Coode Street Café

Coode Street Café
24 Coode Street
Maylands
(08) 9371 9900

1. Comfort and surroundings

Alexander: Sorry about the delay, folks, things have been a bit crazy in the lives of these breakfast bloggers! But with Lola's imminent departure on a European holiday, we knew we had to squeeze in a breakfast review! Coode Street Café was actually not our first choice on this particular occasion, but our first choice was inexplicably closed. Not to worry though, Coode Street Café was just a hop, skip and a jump (and a short car ride) away. Nestled on a leafy street in Maylands, you can tell that Coode Street Café has a good reputation by the number of cars parked within a 100m radius! After finding a carpark and securing a table outside, we settled in for breakfast. The café has a bustling, informal vibe, with an assortment of groupings (from friends to couples to families to singles) partaking in their morning meals. It's pleasant, if a little suburban for my taste, so I'll give it a 3.

Lola: I love the leafy streets and the homely feel to this high Mt Lawley / Maylands border area. Locals flock to this property which retains a corner store vibe. After breakfast you can pick up your milk, a newspaper and other morning staples. It might be bustling and it might be suburban, but I like the sense of community that those things create. And although it's busy, the vast space means there's little crowding. I'll have to say a 4.

2. Service

Alexander: Our waiter was very friendly, breezing across to our table after giving us a couple of minutes to peruse the menu. After securing our coffee orders, our waiter gave us the special of the day (a little bit of a novelty at breakfast!) and then left us for just about the perfect amount of time to make our decision. The food came out fast for such a busy place, so you know they are experienced at catering for a lot of people at the same time. Points for that. Payment at the counter afterwards was a pretty easy affair, too. A 3.5 from me.

Lola: There isn't much more to say in the service department. The system works well with waiters seating you and taking your orders, with counter payment at the end. This gives you a chance to pick up a pie to take home for lunch after! Pretty good with another 4 from this side.

3. Tastiness

Alexander: I couldn't go past the special on this occasion - corn cakes serviced with an avocado salsa, plus bacon on the side! If I could dream up my perfect breakfast, this would definitely be on the menu. It all worked well together, even if the plating was a little rustic. I devoured my breakfast and was left satisfied without being stuffed. A very happy 4!

Lola: Ohh that special nearly had me too! In the end I settled for the grilled peaches and ricotta on fig toast. This was just delightful and warrants a 4.5! The ricotta cut the sweetness of the peaches perfectly, and the bread was jam packed full of figs. Though I don't felt like I overindulged, it kept me full for hours with all its goodness. Yum!

4. Drinks

Alexander: Today I was back in long black territory, so I won't mince words. Good coffee, not the best I've had, definitely not the worst. Above average coffee = a score of 3.

Lola: My flat white could have been a little more robust, but it served the caffeine fix purpose and warmed me from the inside. A 3 seems apt for my beverage, also.

5. Fiscal matters

Alexander: Prices are on par with similar establishments in the location, with breakfast for 2 including drinks coming to a little under $40. When you can get away without parting with more than a $20 note each, things are pretty good... by Perth standards, anyway! 3.5 from me.

Lola: I couldn't have said it better myself. That $20 is a bit of a line for me. Spend over and, although it's common, I feel slightly peeved. But if I can come home with only having bust an orange, I feel like I've done not too bad at all. I second that 3.5.




The verdict...
Comfort and surroundings: 7/10
Service: 7.5/10
Tastiness: 8.5/10
Drinks: 6/10
Fiscal matters: 7/10

TOTAL: 36/50

The Naked Fig Cafe

The Naked Fig Cafe
278 Marine Parade
Swanbourne
(08) 9384 1222

1. Comfort & Surroundings

Alexander: Wow. How could you ask for a better location than this? With an expansive deck and floor to ceiling glass, The Naked Fig plays up its sensational surroundings to maximum effect. I was telling Lola at breakfast that I'm not really a beach-y person but I love the ocean in Winter. Yep, with unobstructed views of the crashing waves from the deck, I was in Winter beach heaven. I was a bit worried I was going to get chilly sitting outside, but my trusty hoodie kept the cold at bay and, in the end, I was too absorbed in the view and the food to notice. Close to perfection at 4.5.

Lola: When scoring this section of the reviews I always think to myself, "Well it's not perfect, there are no sea views." I, too, find the beach delightful in the colder months, the tables were suitably roomy for two, the chairs comfortable and the deck was a nice touch. I can't fathom a nicer setting than this so it has to be full marks! 5/5.

2. Service

Alexander: I would like to start with the positive and say that, overall, the service was top notch. We had a chatty but not overbearing waitress who was happy to give us as much time as we wanted. But, happily, she made herself sufficiently available that we were never waiting very long before she popped up. My only criticism is that when I walked in at 9.38am (8 minutes later than the scheduled reservation time), I was greeted with the following comment: "Good thing you arrived just now, I was about to give your table away". What do you say in response to that? "Umm thank you so much for being normal and not giving our table away after 8 minutes"? Sheesh! It's Sunday morning, cut a guy some slack! 3.5.

Lola: Yeah, I understand they are busy, busy but surely a courtesy phone call could be expected. Fortunately it didn't come to that and after arriving in the nick of time we were treated to polite, attentive service. Nothing too fancy though. While our orders were taken at our table, we had to pay at the counter on our way out, marginally inconvenient due to the amount of people coming and going and the counter being between the entrance and the start of the tables. I shouldn't nitpick about that though, a minor issue! 3.5 from me too.

3. Tastiness

Alexander: Let me just state for the record that I love sweet and salty flavour combinations. Peanut butter and jelly. Chocolate covered pretzels. French fries and soft serve icecream. Mmm... But I find that breakfast options overlook this delightful pairing. So you can imagine how excited I was to see the Grizzly Bear Pancakes on the menu: bacon and eggs (scrambled or fried) with pancakes and maple syrup. I went with the scrambled eggs and I was not disappointed. Two fluffy pancakes topped with creamy eggs and crispy bacon, then drizzled with just enough maple syrup. The tastebuds on my tongue that register sweet and salty went into overdrive and forced me devour this dish in a matter of minutes. A big 4.

Lola: Unfortunately I'm awarding a 3 for my dish. The 'eggs on fire' promised so much but let me down a bit. It consisted of eggs cooked to my liking, I chose fried, on a 'chilli corn cake' with bacon, avocado, spinach and a sweet corn sour cream. I couldn't taste a hint of chilli in the actual corn cake (that's not to say there was none there, I just couldn't find it) though there was delicious hot chilli sauce all over the plate. Could have done with some more of that sauce though! And the corn cake itself did appear a little tasteless, more like a vehicle for the topping than the main event. No complaints about the avocado, bacon and spinach, however brief mention should be made to the sweet corn sour cream. Others may have loved this flavour but for me this was way to sweet and overpowering. Eggs were nicely cooked, and the rest of the offerings on the menu sounded really great, so it wasn't so bad.

4. Drinks

Alexander: Seeking to do a bit of a comparison against my drink from the last breakfast blog outing, I ordered the Mad Monkey. Despite the ridiculous name, this was not a ridiculous drink. Think banana, coffee and chocolate, all blended up into a frothy, icy-cold smoothie. It was pretty delicious, and definitely on par with the Mocha Delight from MillPoint. 4 from me.

Lola: Of course I had to have one as well! Banana, coffee and chocolate is a heavenly flavour trio, I agree. Quite delicious though I think the MillPoint version was superior. But I really, really loved my Mexican chilli hot chocolate. Even better than a banana/coffee/chocolate combo is chocolate and chilli, for mine! The chocolate must be of high quality and luckily this one fit the bill. 4.5 here.

5. Fiscal matters

Alexander: I expected to be paying a premium for the view at The Naked Fig, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that nothing on the menu tops $19.50 - which is pretty rare for breakfasts at coastal locations in Perth. Of course, all of the substantial options start at $16.50, but there are still the usual cheaper items for those who don't believe breakfast has to be cooked. My dish cost $17, which I thought was only slightly higher than average. But my drink was $7.80, which I thought was a bit OTT. The same price applied to all of the cold milk drinks. Even the ice tea was $7.30, and we all know how much tea bags cost. I'll have to score it a 2.5.

Lola: Alexander has summed it up nicely, while the food sat at a fairly reasonable price point, it's the drink prices that have brought my score to a 2.5 as well. Though this wasn't relevant on our visit, it's worth warning you that there is a 15% surcharge on public holidays. On the other hand, they do donate their tips to a charity.

The verdict...

Comfort & Surroundings: 9.5/10
Service: 7/10
Tastiness: 7/10
Drinks: 8.5/10
Fiscal Matters: 5 /10
TOTAL: 37/50

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