I'd heard it said that fortysevenkirwanstreet, a café hidden in the leafy suburb of Floreat, was a hotspot for yummy mummies and sporty types.
Being a mummy, though not necessarily of the yummy variety, and as far from being a sporty type as Homer Simpson, I wondered whether I'd pass muster and make it through the door.
fortysevenkirwanstreet Cafe
Fortysevenkirwanstreet, rather conveniently located at 47 Kirwan Street, is a local café hidden behind Lawler Park which itself is off Underwood Ave. Bang smack in the middle of a number of local schools, Challenge Stadium, Bold Park and the beach, it is a natural drawcard for families and people après swimming, but it also appeals to those who want a decent takeaway coffee or bite to eat and who can't be bothered with dealing with parking and prices in Subiaco.
That's not to say fortysevenkirwanstreet is cheap, it's not. But the food is excellent and the two times I visited this week (once for breakfast and once for lunch – I believe in being thorough), I found the service very friendly.
The corn fritters - you need to try these
The breakfast menu is twice as long as the lunch menu, and the lunch menu has a few items which are suspiciously breakfast-like. If you love breakfast then you should definitely give this place a try.
Breakfast items include porridge made with oats and pearl barley and served with poached pear, strawberries and macadamias ($14.90), French toast (from $17.90), and curiously, bbq pork belly with chipotle chilli turtle beans (try saying that fast three times), poached egg and st paulin cheese ($19.90). I might have to try that next time.
They also offer something that is more commonly associated with dinner: a tasting plate. Brilliant: I don't know why more cafes don't offer something similar. The Kirwan breakfast plate includes a boiled egg, toast and preserves and a serve of bircher muesli ($14.90).
There are also two version of a 'big breakfast': the paddock (full breakfast $21.90) and the vege patch (vegetarian breakfast $19.90).
French toast with maple bacon
We ordered the French toast ($17.90) which comes with a choice of banana yoghurt icecream and pistachio praline or candied maple bacon. Or - as my six year old wanted - both for $20.90.
This is no packaged white bread French toast you might make at home. This is a slab of buttery brioche, soft and sweet. We asked for the praline on the side, it was not as crunchy as I expected and my daughter, taught at school to be careful of nuts, avoided it altogether.
There was a small dish of mascarpone cheese and a liberal helping of small, sweet crunchy bacon pieces. If you like your bacon crunchy, then this is certainly the place for you. If you're more of a soft-bacon person, you have been duly warned.
I also ordered the corn and ricotta fritters ($16.90) which came with roasted cherry tomatoes, avocado and jalapeno sour cream. Yeah, jalapeno sour cream: sounds scary, tasted awesome, with just enough kick to wake you up, but not enough to make you cry. These were some of the best corn fritters I have had in Perth.
The kernels were sweet and crunchy, there were lashings of fresh herbs in the avocado (it's under the fritters) and the tomatoes popped in your mouth. I rather greedily ordered a side of bacon ($4) which is practically law when you have corn fritters, but the bacon was way too crunchy for me.
A simple and bright interior, with an open kitchen
The lunch menu is more modest, with at least five of the breakfast options available (including the corn fritters ($16.90), a potato and leek bake with smoked salmon and a poached egg ($19.90), the pork belly and beans ($19.90) and grilled mushies on parmesan brioche with caramelised onions, goats cheese, basil and endive ($16.90).
Grilled mushies on brioche. Oh la la
I really enjoyed the grilled mushies on brioche, despite not noticing any of the advertised basil. The mushrooms were ordinary field mushroom but there were plenty of them and the goats cheese was more of a sauce and not the crumbly cheese I expected, but the flavours worked well and the brioche was soft and buttery.
House made pie of the day
My friend ordered the pie of the day ($17.90) which was a house-made curried lamb pie, enormous and served with a simple rocket salad. It smelled delicious and went down a treat.
Other lunch offerings include soup of the day ($14.90), a little person's lunchbox ($10), a salad made with artichoke, cauliflower, haloumi and pesto ($17.90) and a za'atar crusted lamb burger with yoghurt tomato salad and spinach ($19.90).
fortysevenkirwanstreet is popular and I can see why. It was sunny the day we went for lunch, and the carpark and café were full (we still managed to get a table though). Similarly, even though it was a rotten wet day when I went for breakfast, by 7.30am the place was buzzing (though there was a table or two available).
Noise can be a bit of an issue, despite their efforts to install noise dampeners on the ceiling. You can't stop happy people chatting loudly, and why would you? There are half a dozen small tables outside, and even on the wet day they were popular with dog walkers and couples seeking a slightly quieter breakfast.
One of the sweet goodies on offer
An enticing collection of sweet and savoury muffins, tarts and slices sit lustily on the counter, daring the take-away coffee crowd with their carbohydrate goodness.
Apparently the lemon curd slice is to die for... and you don't need to be a yummy mummy to get in.
