Showing posts with label Menora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Menora. Show all posts

10/30/2013

BROTHER (Menora, Perth WA) = CLOSED

300 Walcott Street
Menora Western Australia 6050
(08) 9272 5787
Hours:

      Mon - Fri: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
      Sat: 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
      Sun: 8:30 am - 1:30 pm

 
Under new management, BROTHER is a decent unpretentious well-priced café away from the buzz of Beaufort street.

There is nothing flashy or new vogue about BROTHER. The place is small, with comfortable indoor and alfresco areas.
The ambience is a bit mismatched and uninspired, still welcoming, the main decoration being the photos for sale on the walls; the woody corner on the right upon entrance is, on the contrary, truly charming, and it is a pity that the whole place is not like that. 

Brother's coffee is very good. I am not a fan of Toby State beans in general, but they do a great job with them here, and the coffee is well-prepared, smooth and creamy.  Mugs available!

Their food is a mix of Australian favourites with a emphasis on Mediterranean dishes for lunch. I love their specials, which are the ones that bring me back to Brother. I loved their White Wine Seafood Linguine, which were not only tasty, but full of chunky pieces of seafood. Their old-style home-made bowl pies were absolutely tasty and filling, although a bit soggy. Their Feta and Spinach Ravioli were also lovely. On the contrary, I found their Peas & Scallop Risotto bland. Serving sizes vary depending on the dishes.  

They have also have a nice selection of cookies, cake slices and muffins baked on the house, sometimes still warm when you order, like the strawberry friand in the photo.

The service has always been terrific regarding friendliness, speed, modifications and adjustments of the menu. All the staff and the young couple of owners are truly welcoming, humble, honest and hard-working.

The place attracts a varied group of people from all ages, families included, but mostly quiet people looking for a place where you can eat and talk at the same time without having to yell. They have several copies of the daily newspaper available for customers, which is always a big tick in my list.

One of the main downsides of the place is their limited opening hours during the weekend, days that usually bring more customers to any restaurant. I have gone on a Saturday and the kitchen was closed at 2.30pm, and 1pm on a Sunday, so I went and spent my money elsewhere. They open the whole week, and it is understandable, but perhaps closing another day of the week and having extended hours during the weekends might pay off.
MIND - They are starting to open in the evenings for dinners some days of the weekend.

BONUS - Free WIFI.

FIX IT - Last time I was there, the knob lock of the toilet self-opened. My bottom is sacred. Yelp!  

ACTIVATE IT - The former website is no longer operational. Their Facebook account has been untouched or very quiet for months. They could easily post here the specials of the week or extra info about events, change in opening times, hours when the kitchen closes and so on. 

8/31/2013

La-Vigna Liquor (Menora, Perth WA)


302 Walcott St
Menora Western Australia 6050
(08) 9271 1179
Hours:
   Mon-Wed 10am-8.30pm
   Thu-Sat 9am-8.30pm
   Sun 11am-7pm

La-Vigna is a dream of a bottle shop if you are into International wines, ciders and beers: Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and what's not.

There is a tendency in most bottle shops, bars and restaurants in Perth to have a few international European wines that are mediocre regarding quality; moreover, they are poorly representative of the wines of a given country, so we get something that is easy to import, or that is well marketed in origin, not the wines that are top-notch or the latest new thing in that country country. Not only that, you ask them something about a specific wine, cider or beer and they do not know anything. They just sell them as the latest thing... in Perth.




La Vigna is great because they have a great selection of international wines, ciders and beers that are representative of the wine culture of the countries they sell from. Thus, you have a great variety of wines coming from different "terroir denomination" areas within the same country, which means they are completely different varieties of wine and have a history behind them. Being so, you go to La-Vigna and know you can buy and try different things from the same country. That is exciting!  



The downside of the place (can you guess?), is the pricing. You have to pay top dollar for what you fancy, and the prices of some of the bottles are just worth paying if you want something special for a special occasion, or, well, to pamper yourself if you have the money. Having said that, some of their international wines are still affordable, not more expensive than a good Australian one. That is also exciting!



The staff  are not only very friendly and chatty, but also very knowledgeable about what they sell. You tell them what you might like or you are looking for and they will help you with great mastery, or they will let you browse at your heart's content if that is what you want. That is awesome!