The strangest reason I’ve had for visiting a café has to be because it starts with the letter Y. Recently, I was on a mission to finish my A-Z of Perth and Yocal fitted the bill perfectly. I also love any reason to travel down to Fremantle, as I wish I visited south of the river more often. Chef and I are certainly not locals to Yocal, but it was worth the trip. We found the eclectic little cottage on Collie Street – just across from the cinemas.
We stepped through the little blue gate and into the café, which is full of up cycled furniture. I’d wanted to sit in the leafy little courtyard, but it was a very busy mid-week morning, so we found a spare table inside by the window.
We sat on mismatched stools at the tall bench, made of an old wrought iron bed and what appeared to be a fridge door with a sheet of glass on top. What a clever idea – it looked really cool. Sun poured in through the window as we enjoyed our pick me up drinks; a double shot flat white for Chef and a bright green juice for me. Chef has a “you don’t win friends with salad” approach to most things and he turned his nose up at my juice – a concoction of spinach, coconut water, chia seed and much more… I really enjoyed it and I felt like I was being uber healthy to boot.
Potato latke w spinach, roquette, pemberton smaoked trout, 2 poached eggs and hollandaise sauce $18
I really enjoyed the whole dish, from the flaked trout to the crispy latke – though I would have loved it if they were a bit more generous with the trout serving.
Billy’s Big Breakfast: Herbed mushrooms, grilled tomato, pork & fennel chippolatas, bacon, eggs (your way) and toast $20
Chef enjoyed it, but he thought that there needed some beans or relish on the plate, to add some moisture to the dish.
The bustling café is very Freo. The staff are cheerful and looked like they love working there. It’s a good spot for coffee, just off the beaten track from the busy cappuccino strip. If you live in the area, you most definitely should become a local at Yocal!
