Toast

Sunday 24 May 2009

Toast
Shop 21/60 Royal Street, East Perth
(08) 9221 7553

1. Comfort and Surroundings

Alexander: My first breakfast in East Perth was a pleasant surprise. There were plenty of people in the area which provided for the right amount of bustle on an otherwise relatively sleepy street. Toast looks great - it has a distinct theme without feeling rigid or overdone. There are tables inside and outside. It's counter service but there weren't any difficulties ordering. The condiments tray was conveniently located. The table next to us was inhabited by rude people who didn't have any concept of personal space (with a chair continuously banging against our table), but even that didn't dent Toast's cool, casual vibe. 4 from me.

Lola: Having found the development of East Perth overly manufactured, I've previously avoided the suburb. There was nothing contrived about Toast. With its red vinyl chairs, antique Pastis bottles serving as water bottles and miniature blackboard table numbers, the decor proved fresh and delightful. I chose the comfortable bench seat across the back of the room and took advantage of one of the many cushions that were lying about. Toast was pleasant and inviting and deserves a 4 from me too.

2. Service

Alexander: It's counter service but the people working there were so nice that I can't really mark it down for that. Our drinks came out quickly (which is what you want), but the food wasn't rushed out, providing just enough delay to allow a decent portion of conversation before stuffing our faces. Perfect. Plates were cleared quickly and with minimal invasiveness. I'm going 4 again.

Lola: The staff here are delightful and incredibly good at what they do. The way the counter service works here makes for maximum efficiency, however, as a rule I won't give above a 4 for this kind of set up. Therefore they receive the maximum counter service score of 4.

3. Tastiness

Alexander: I ordered the cheesy scrambled eggs with chives, roast tomatoes and rye bread. It was good - enough food without being too massive. The eggs weren't super cheesy, but that was probably a good thing to avoid excessive richness. The tomatoes were sweet and well cooked. I was really excited when I saw rye bread on the menu, but unfortunately this was probably the least delicious part of the meal (the pieces being slightly tiny in size and a tad over-toasted). There was a good variety of innovative other things on the menu, and I look forward to trying some of the other options. A 3 from me.

Lola: My choice this Sunday were the corn fritters with scrambled eggs, avocado and hollandaise. I'm a big fan of the corn fritter and resultantly might be quite hard to please, but these were just the way I like them. With not too much unnecessary batter holding them together the focus was on the good stuff. Eggs were poached to perfection and the avocado was fresh and plentiful. The dish only fell short because I prefer my hollandaise with slightly more tang, but that's very much a personal quirk. Once again, a 4 here.

4. Drinks

Alexander: My iced mocha was pretty awesome. Sweet and strong without being overpowering. Cold. Served in a tall glass. Just the way I like it - 4.5.

Lola: Top marks! I couldn't fault my hot chocolate. With its great flavour, temperature and size, I was Goldilocks and it was baby bear's porridge. Since there was no room for improvement I have to give a 5.

5. Fiscal matters

Alexander: Prices are pretty standard and definitely reasonable. My food was $15 and my drink was $5.50, so I definitely didn't feel ripped off. Other items on the menu provided a suitable range of prices. Not much more to say on this front. I'm giving it a 3.

Lola: I feel similarly to Alexander on this issue as Toast offers average Perth prices and, accordingly, I'm giving an average 3.5. My fritters were a reasonable $16.50 and my hot chocolate $4.40.

The verdict...

Comfort & Surroundings: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Tastiness: 7/10
Drinks: 9.5/10
Fiscal Matters: 6.5/10
TOTAL: 39/50