Source : Perth Now news
Picking WA’s best brunch spots is a bit like being asked to choose a favourite child.
Actually it’s harder because parents picking a favourite kid aren’t asking strangers to adopt them.
Recommending cafes in the knowledge that strangers may spend their hard-earned money there requires context.
What kind of food do you like? What’s your preferred vibe? Is it with kids or without? Trying to impress someone? Are you charmed by a chatty waiter or will you attempt to put a fork through their eye?
The venue that is one person’s dream is another’s nightmare.
Not every venue on the following, highly-subjective, list of WA breakfast and brunch spots will appeal to everyone. But it can, I hope, be used as a guide for any brunch enthusiast looking for a certain kind of spot to visit — or to avoid.
Best newcomer: Kith Eatery, Nedlands
Close but no cigar: Elske, Fremantle
It’s hard to be both a cracking neighbourhood cafe and a destination venue but Kith Eatery, a gorgeous new addition to the western suburbs cafe scene pulls it off.
Kith is the offspring of Jess Chisari-Sneeuwjagt and Joel Sneeuwjagt, who used to run Someday Coffee in Floreat, and it shows.
The food is wonderful — I could write a poem about the miso mascarpone pancakes or a novel about the zucchini and haloumi fritters — the coffee superb and the aesthetic appealingly minimalist with dashes of quirk.
This is a light, bright, busy place for people who want to try something a bit different but also trust that they’ll be taken care of.
Best to linger: Peninsula Farm, Maylands
Close but no cigar: Dine by Arrival Hall, Northbridge
Peninsula Farm must have one of the best views in the world of Perth cafes.
This sprawling riverside venue on the historic Tranby House site is surrounded by a huge expanse of grass, trees and the river, all of which can be enjoyed from the cluster of tables and solid wood picnic tables set up on the outside deck. On the right day you can sit in the shade with a cold drink and a hot meal and have a summer breeze ruffle your hair.
That alone would make it worth a visit but Peninsula Farm also has lovely food (from sweetcorn fritters or waffles to scones with jam and cream). In the warmer months, there’s a gelato cart set up on the grass, by the children’s play area, to give you one more reason to stay a little longer.
It is the cafe that this gorgeous piece of Maylands riverfront real estate deserves.
Best for a date: Satchmo, North Perth
Close but no cigar: Willing Coffee, Mt Lawley
Hopefully you know your date better than I do, so you’ve probably got a better chance of guessing what they might like.
But if you’re flying blind or running low on inspiration, North Perth’s Satchmo, with a menu that’s heavy on New Orleans energy by way of Judaism (you don’t see a lot of matzo ball soup on Perth menus), will convince your paramour you’re just a bit cool.
Satchmo has been a favourite for a long time but there are a few specifics that make it date-worthy: the possibility you’ll have to wait for a table or booth will test your date’s commitment, while the venue’s many nods to Seinfeld will challenge their knowledge of the greatest sitcom of the 90s. As well as a top brunch menu, Satchmo has a lovely display cabinet of cakes and sweet treats for when the date is going well and you want to draw it out.
Plus, if you can watch the object of your affection eat the gigantic meatball hoagie and still fancy them, you’re probably mated for life.
Best dish: Smashed Avo, Little Donkey Corner, Tuart Hill
Close but no cigar: XO Scrambled eggs and Mushrooms at Dine by Arrival Hall, Northbridge
Come on, are we really still getting excited about smashed avo in 2025?
We are when it comes like this, with stracciatella — mozzarella’s creamier cousin — a wobbly poached egg on top and warm tomato salsa.
There are plenty fancier, prettier and more Instagram-friendly dishes that could have taken out this title. But I fell hard for this terrific take on a dish I thought had lost its ability to surprise.
Best to take visitors: Taylor’s in the Valley, Middle Swan
Close but no cigar: Peninsula Farm, Maylands
You know how it is: friends or family come to visit and you want to take them somewhere nice that’s both impressive and yet also unlikely to offend anyone.
Taylor’s In the Valley is all that and some particularly amazing pancakes (apple crumple for sweet fans or “grizzly” with bacon, fried egg and chilli candied peanuts). There’s other stuff here and much of it is really good but it’s the pancakes I keep coming back to.
The interior dining room is nice enough but the real place to sit and linger over your meal or coffee is the courtyard. With the right summer breeze, it’s as conducive a spot to a long chat as I can think of.
There’s also a delightful bric-a-brac shop, known as the Barn, out the back of the courtyard space, where you can browse, shop or possibly just avoid taking your visitors home quite yet.
Best drinks: Three Little Pigs, South Fremantle
Close but no cigar: Ugly Baby, Perth
The delicious (and made for-Insta) drinks at Three Little Pigs aren’t the only reason to visit this South Fremantle gem.
The Thai-influenced food is terrific, from the miso scrambled eggs to the “avo cuddles” take on smashed avocado. The build-your-own breakfast option is also an idea whose time has come.
But it is the (non-alcoholic) drinks that make it stand out. Highlights from the extremely big menu include the “choc pink” (sala syrup, evaporated milk and a killer pig-shaped pink ice-cube), a “dirty Thai milk tea” (condensed milk and strong espresso) or a fizzy amcham (butterfly pea tea with lemonade, lime juice and a sprinkle of gold leaf).
Best “Down South”: Goanna Bush Cafe, Quindalup
Close but no cigar: Meelup Farmhouse, Meelup
In the crowded foodie line-up that is “Down South”, Goanna Bush Cafe stands out as the venue that brings me back every time I’m in town.
Chunky wooden tables, a rustic garden that includes a kids’ play area and a small but perfectly formed menu — shout out to their delicious and ever-popular “Indo breakfast” — make it feel welcoming whether you’re frocked up or have come straight from the beach.
A must-visit destination for anyone travelling in the South West.
Best stalwart: Gusto Food, South Perth
Close but no cigar: Good Things, Mosman Park
New can be good but the value of doing the same thing over and over again and doing it well can sometimes be overlooked.
Gusto Food in South Perth has been serving excellent food for so long that I can barely remember a time before their life-changing house-made crumpets, which remain the gold standard of this dish in Perth. Of the vegetarian breakfast I shall not speak . . . no, wait, I shall because it’s huge and terrific and did I mention huge?
Gusto’s aesthetic is pared back to the point of being, well, possibly just a bit boring, but that’s consistency for you.
Best with kids: Holly Raye’s, Bassendean
Close but no cigar: Little French Nest, Fremantle
If you don’t have kids and don’t want to spend your breakfast being harassed by other people’s you can still go to Holly Raye’s. More than that, you should because it’s great: lovely food (think hash brown stack and Reuben sandwiches), smoothies ( a “Tim Kale” anyone?) and staff who are eager to please.
But for those with kids it’s a haven, thanks to a lovely play area, which includes a toy cafe and drawing space, that I had to bribe my children to leave. There’s also a good $15 kids’ meal deal menu designed to keep the wee blighters quiet at least long enough to eat your own meal.
Best neighbourhood haunt: Willing Coffee, Mt Lawley
Close but no cigar: Cambridge Corner, Floreat
This corner deli-turned-cafe (and restaurant and wine bar at night) sent my heart a flutter from the first meal I had there: something terrific involving kale, broccolini and an eggplant puree I tried desperately to replicate at home. (Do I need to say that I failed? I failed.)
Willing is just the kind of delightful surprise that you hope to encounter in your own backyard: cosier than it has any right to be and slicker than you’d think from the outside. The menu changes regularly but offers a nice mix of familiar favourites and more adventurous options.
It’s got “bring the weekend papers and order a second cup of coffee” vibes.
Did I get it right? Unforgivably wrong? If you have a recommendation I’d love to hear it at kate.emery@wanews.com.au or follow me on Instagram @pethbreakfastandbrunch
