosed tea addict of Perth.

I love tea.

Tea in all its forms, I’d say on average that I drink at least six cups a day. Some might say that that is too much, but I don’t care, as I probably have an addiction. And really, what’s better than being addicted to something so delicious, with no fat and heaps of antioxidants?

I’m yet to hear of a single fatality from overconsumption of tea. So for me, Chapels on Whatley is heaven.

Recent renovations have transformed it from a quirky store filled to the brim with Chinese antiques and various other China-related goods, to an amazing café ideal for tea lovers everywhere. At Chapels you pay $5.50 for tea, which gives you unlimited quantities in however many types of tea you care to drink. And they have quite a range!

My preference is Green, but they also have Black, White, Oolong, Flower and Pu-Erh. I have no idea what Pu-Erh tea is, so I’m excited to try it next time I go. Obviously they have coffee and an array of delicious foods for breakfast and ‘brunch’. I tried the Korean vegetable pancakes and they were extremely tasty.

On top of this, they still sell all the same products that they did before. Amazing candles, tables, crazy slipper things…there is a lot. Plus teapots and cups of all different shapes and sizes, and actual tea. Some time soon I hope to attend one of their tea tastings.

I am so proud of Perth for producing such an amazing café, most particularly one that serves so much of my favourite beverage, and with such style.

Where: 196 Whatley Crescent, Maylands 6051, opposite Maylands Train Station

Website: www.chapelsonwhatley.com.au/

Opening Hours: Open six days, 8.00am – 5.00pm, closed on Tuesday. To avoid disappointment book for breakfast on weekends.

Contact: 08 9272 7738


Luna Leederville’s secret cafe

Ok it’s not a secret, but it feels like it is.

This evening I was walking down Oxford Street, looking for a quiet place to read a book but all the cafes were packed. I kept wandering up the street, not really sure where I was going but hoping I might find a table in a corner of somewhere.

Then I saw it.

This cafe is like something from a Harry Potter movie. A cute, odd-ball place that you always forget is there until you see it again.

Hidden beside Luna Cinema (actually attached to Luna Cinema) is a corridor of red seats, pot plants, fresh coffee and art-postcards. It’s the Luna Cafe. It’s across the traffic lights, down the road from the busiest part of Oxford Street – so there aren’t many passers by – and for almost an hour I had the cafe largely to myself.

Because it’s part of the cinema it’s mostly quiet until there is a rush of movie-watchers showing their tickets and looking for cinemas. Occasionally it’s a stopping point for them as they grab a coffee before or after a movie. If you’re interested you can listen in as they walk out of the movie and catch snippets of their 2-second-movie-reviews.

“I really enjoyed that”

or

“It was a bit heavy going at the start”

As a bonus they also have arcade games as tables (!!) and very sweet staff.

Where: On Oxford street next to Luna Cinema (ask the Luna staff if you can’t find it), Luna Cinema 155 Oxford Street, Cnr Vincent Street.

Opening Hours: 6pm – 9.30pm (they open when the busier movie times are)

Links: Luna Cinemas, Leederville


Hobart Deli

This is a blog by Anna Macoboy who also blogs from her shop Mr Sparrow.

I did star jumps when I found Hobart Deli!

That’s the unattributed quote on the back of their promotional postcards, but if I was a star-jumping sort, that’s certainly what I would have done when I discovered this awesome little number.

Hobart Deli is a sweet little cafe on a particularly lovely corner of North Perth, with a nice, friendly park across the road and lots of sunshine flooding in.  It’s a real neighbourhood cafe, stuck in the middle of suburbia like the much-loved corner delis of my childhood.

Lovely big shared tables and benches fill the small space, and shelves are stocked with books, cards, and a small selection of gifts and toys.  The fit-out is fabulous – low-key but with all the right elements:  good paint job, great light fittings and nice old tables.

There are cabinets full of delicious-looking treats and an inventive breakfast menu. I’ve been twice for coffee and once for breakfast. My bacon and egg wrap had a bunch of other fancy things thrown in and was extremely tasty. The coffee has never blown me away but has improved each time I’ve been, so it’s bound to reach blow-away status soon.

None of this really matters, though. The real reason to go to Hobart Deli is the atmosphere. It feels like the sort of place you’d take a stroll to on a Sunday morning, find yourself bumping into friends and neighbours, and end up spending most of the day there. And as long as you save a seat for me, that suits me fine!

Where: 45A Hobart Street, North Perth WA

Phone: 08 9444 8686

Email: hobartdeli@gmail.com

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 7-5, Weekends 7-4
Soon it will be opening for dinner on Thursday nights only


Little Willys

Like it’s name suggests… Little Willys is a cosy, gem of a coffee shop on William Street. It’s a recent opening, so new that the correct signage had only been put up recently. Before the “Little Willys” chalked sign, the old sign from a past business still hung in it’s place. I think it was an Italian eatery or something of the like.

Aside from the friendly, prompt service, the good coffee and the laid back music on offer, there’s something about this place that makes my heart fill with warmth and calm. Maybe it’s the herbs resting in recycled oil tins, the cool leaf thing that the barista signs your coffee with or the table by the window that lets you peek into the lives of those wandering by. I’m not sure what it is, perhaps you can pinpoint it for me if you ever visit.

People would stop in front the cafe with curiosity, scrutinize the menu and deliberate over whether they should stay or move along. I found myself willing them to come in, to stay. You won’t regret it, I thought.

So if you are ever near the corner of Aberdeen St and William St, you should discover Little Willys cafe. Little in name but not in nature.

Where: 267 William St, Northbridge

Open: Mon-Fri 6:00am-3:00pm


Charlies Corner (Cafe)

Our first proper post! Of many, many to come…

Place: Charlies Corner (Cafe), West Leederville

It seemed natural that the first post for this blog would be a cafe where a few of the contributors (and potential contributors) have spent many a morning coffee giggling and scheming – but which would still be relatively unknown to anyone who isn’t a local.

There are lots of amazing cafes that people have already recommended that we should post up here (and we most certainly will!) but this one gets our first mention because it’s so sweet, unexpected and hidden (!).

Charlies Corner Cafe is an old house converted into a cafe off the main road in West Leederville. It doesn’t go overboard on decor or style accessories – it’s just sunny tables and comfortable couches (an old lounge-room forms part of the cafe out the back).

Charlie himself is there whenever it’s open (if he’s not then the cafe closes when the whole family are on holiday) and will probably greet with you a big grin while you try to decide which savoury tart, fresh roll or cooked breakfast to eat that day. It’s a family affair with Charlies wife Maria just as much a part of the atmosphere (and often the magic touch to the meals that are prepared), his mum Rosa (who lives around the corner) also often around  – helping or chatting to cafe visitors and occasionally his daughter even comes in to give a hand.

I grew up in West Leederville and when I was a kid I remember this corner house has being the local sweets shop, deli or some other corner-store business but Charlies Corner is the one that’s stood the test the of time and the locals love it!

There are often families and kids running around  – there are toys floating around in the lounge area if you need to distract a toddler – and local kids artwork is placed on the wall of the cafe (the ultimate honour for an artist under 10).

(above) The feature wall of kids pictures

Charlie can tell you most of what’s going on in the suburb and when there’s a quiet break he’s more than happy to chat.

There are powerpoints for laptops (at the right tables) and free wireless if you ask for the password. If you want to book the couch room for meetings you can check in with Charlie to make sure it’s free – or just rock up and take your chances :) on a weekday it’s often available  anyway.

(above) the lounge area that’s often free and can be used for meetings too

On top of all of this it’s easy to find parking because it’s the backstreets of a quiet suburb and it’s also walking distance from West Leederville train station and Leederville/Subiaco train  station (bit of a longer walk).

If you’re not sure what you want ask Charlie to surprise you and he’ll come up with a suggestion. If you play your cards right and give him a big grin you might even get the occasional surprise lollie after your coffee, and if you become a regular you’ll practically feel part of the family.

There is a lot of love here, you’ll always feel good after being at Charlies.

(above) Charlie having a chat with regular Janice.

Charlies Corner

DESCRIPTION All day dine in breakfast from 8.30am daily – closing times vary (usually 2pm/4pm or 12noon – see below)

ADDRESS 58 St Leonards Avenue, Cnr Woolwich Street, West Leederville
OPENING HOURS

Open 7am – 2pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Open 7am – 12 midday, Saturday & Sunday

Closed – public holidays

LINKS There is a Facebook group started by a local across the road here.

CONTACT Phone 08 9388 8741        Email charliescorner@live.com.au

OTHER INFO Free wireless internet, meeting room (couches), outside tables, gourmet home-style food, all day breakfast, toys for kids available

MORE PICTURES

(above) yum!

(above) Food that’s good for the soul

(above) Outside tables – perfect on a sunny day

(above) Some of the food available – more that’s not on the menu is there as well (see above pictures)



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