Venn

Venn Bar and Café
16 Queen Street
Perth
(08) 9321 8366

1. Comfort and surroundings

Lola: Well, Venn is a design shop, café, bar, gallery and artist's studio all rolled into one, so naturally, the surroundings are pretty great. Modern, colourful and functional pieces in the store are offset by the rustic, exposed brick walls and cut flowers on the tables. Nice things to look at. I was lucky enough to nab a booth style seat as I arrived before Alexander who was left with the chair. My comfort skyrocketed to a 4!

Alexander: Love, love, love the surroundings at Venn. It's just my type of place - exposed brick, concrete, light wood, splashes of colour, plenty of natural light. Of course, that's what you would expect from a design store-slash-gallery-slash-studi-slash-cafe-slash-bar. That's right, Venn does pretty much everything you could ever want - it's a little design oasis hidden amongst the CBD skyscrapers. And it's walking distance from my apartment. How could I not be comfortable here? 4.5.

2. Service

Lola: It's counter service here, though I was able to order a coffee from my table while awaiting my companion. My trip to the counter was met with friendliness: nothing more nothing less. That's okay, for sure. A mid range 3 from me.

Alexander: I didn't have much interaction with the kids behind the counter, but I can't imagine having any problems. Everyone seems efficient yet laid-back, without attitude or pretension. So, I'm going to give them a 3.5 benefit-of-the-doubt score.

3. Tastiness

Lola: Very unfortunately, both our first options were unavailable! My second choice was asparagus with quail eggs and parmesan. The asparagus was fresh, the eggs were soft and the parmesan plentiful. A very simple dish, but none of the ingredients really packed a punch. And while the eggs were perfectly cooked, most of the yolk remained on my plate with nothing to mop it up with. I felt like it needed another element. Great ingredients though, and beautifully cooked. Just... missing something. I can only go a 2.5, but I'd definitely return for more. Just an unlucky morning I guess! Oh and I would also like to mention that I love the aesthetics of the menu itself. Nice!

Alexander: I was pretty devastated when my first option was unavailable (I've had it before and it's this amazing goat's cheese custard with mushrooms and toast soldiers - so tasty). And while I enjoyed my choice in the end (a B.A.L.T. - crispy pancetta, avocado, watercress, roasted tomato), I think it was hard not to let my disappointment influence my feelings towards the dish. All the ingredients were well cooked, and the flavours worked well, but still... it just wasn't what I was hoping for! I almost feel bad for saying this was a 2.5.

4. Drinks

Lola: A delicious decaffeinated coffee, an order that always comes with the risk of not being as fresh or tasty as its caffeinated brother, but in this case the spot was well and truly hit. Just off perfect though, at 4.5.

Alexander: It was back to long black territory for me, and I have no complaints. I love getting a piping hot coffee, enjoying the smell until it's cool enough to drink, and then having plenty of time to savour the delicious coffee flavour, without a risk of it going cold. I was happy to experience the full sensory experience for my breakfast at Venn... mmm... 4.

5. Fiscal Matters

Lola: I need to preface this by saying I really enjoyed my morning at Venn, and I want to go back more and more. The overall experience was really lovely, and I think the comfort factor meant I could overlook this certain bit. But I have to be honest, I did feel a little thieved when my plate arrived after I'd forked out $14 for it. They do use good produce, and there were $6 and $6.50 toast options. And... I guess you are paying for the whole experience, but I still have to award just a 1.5. Hopefully my enjoyable whole experience is reflected in my overall score as I think Venn is a great place to come!

Alexander: I agree, by and large, with Lola's comments, although perhaps I am so jaded about Perth prices that I am willing to be a little more forgiving. The serve of food I received was not particularly huge for the price, and while good quality ingredients were evident, I think compared to other places, the price was perhaps slightly high. I would be happy paying the same price for a slightly bigger serve, but as things stand, I am going to award a 2.5.

The verdict...
Comfort and surroundings: 8.5
Service: 6.5
Tastiness: 5
Drinks: 8.5
Fiscal matters: 4

TOTAL: 33/50

Milkd

Sunday 1 March 2009

Milkd
32 Angove Street, North Perth
(08) 9228 8867

1. Comfort and surroundings

Lola: So the table was small and the stools were small but it didn't really bother me too much. I guess they were in proportion and despite their miniature quality I didn't feel like I was crammed into a small space trying to avoid other cafe patrons. The street was nice and quiet on a Sunday morning and the joint was quite charming and relaxed. But even though it was a fairly nice day it was way too hot inside meaning sitting in a booth (our preferred position in any venue) just wasn't an option bringing a big cross. I'm going 2.5.

Alexander: I don't think Milkd is really set up for comfort, but that doesn't mean it felt unpleasant. In fact, there's quite a bit to like; it's a nice setting, there's a regular stream of people (without being too busy) and there's a good vibe to the place. My biggest complaint was the heat inside. It wasn't a particularly hot day but it was too sticky to sit inside! So we sat outside on the mini table and stools. Compared to some other breakfast spots, Milkd was a bit average - it gets a 2.5 from me too.

2. Service

Lola: I had minimal contact with any staff, not having done the ordering but my impression was that they were polite enough. We didn't have to wait for a noticeably long time so no complaints from my end. A 4 from me, no complaints but nothing stood out.

Alexander: It's self-service but the waitstaff are friendly and there was just the right amount of waiting time for the food to come out. No one offered us water though, so it's lucky we brought our own. So 3.5.

3. Tastiness

Lola: Okay I had the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toast with hazelnut pesto. It was good but nothing special. The hazelnut pesto was pretty special itself but the quantity of egg and the flavour of the smoked salmon meant that I couldn't taste it when eating it as it was presented. Separating the dish into pesto on toast and eggs with salmon was effective but distracting. I'll give it a 3.

Alexander: I'm giving it a 3 too. The food was like a nice meal that you cook yourself at home: everything tastes good and you have no complaints, but it's not that special. I had the pancetta bacon with poached eggs, tomato and rocket. Everything worked and there was a decent portion of food, but I could have done this myself.

4. Drinks

Lola: A 4 from me! The drink options were extensive enough and the iced coffee we both selected was to my taste.

Alexander: I was much less impressed. It was a very standard iced coffee. But I have very high standards for cold drinks. A 2 from me.

5. Fiscal matters

Lola: It wasn't amazing value but it was standard, for my mind. Not too bad at all. But points off for the overpriced nature of the iced coffee - yeah it was good but not six dollars good. I still managed to get out of there for under $20 so I'll give it a 3.5.

Alexander: You can get things for under $10 and the mains go up to about $17. I've seen much more expensive in Perth, so no complaints in relation to price. Except for the average iced coffee, which was a bit overpriced! All in all, 3.5 from me too.

The verdict...

Comfort & surroundings: 5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Tastiness: 6/10
Drinks: 6/10
Fiscal Matters: 7/10
TOTAL: 31.5/50