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

Soto Espresso

Soto Espresso
507 Beaufort St
Highgate
(08) 9227 7686

1. Comfort & surroundings

Lola: Though I regularly pop into Soto for a takeaway beverage before work, I'd never sampled their kitchen offerings before this visit. It's down the Highgate end of the Beaufort Street strip, with scattered tables, a long booth seat down one side of one room, and art for sale which changes every so often. Somewhat surprisingly, you might think, we decided against one of the half booths, but just because of the spaciousness of our chosen table's corner location. The seats aren't conducive to relaxing for a whole morning, but overall it's not a bad place to spend some time, and I did like this art rotation. A 2.5 here.

Alexander: Beaufort Street is probably one of Perth's most popular cafe strips, so breakfast purveyors need to do a decent job to survive amidst all of the competition. Soto has been around for a while, so it must be doing alright! The venue has a casual vibe, although there are plenty of people around to give it a lively atmosphere. As Lola mentioned, you get your choice of seat type, either booths or tables. I am a big fan of the booth, but so were a lot of other people, so we decided to give ourselves some more space at a table. I could have happily sat around people watching for a while, so I will give it a 3.5.

2. Service

Lola: It's counter service here with self service water too. This, of course, is not a problem, but it does mean that our contact with staff was minimal. So nothing to complain about, but no one seemed particularly happy to be working either. So a 3.

Alexander: Lola's right - counter service and minimal contact make it hard to say much on this front. I thought our server at the counter seemed friendly enough, but the waiter who brought us our food had a more surly attitude. Of course the biggest crime was that my plate was cleared before Lola finished... uh oh, 2.5 from me.

3. Tastiness

Lola: I had spied the menu while waiting for a takeaway one morning and the interesting sounding options enticed us to give it a crack. I chose the pork belly chorizo omelette with sugar candied bacon over the smoked kipper, which also sounded appealing. It was a close fight for my taste buds! The omelette was ginormous, I reckon there must have been six eggs in it, and it came with a hefty slab of sourdough toast and a handful of rocket. The chorizo was tasty though the bacon was easily overlooked. There was some softened onion throughout the dish which added some much needed sweetness, and the freshness of the rocket was appreciated. I say freshness but the rocket wasn't all that fresh, really, a sizable amount of it being old and yellow. I would have loved some balsamic to help the onion and rocket out. Determined to get through the mountain of food, I left the toast and focused on filling my belly with the good stuff. And while I did manage it quite comfortably I was so full and eggy that I couldn't possibly eat anything until dinner time. Maybe this is a good quality for a meal, but I felt it was a bit heavy for my liking. I'll go with a 2.5.

Alexander: I love eggs so it came as some surprise to me that I was drawn to the grilled mushroom and asparagus with Persian feta. Even more of a surprise, I didn't regret not getting eggs - this was deee-licious! The mushroom/asparagus/feta flavours all worked really well together, and the addition of some rocket and balsamic lifted it to something a bit more special. Plus, there were some carbs under there to help fill me up! Well done Soto, this gets a 4.

4. Drinks

Lola: Soto do a good mocha. My only complaint is that they are a little bit small! This brings my score down to a 4.5.

Alexander: The people at Soto care about their coffee, so I strayed back to long black territory for this breakfast. I was amply impressed without being blown-away. 3.5 from me!

5. Fiscal matters

Lola: I suppose a dish so large with so many eggs and so much sausage comes close to warranting an $18 price tag. But no one needs to eat that much, really, and I resented having to pay that fee when I probably would have been better off with half that amount and spending $9. The little coffee was $4, I believe, and although it is not uncommon, looking back I feel it was a bit steep. I'll give a 2.5.

Alexander: Prices are pretty average here, not too expensive, not outstandingly cheap. There is probably a small "location premium" built in, but this is balanced out by the fact that there are plenty of other cafes around competing for your business. I was happy to pay under $20 for breakfast and coffee, so I am giving it 3.5.

The verdict...
Comfort & surroundings: 6/10
Service: 5.5/10
Tastiness: 6.5/10
Drinks: 8/10
Fiscal matters: 6/10
TOTAL: 32.50

Il Circolo

Il Circolo

22 Angove Street

North Perth

(08) 9328 7667

1. Comfort & surroundings

Alexander: Il Circolo is on Angove Street in lovely North Perth. Incidentally, our very first breakfast blog review all of those months ago was just down the street at Milk'd, so it was nice to return to the area to try a new venue (ahh, memories). I really like the general surrounding and Il Circolo fits in nicely on the Angove Street coffee strip. The place gives off a casual, rustic vibe, with polished floorboards, exposed brick and blackboard menus. Definitely cool without trying to be cool. My only complaint is that it was freezing on this particular morning, so the expanses of wood and brick needed some sort of heating device - a wood fire would be ideal but I would've settled for a space heater - to temper the cold. Or, at the very least, someone could have closed the door! The practical effect of this was food that got cold before it was eaten - see below. 3 out of 5.

Lola: I'm not sure to what extent a troublesome back at the time of our visit is impacting on this score, but I'm going for a 2.5. While I enjoyed the rustic setting which was reminiscent of a little Italian trattoria, I consistently felt awkwardly exposed and in the way, especially as it got busy towards the end of our visit. As Alexander mentioned, the draft was irksome, also. But the visit wasn't unpleasant, just mediocre.

2. Service

Alexander: I had never been to Il Circolo before, so as I peered in the door, I wasn't sure what the deal was. Take a seat anywhere? Please wait to be seated? Obviously, not hard to work out, but it would have been nice if the guy behind the counter had said "Welcome, feel free to sit wherever you'd like". Instead, I got a stare. Not a good start. After deciding what we wanted from the blackboards, located above and below the counter, I went up to order. The menu items all have Italian names, but I wasn't getting any help from the guy, so I just felt awkward once again. Story of my life, but not what I want at breakfast. To be fair, the food came out very quickly after we ordered, and it's not like anyone was unpleasant. But I know much friendlier cafes in Perth. 2.5 from me.

Lola: I had less contact with staff - waltzing in and heading directly for Alexander's table and not doing the ordering (see back, troublesome). I did, however, get smiles after eye contact and helpful directions to the bathroom on request. I'll go a 3.5.

3. Tastiness

Alexander: I ordered the funghi strapazzat which was scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms, served on ciabatta bread. The mushrooms were the highlight - I don't know if they were Italian style or what was going on, but they were a bit different from all the other breakfast mushroom dishes I've experienced. Tasty. The eggs were good too. Ciabatta is never my favourite (too many holes to properly complement eggs), but I could look past that. What I couldn't look past, however, was the fact that my dish was cold before I finished it! Lola will attest to the fact that I'm not a slow eater, either. This would have been a 4, but eating cold eggs isn't nice. So I'll give it 3.5.

Lola: Damn, I regret not sampling some of these mushrooms of A's! Will have to go back. My dish on this particular morning was the asparagi alla fiorentina. You can see from the picture that this consisted of a mound of asparagus spears over two poached eggs and slivers of ciabatta toast. The asparagus was sweet and a nice level softness without being mushy and the eggs were beautifully poached. Now, I should probably reveal to you my feelings about toast and bread. I'm one of those people who doesn't really love her bread products. I know, I know, many of you must think I'm crazy, especially as a breakfast lover. It just doesn't agree with me and I don't feel it offers me enough in terms of flavour and enjoyment to warrant a stomach ache and subsequent feeling of lethargy. There are exceptions - fresh, top quality baguettes (like at our last breakfast adventure); chunky, deliciously tasty brown bread; dense loaves filled with seeds and grains; you get the idea. These shaves of ciabatta were clearly just there as a vehicle and not as a taste sensation. They were quite crispy and dry and resultantly I was a little disappointed. Overall a 3.

4. Drinks

Alexander: Solid long black. Enough said. 3.5.

Lola: I've recently returned to the world of coffee after about 6 years of absence. The flavour is what got me back, that delciousness calling my name. Upon my return it appears I am much, much fussier than ever before but, luckily, Il Circolo delivered. My flat white was quite tops! A 4 from my side of the table.

5. Fiscal matters

Alexander: Il Circolo is well-priced given the location and the quality of the ingredients. My breakfast cost a mere $12! Other dishes were similarly well priced. Good value - 3.5 from me.

Lola: The servings are not huge, but they are no smaller than they should be. In fact, they are quite appropriate in my opinion. So, while you might not be getting as much in terms of quantity at Il Circolo when compared with other breakfast venues, the prices are also lower. My dish came in at $12.50 which was a nice change. I'll have to give a 4 in this department!

The verdict...

Comfort & surroundings: 5.5/10

Service: 6/10

Tastiness: 6.5/10

Drinks: 7.5/10

Fiscal matters: 7.5/10
TOTAL: 33/50

The Silver Spoon

The Silver Spoon
691 Albany Highway, Victoria Park
(08) 9361 4220

1. Comfort and Surroundings

Alexander: For this review, let's break comfort and surroundings down and consider each one separately. First, comfort: The Silver Spoon is very comfortable with well-spaced, well-sized and well-apportioned tables. The bathrooms are clean and pleasant. You could sit in the seats for hours and not feel uncomfortable. So, yes, it's a comfy place. But turn to surroundings and things are a bit different. It's not that anything is particularly bad, just that some things seem a bit, well, awkward. The Silver Spoon is obviously going for a classy vibe with white table cloths and a sleek black, silver and white theme. But there were a few things that stood out: the cigarette butts on the veranda, the waiters in casual clothes (one of whom I originally mistook for a patron taking a bit too much interest in whether I had finished eating). Plus, it's smack bang on Albany Hwy, across the road from a car dealership, which doesn't make for the nicest view. (Some people might argue that there's not much you can do about that; well, what about a giant wall with a delightful trompe l'oeil painted on it? Problem solved!) All in all, I am going with a 3.

Lola: So Alexander has summed it up very well, The Silver Spoon just feels a little awkward. I'm a big believer in working within the space that you have and making the most of it, but this wasn't done here. Having said that, the hall to the bathrooms, including a water feature, is quite lovely. And I think the entire place would scrub up really well, sans cigarette butts. I'll have to give an ambivalent 3.

2. Service

Alexander: Table service at breakfast! Hooray! And pleasant service at that. My only complaint: no one refilled our water, and it ran out pretty early into the meal. A 3.5 from me.

Lola: The wait staff seemed to genuinely care about the food and how we liked it, which gave the feeling of one big Silver Spoon family, where everyone is passionate about the restaurant and their product. This is always wonderful! And I too enjoyed the table service, though it would have been more worthwhile had they been close to us during our meal, so we could request more water. A 3.5 from me too.

3. Tastiness

Alexander: I ordered the vegetarian breakfast and 5/7ths of it as a great experience. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly, I am happy to report, and the potato cake had a delicious crunchy exterior and soft, pillowy centre. The roasted tomatoes were sweet, roasted with a hint of garlic, the mushrooms weren't oily and the house made beans had a lovely rich flavour. So that's the five good parts. The two bad parts? The toast was a bit thick and very hard to cut into and there was a noticeable amount of grit in my spinach, making that part inedible. What a shame! I will give it 5/7ths out of 5, or in other words, 3.5.

Lola: Oh yeah, I could see the spinach grit on Alexander's plate from where I was sitting! For my meal I chose the Mt Cook smoked salmon with truffle scrambled eggs, asparagus and Turkish bread, and also a side of sausage (yes, it was a singular sausage when delivered). I'll award it a 3.5. The smoked salmon was abundant and superb, the asparagus cooked to perfection, but unfortunately my scrambled eggs were clumpy and overcooked. Really disappointing. And I'd heard such good things about the food here! The sausage was pretty tops though, I must say.

4. Drinks

Alexander: You can't get too much wrong with a long black and there was nothing awful about mine. But I am used to my long blacks coming out steaming hot and needing a few minutes to cool down, whereas this one was drinkable straight away. I'm not a coffee expert, but it seems like this is unusual? Perhaps a reader could enlighten me. Anyway, I am going to give my drink a 2.5.

Lola: Meh. Lukewarm coffees are not okay! And neither is a lukewarm, 'hot' chocolate. I couldn't resist trying the marble chocolate, a mix of milk and white, and the flavour was great but the milk was barely heated. Sure, it's better than burning the milk, but that's not a concession I'm willing to make. I also sampled a chai and that too was lukewarm. Sigh. Add some undisclosed soy milk to the mix and I'm giving a 1.

5. Fiscal Matters

Alexander: Prices are reasonable for Perth, coming in just slightly below the average price point. Toast is $5 and the priciest items are $18. My dish was $14 which I thought was quite reasonable (some breakfast places still try to charge the "big breakfast" price for a vegetarian breakfast, which is just ridiculous). I also like that there is not one set price for all sides; I find it strange that a side of tomato often costs the same price as a side of bacon. 3.5 from me.

Lola: Hmm, I thought it was still a little overpriced, my dish coming in at $18. While there was a good portion of smoked salmon, and it was really large, the price is not quite what I could call reasonable. And a $4 teeny sausage was a bit steep. However, the $5 toast and $11 eggs and tomatoes on toast on offer are both pretty good value. I'm even it out and awarding a 3 overall.

The verdict...

Comfort & Surroundings: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Tastiness: 7/10
Drinks: 3.5/10
Fiscal Matters: 6.5/10
TOTAL: 30/50

JACS Café Pizzeria

Sunday 15 March 2009

JACS Café Pizzeria
Shop 1, 45 Ardross Street, Applecross
(08) 9364 8687

1. Comfort and surroundings

Alexander: JACS is a lovely place to have breakfast, with its very pretty location on Ardross Street in Applecross. Lola made the wise move of booking a table on the balcony under the veranda. The seats were comfortable, the table was spacious and the view was perfect for a Sunday morning. JACS finds the right mix between intimacy and vibrancy (there is a suitably cool bright purple JACS sign on the wall), so this place gets high marks for comfort and surroundings, a 4.5.

Lola: The location on the relatively quiet street was very relaxing. While they have quite a lot of tables they have used the space well so there was no crowding. It is very clean and not at all cluttered but still managed to retain a laid back vibe with its modern feel. Time got away from us while we were sitting around after breakfast, a testament to JACS comfortableness. A 4.5 from me too.

2. Service

Alexander: We didn't have to wait very long before we were approached by a friendly waitress for our order. There is no drinks menu, so the waitress helpfully reeled off the items we could order. She was happy to give us more time to decide on food, and then waited an appropriate length of time before coming back to take the order. We also got water without having to ask. Very nice - it gets a 4.

Lola: I'm giving a high 4.5 for service. The staff were friendly, helpful and prompt and I was particularly impressed by the girl who took my booking. Her phone manner was delightful, she asked if I had a preference as to where we'd sit and suggested the verandah when I indicated our like of fresh air but aversion to any direct sunlight. As I mentioned above, we sat around for a while after finishing our meals. While our dishes were cleared promptly and the waitress was present if we needed her, it did not once feel like we should either move on or otherwise order something else. In this way the staff really added to our comfort!

3. Tastiness

Alexander: It was nice to see a good mix of the usual breakfast items and some more interesting ones on JACS' menu. I ordered the Cheshire smoked bacon with stuffed mushroom and poached eggs. The bacon had a distinct flavour that made it a bit different from your run-of-the-mill offerings and the eggs were poached to the perfect consistency. So that was all good. However, I wasn't a big fan of the stuffed mushroom (it was a field mushroom with cherry tomatoes and melted cheese) and I think a more boring grilled mushroom would have been more to my taste. My only other complaint is that the meal came served with toasted Italian bread. While fresh Italian bread is lovely, it doesn't have the best toasting properties, and a thick cut multigrain or sourdough would have been much nicer. I'll give it a 3.

Lola: I too was impressed with the mix of offerings, particularly the inclusion of a marron omelette and that their bacon and eggs on toast also included an 'extra' of your choice. I was very happy with my potato rosti with poached eggs, smoked salmon, asparagus and goat's cheese which also came with a piece of toast. Unlike Alexander I didn't mind the bread choice - it wasn't too crusty and was soft in the middle. I really enjoyed this breakfast and I think it was the inclusion of the asparagus that really made it. The portions were generous and the ingredients were fresh. A 4 from me.

4. Drinks

Alexander: I ordered an iced chocolate and it was really a work of art. It is perhaps the first time ever that I've thought there was too much flavour, but compared to some of the weak, generic iced chocolates I've had, that's not a real complaint. You can see for yourself how nice it looked. It gets a 4 from me.

Lola: I would have appreciated a drinks menu but as Alexander mentioned, the waitress was really helpful in this department. I selected an orange juice and had no complaints, though provided it is fresh and cold, it's hard to get this wrong. I'll give it 3.5.

5. Fiscal matters

Alexander: Prices were pretty normal for Perth breakfasts (my dish was $18), with a range of menu items for all sorts of budgets. The food and drink servings were large enough to warrant the price tags, so I have no complaints about this one. 3.5 from me.

Lola: My dish was also $18 which I thought was warranted based on the portion size and the quality and freshness of ingredients. A 3.5 here too.

The verdict...

Comfort & surroundings: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Tastiness: 7/10
Drinks: 7.5/10
Fiscal Matters: 7/10
TOTAL: 39/50