Le Bistro des Artistes (Subiaco, Perth WA)

424 Hay St
Subiaco Western Australia 6008
(08) 6141 8761
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Hours:
    Tue-Thu 10:30 - 23:00
    Fri-Sat 9:00 - 23:00

 
Subiaco is blossoming, with very European style shops and restaurants, beyond the chains you find elsewhere. There is a nice vibe going on at Subi at present, and the opening of Le Bistro des Artistes is just a proof of it and a worthy addition to the always very charming Subi. At least a reason to visit Subiaco again.

Recently opened, Le Bistro des Artistes is an authentic French Bistro managed and operated by two real French chefs (Alain Fabregues & Emmanuel Mollois), that offers good quality decently priced food in a very nice relaxing setting.

*** THE PLACE ***

The bistro is very pleasant, has a relaxed and luminous atmosphere, lovely decoration details and paintings. The main seating area is small, but the mirrored wall tricks the eye and gives the impression of the place being double the size that it is. The tables are spread also by the wall, by the bar and kitchen area, and there is a reserved area for private functions with a wonderfully celled wall. They do have nice cutlery and linen napkins. Ohhh, I wanted to cry when I got those. They will put a little wooden tray with bread and butter on arrival, and have water bottles provided to the table. 

The bistro attracts people of all ages, from the smartly or poshly dressed to the casually dressed. I always  consider this a sign that the place is appealing and good per se, and that the attraction is based on the virtues of the food and place, not on hype. 

***  THE FOOD ***

They have 2-course meals at 45 dollars and 3-course for 55 dollars during the day (from 12pm-3pm), which is a bargain having into account that we could pay that for mediocre food elsewhere. Dinner courses are more expensive, though.

Everything I tried was delicious, well prepared, and gorgeously plated. Among the entrées, the Salad Niçoise is huge and yummy with pieces of fresh tuna, while the Veal Pressé -a sort of chunky veal terrine slice- was very delicate but flavoursome and wonderful with the Jean Pierre Sancho's bread. 

Among the mains, the Salmon Sausage was delicious, again delicate and flavoursome. It is a salmon mouse sausage on a bed of pureed potato, and a yummy sauce, plus rocket and a half-moon pastry. It looked so pretty that I was like, gosh, I have to destroy this beauty to eat it. I finished with it in a microsecond. 

The Venison Mijoté is a man-sized serving of a home-style earthy casserole full of flavour, with big chunks of tender meat, veggies and potatoes. It is served in a little casserole pot, which makes everything even more charming. Perfect for winter!

The desserts are, perhaps, the star of the place, as they are are good-looking,    gorgeously plated, and with the right amount of sugar in them - scrumptious! Some of them are outstanding, all of them yummy. I have tried the lemon brûlée tart, which was delicious, served with two sauces that were divine in colour, texture and flavour, and made me want to lick my plate like a dog. The creme brûlée was truly foodorgasmic and beautifully presented. I was so excited and flabbergasted by the artistic view and by eating one cooked by a real French cook, that I forgot to take a picture and even to offer a try to my table partners! The Floating Island was nice, huge in size, and very good, but less wow than the other two.

Their coffee is well prepared but, unfortunately, one of those widespread "weakies" we find in Perth, which does not make any favour to the accompanying sweets. No sugar added, and it did lack in flavour.

There are so many sweets and dishes I would like to try at Le Bistro!

*** THE SERVICE ***

Let start by the good things. What impressed me the most is the fact that, if you happen to be at the bistro at the last hours of lunch or dinner, the chefs come out and chat to customers. We talked to Emmanuel, the pâtissier, and he was so humble and lovely! That is a high class gesture, as they are not small cooks but proper chefs.

The staff are gorgeous-looking, smiley, very friendly and eager to please.

However, that is not enough to provide a good service, as the staff are not properly organised or trained. This really puts down the great job that the chefs do at cooking. I will mention just a few issues:
+ They forgot to bring water to my table the first time I visited, and when I approached the counter to pay my bill, there was a buzz about who would attend to me.
+ When asked which type of wine a French one was, the waiter could not tell us and had to ask another one.  
+  There was an old couple who arrived after we did, ordered after we did, and were served before we did and were treated like royals. I guess they were somebody important as they were given fast, first-class treatment. There was a young couple beside our table, they arrived after we did, they ordered way after we did, and they were served first.
+ They forgot to bring my dessert and had to be reminded, but did not apologise.
+ They forgot to put the cutlery on the table when bringing the dessert to my friend, and had to be reminded, but did not apologise.
+ They wanted us to keep cutlery between courses because they are running an energy-saving program... At least ask customers what they want, no? 
+ My friend got a hair, long as a spaghetti, in her casserole dish. It was not hers. When the waiter was called, he asked her if she wanted the dish removed and gave a lame excuse about why the hair might be there, no apology. What sort of questions is, "Do you want it removed?" What you have to do in this sort of cases is you apologise sincerely, you retire the dish without asking and bring another. This is not a charity shelter serving food for free! I find revolting finding my own hair in my food, can you imagine other person's in a restaurant?!
+ My debit card was charged credit without even asking me what I wanted.

*** ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT ***

# It costs nothing having sachets of sweetener for customers who request them.

# The desserts cabinet has tables by it. When people want to check out the desserts, they have to approach your table, and get literally over you and your head to see what is in the cabinet. It just makes sense moving the cabinet elsewhere. Otherwise, do not put any table by the cabinet!

# At the moment, the cashier is an unfriendly spot located at the bottom end  of the counter, a tiny area between the kitchen area and the counter, surrounded by waiters moving in/out the kitchen and café areas. It is inconvenient for them having people moving along that alley, and it is not good for customers being there, either. It just makes sense having the bread area at the entrance relocated by the kitchen, and the cashier separated from the kitchen and placed close to the exit. Zen. Organic. 

#  One tiny lonely sausage in my main dish. Do not worry about my health, I am slim and fit, give me another sausage. I think my stomach can handle it. 

# Service needs to be properly managed  and reorganised to avoid the chaos we experienced during my second visit. Basic rules:

• If you make a mistake or forget something, do apologise with a smile. 
• If a client find a hair in his/her dish, retire it immediately and apologise without even asking. 
• They need to be told in advance which sort of wines they are serving, especially if the variety of grape is not mentioned in the wine chart, so when the Australian customer asks, the staff can tell without hesitation. 
• They also need to pay attention and be sure that people who arrive first are served first, that you treat everybody the same, because you do not know if the lovely person seating there is going to write a review of your place :O.

 ***

I do not want to give the wrong impression. Le Bistro des Arstistes is a great place, one of those places you want to return over and over, which has great food and desserts at very good prices, a nice atmosphere, and two very down to earth chefs. However, the service has to improve to make the visit something special and not the chaos it is at present.

MIND
** Their breakfast are French style, therefore no eggs or cooked meals are served.

** If you order the three-course meal, be patient because it can take a while for your dishes to arrive and need a partner of table to fill in the minutes.  If you are on a date, I hope you have lots of things in common to talk about!

** Bookings are recommended, especially during lunch weekdays and dinners, but walk-ins are welcomed, especially during weekend lunches, if you are just on your own or coupled.

Location 7/10
Layout 7/10
Ambience 7/10
Food 8.5/10
Sweets 8.5/10
Coffee 6/10
Service 5.5/10
Pricing 8/10

Update 3/7/2013
I have returned a couple of times since my first visit to the Bistro just after their opening and first months of life. Le Bistro is still a little jewel of a restaurant, worth the trip to Subiaco just to visit it.

The service, which was a big chaos at the beginning and put down the work of the chefs, has been sorted out. The staff, at present, are lovely, smiley, efficient, fast and attentive, so you can focus on your meal and your company.

I love the mix of home-style regional French food and dishes that are more sophisticated and creative. They change menu quite often, so you will be delighted at finding new dishes on the menu together with the stars of the house, like the salad niçoise or the creme brulee. I cannot tell you of anything that I haven't liked there, which, in itself, an statement that surprises even me!

The pricing is great for what you get. If you have the 3-course lunch, for 50 bucks, you leave with your belly full and a big smile of satisfaction on your face.

I love the place, and their toilets, and the mix of busy-ness, quietness and easy-going-ness, which explains why Le Bistro can be full for lunch on any given weekday.

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"Little Miss Sunshine" by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (2006)

 Little Miss Sunshine is a road movie about a dysfunctional family trying to take their seven-year-old Olive to an interstate beauty pageant from Alburquerque NM to Redondo Beach CA in their yellow Volkswagen Van.

Little Miss Sunshine is an fresh, witty and enthralling movie with freak and quirky characters, brilliant dialogues, great performances, and an original story. It is an entertaining funny crazy film that makes you think about subjects that are never confrontationally presented.

What makes a family dysfunctional? At the beginning of the film our family seem to be dysfunctional and freak, although they are  depicted in an empathetic way and epitomise, in a way, the dysfunctions that most so-called-normal families have. The thing is, the family does not push Olive into the pageant, does not force her to dress or behave in a certain way, does not dress her as little prostitute, does not expect anything from her, just supports her the whole way, even when everybody turns against her. The other parents, the "normal" ones, appear as real freaks after all, projecting their frustrated dreams and personal failure into their little kids. All of the sudden, the dysfunctional family is quite sound, warm and caring, the others just the opposite.

There is a subtle but clear criticism of the ideal of the American dream and of the self-help books and coaching focusing on becoming rich. The character of Richard epitomises the bullshit that these sub-culture has, pushing people to fight for money success following recipes that frequently lead to failure for which they do not prepare anybody. Sheryl the mother is instead the voice of common sense and more successful in her approach to life and its problems.

There is also a very cleaver non non-confrontational criticism of child beauty pageants. The script poses a rhetorical question to the viewer: what is it freakier, a beautiful child sexually dressed wearing sluty make up who poses and moves as a sexy adult, or an innocent child who sings and dances to a raunchy song that she does not understand? What happens to Olive at the pageant is the answer that the script gives to that rhetorical question, and surely the one you would identify the most.
 
The movie provides the viewer with many iconic movie images, which will imprint your retinas and stand the pass of time: The pushing of the van and the music, the girl singing "super freak", the escape from the hospital, among many others.

If this was not enough, all the actors give unforgettable performances in their respective roles: Toni Collette as the family's warm-hearted sound mother Sheryl, Greg Kinnear is her unsuccessful husband Richard, Alan Arkin as Richard's dirty father Edwin, Steve Carell as Shery'ls gay suicidal scholar brother, Abigail Breslin as the sweet innocent Olive, and Paul Dano as Olive's half brother silent rebel Dwayne.

A modern classic.

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Standing Room Only (Perth WA)

Shop 7, Piccadilly Arcade
Hay St
Perth 6000
Phone:  Ring Ring No Ring
Hours:
   Mon-Fri 7am-3.30pm
Facebook

I  discovered the SRO café in one of my visits to the Piccadilly Cinemas. I was instantly attracted to it by its Italian concept, the vintage super-stylish look of the place, and its location in the lovely Piccadilly Arcade. Then, I saw their blackboard (see the photo), stating very seriously what they do and what they stand for - Infatuation in five seconds. I told myself, this is the sort of café who cares and caters for coffeeholics of the world. Yet, here I am, a bit disappointed.

THE PLACE - I triple-love the place. It is the class of it, its vintage ambience and music, the coffee addict messages on the mirrors, the painted chalkboards, the wonderful flowers painted on the lamps, that awesome ice-dripping syphon for ice coffee and glass steamer that look so very artistic, the gorgeous coffee machines and coffee grinders... almost everything!  I say almost, because the coffee cups are plain and look out of place here.

THE SERVICE - The young staff are not only gorgeous looking, but friendly and smiley, especially the girl, who really pops up because of her genuine friendliness. All of them are courteous and operate the machine with the precision of a surgeon operating on a dangerous ill patient, but my coffee deserves their concentration. 

THE COFFEE - This should be the first thing to comment about a café, right? Especially this being a place that claims that steams the milk just once, roast beans to order and has very professional baristas who take very seriously anything coffee. Perhaps my expectations were too high after SRO's self-promotion and my fatal attraction towards style with capitals. 

Their coffee is well prepared, but OK in flavour. Sometimes, my three-shot flat white is weak and bland (how can that be possible?!), others it is stronger and nice, always better without sugar or sweetener. Never wow in flavour. It might be the "Five Senses" beans, which are not that sensual to me, the roasting of the beans, the age of the beans, the grinding of the beans, the milk, or the barista operating the "machinery". Dunno. My royal tongue wants a more creamy flavoursome coffee that is consistently prepared and has always the same flavour disregarding the day I visit. I cannot explain why their coffee does not taste better, SRO having all the paraphernalia they have and the enthusiasm they put into preparing our coffee.

***

SRO is perfect to grab a cup before heading to the cinema or your are in a hurry and want a takeaway right now. You will love their coffee if you like Five Sense beans and smooth/weak coffees that do not need of sugar or sweetener. However, if you like well-rounded creamy coffees consistently prepared and with a distinct flavour, you might need to wow yourself on your own. At SRO, the place is amazing, the staff are lovely, and the coffee is OK.

***

I stand in the room only to tell you that I do want to love you more, honey, but you do not give me what I need. I hope you get fit for summer and wow me with your sexy syphon.

MIND
The place does not have EPFTOS. I asked one of the guys if it is temporarily, and I was told that no, that the place and location is not set properly for using EFTPOS. I wonder how the other shops in Piccadilly do have it, then.

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"Prometheus" by Ridley Scott (2012)

I am a fan of Ridley Scott, since ever. Some of his movies are among my all-times favourites, so I was looking forward to watching the much anticipated "Prometheus". 

PLOT - It is year 2089. Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, a couple of archaeologists, discover a star map connected to the signs present in many archaeological artefacts of ancient cultures. They seem to match a group of planets that have LV-233 as a moon. There are indications that life on Earth might have had an exogenous origin and that the engineers of it could come from that moon. The leading couple, teamed up with a a group of scientists and funded by the dying CEO of the Weyland Corporation, start a trip of exploration to LV-223 on the spaceship Prometheus trying to discover whether the Engineers hypothesis is true, and if true, why they created the human species. 

THE MOVIE - Prometheus wants to be a prequel (or at least connect) to the "Alien" saga, including the stories narrated in the two "Alien vs Predator" movies, so the story, in a way, has to fit the bill.

Prometheus also wants to move away and go beyond those movies to create a saga and mythological world in which all the stories are included and embedded, but it has its own autonomy.

Prometheus also wants to pose some philosophical, theological and ethical queries about human nature, the soul of androids, and the origin of life, very much in connection with many of the themes explored in "Blade Runner".

To put in simple terms... Prometheus wants to provide the viewer with a science-fiction teleological mythology infused with philosophical and metaphysical queries... it sounds pretentious, no? Well, it is pretentious.

The start of the movie is very promising and intriguing and subject to interpretation, a promise that, however, is never fulfilled. I love action movies, but if you want to mix action with metaphysics, you better work hard on putting together a story that links well all the elements, and creates engaging characters that have an emotional background, are well connected, and have a purpose within the story. Most importantly, show respect to the viewer who is willing to believe anything if that something has an inner logic and makes sense.

The film is very sleek, and some of the scenes are  wonderful, grandiose and spectacular, as well as the special effects, especially those filmed inside the departure chamber, which are utterly gorgeous, if that can be said. The blue, golden brown and white-ish tones of the film are perfect for the story and create and convey the right mood, both physical and emotional, of the different scenes. The cinematography, mostly shot in Iceland and Spain, is beautiful, and the landscapes chosen really look prehistoric, raw, beautiful and out-this-world. On the contrary, I did not find Marc Streitenfeld's original soundtrack especially inspired, and it sounds like hundred of other science fiction movies' soundtracks.

THE ACTING - The male and female characters are unevenly treated by the script and the result is that the actors who play them shine or not depending on it. Naomi Rapace is completely wasted as Elizabeth Shaw. She does her best at doing what is requested of her naive passionate and a-scientific scientist character - no acting would have saved it. The same can be said of Charlize Theron, whose talent is wasted in her  role of Meredith Vickers, the intriguing ice-cold beautiful manager of the expedition; not  much is demanded of her, beyond wearing stylish super-tight clothes and moving like a supermodel on a catwalk.

On the contrary, Michael Fassbender is brilliant as the quirky witty android David. David is the best drawn character in the movie because it has a sense of purpose, a background, an inner logic, and a well-defined "psyche" and a soul that is missing from the other characters. Fassbender really brings his character to life, and gives him both mechanical and human colour in movement, facial expression and performance. What a great actor he is.

Guy Pearce is good and almost unrecognisable in his role as Peter Weylan, the patron and sponsor of the expedition. The rest of the supporting actors are just OK in their respective roles. They do what is requested from their roles, which is not much at times.

THE WHOLE THING - Prometheus is a super-production that does not deliver what it promises. This is an action movie with amazing visuals and interesting premises that gets lost in itself. It is hedonistic at times, superficial and preposterous most of the times. The movie feels like a blockbuster made to utter wows; yet, the wows are never uttered because there was no previous thinking, the story and characters are just sketched, and the viewer is expected to disregard ridiculous events, completely unscientific behaviour by scientists, and even the laws of Physics. Furthermore, Prometheus seems anchored in old philosophical queries that, despite still being valid. are presented as if the world had not changed much since the 1980s, science and technology were far less developed, their impact on Society was less profound, and new queries were needed for the film to feel contemporary in that regard. There is a lack of focus in the project, and the result is a chaotic film that is enjoyable at times, ridiculous and annoying others. Visuals and style are never enough to make of a movie a good one, even though they can be wow.

The movie ends with unanswered questions, on purpose, as a sequel has to follow. Oh dear. We just can hope that the sequel supersedes the original and we utter, finally, a sincere wow. What a task.

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Plenty Thai Restaurant (Perth WA)

Shop 15, Shafto Lane
Perth WA 6000
Phone: (08) 9481 0090 
Email: plentyfinefoods@gmail.com
Website
Facebook
Hours:
Lunch  11am-3pm weekdays, 1pm-5pm Sat
Dinner 5pm-9pm Mo to We + Sat, 5pm-10pm Thu and Fri

Plenty Thai Restaurant is located in the lovely Shafto's lane, one of most vibrant charming areas in the CBD, and serves authentic Thai and Asian Fusion food. There are plenty of reasons to visit Plenty!

THE PLACE - The place is spotless clean, luminous and pleasant despite its functionality. It has many lovely decoration details, like the cute test-tube flower vases, the nice lamps, and the little Miró-ish floating thingy. The serving area is clean and well presented, as well as the self-service water area. Plenty is very popular with corporate crowds, mostly (nicely-dressed young) men, but also with young Asian students. Plenty offers take-away service and pre-order take-away by phone and email.  

THE FOOD - They claim their dishes to be authentic Thai and they look like! This is not sophisticated Thai, but home-style and street-stalls Thai food, and it looks and tastes great. The dishes are very spicy and hot, as real Thai food should be, and the serving generous, so you will not leave hungry. The food trays are constantly replaced, and the food is really fresh. Just the colour, appearance and taste of it will tell you that. 

 Beyond the traditional finger food, they have green and red curries, pad dishes (Pad Thai included), spicy soups (Tom Yum included), stir-fry dishes, minced meat and green papaya salads, and a small selection of packaged Thai sweets displayed beside the water jars, with a mix of mini-muffins, fried nibbles, bean-paste sweets, among other things. 

PRICING - Prices are fantastic. Lunch combos are 7-8.5$, and la carte dishes go from 5 to 14$, while dinner dishes go from 5 to 17$. The packed sweets are 6 bucks per tray. You pay the same you would be paying in a food court, but the quality and variety of food is ten times better. It is is exciting finding a business that does provide good food at bargain prices without compromising quality!  

THE SERVICE - The service is friendly and both the business and the staff are eager to serve and satisfy any of your requests. 

• They have an interesting selection of readings on the solo dining walled table, a Thai street food book included!
• They do have tap water jars, but they use a "Brita" jar to filter it (I saw them refilling it). 
  
• Sometimes, the staff fills in the water glasses of the clients, all over the place, which is something rarely found in Perth restaurants unless we are in a posh one. 
• Sometimes they approach you and ask you how is everything, if you like it, if things are too spicy for you, and so on. 

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
1/ Their green blackboard is difficult to read, as green is never a good background for coloured inks. They should use a black pen to allow the writing to be readable.

2/ The walled table is not very appealing as it faces the wall and it is very narrow. It would be great having the big tables in the middle of the room replaced with smaller ones, which could be joined for groups. A good deal of visitors are, indeed, solo visitors and pairs/couples.

MIND
The food is very spicy and hot, so if you do have a problem with chillies and spicy food, abstain. On the other had, if you like Thai food you know that Thai food is originally spicy and hot.

 ***

Plenty is great value for money, has a great location, good tasty food at terrific prices, and a pleasant dining area. They do not pretend to be anything, just deliver what they promise.  

Location: 9/10
Layout: 6/10
Ambience 6/10
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Pricing: 9/10

****
MESSAGE FROM THE OWNER RECEIVED VIA YELP on 23/3/13

 Moo K.

Teo Degas
Thanks for your review and suggestions. We did rearrange tables and it worked well. If you come by you will see new signs in graphic prints. Also we plan to do some change to high counter which does not work functionally especially for dinner. Thanks again for your kind support.
Plenty

MY REPLY

Thanks a lot to you for taking the tame to reply. I visited two weeks ago, and it was great. I love your food!

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3 in 1 Market @ Showgrounds (Claremont, Perth WA)

Yesterday, I visited the 3 in 1 Market at the Claremont Showgrounds. It has three areas of sale: the handmade crafts and food, the antiques and collectables area, and the polka dot vintage market. I was expecting something similar to the very charming and gorgeous "Made on the Left" market held at the State Theatre grounds a few weeks ago, just bigger. However, it was bigger but without the charm. The area is huge, one of the wings of the pavilion devoted to the antiques, and the other to the vintage and handmade stuff. The place is not very appealing, despite the large range of things on offer. It is certainly spacious, but it looks old and run down, and too linear to be called a market. More like a pop-up shop of humongous size. 

I was completely disappointed with the Polka Dot area. I wanted to find one of those short bolero jackets typical of the 50s, now so in vogue, and to see real vintage of the 50s and 60s, pretty pieces, you know, classy pieces, not pieces that were worn by grannies in the 60s. :O. There were a few nice pieces of vintage, old Australian brands vintage (Review, Alannah Hill, if that can be called vintage), but nothing really wow. To be fair, I saw a few things that were really beautiful, but not my style or size. Most things were not that cheap either, although there were some racks with all-10$clothes, which were nice. There were a few interesting corners with old vinyl music and photographic material, and lots of vintage for men, which I thought was more interesting than the women's. The handmade crafts area was also less glamorous, classy and varied than in Made on the Left, although some of the stands where also here, but not many things caught my eye. 

To my surprise, what I liked the most was the antique and collectables area. I saw super-cool, super-cute, super-beautiful and super-kitsch things, mostly kitchen and table related. I am not into collectables or antiques, but there were so many pretty pieces, some of them expensive, but some others at really bargain prices. For whatever reason I always have my antenna tuned and it takes me about 15 seconds to spot what I like among a sea of stuff. I could not stop myself, and I bought three porcelain pill boxes (to give a royal look to my tic-tacs and mints) for five bucks the lot, an individual gorgeously artistic tea Thai silver-plated colander for 15$, and a pretty silver-plated sugar spoon for 5. It was too late for me to keep going, as the grounds were closing down, a grumpy old man hasted me out, and I had wasted my time in the wrong area.

***

The toilets were clean, but a bit scary and run down. That sort of beige marbley style that yo see in underground films, and from which you want to escape as soon as your bladder has been given a relief.

Nobody was able to explain to me how to get to the train station by foot. There is a free shuttle every twenty minutes, but I would rather walk than stand waiting for a shuttle. The organisers should have simple maps of the surrounding area available for customers, or just inform the ladies at reception so they can inform customers.    

 ***

The same market will be held at the same location on November 17-18 November. Still, Made of the Left is still in my memory and very much my kind of crafty market. I should have written a review earlier on. But Alas, sometimes I waste my time on reviews on Perth public transport :O.

The markets are still on today, so, if you have one of those lazy days with not much planed, go and visit. 

TIP
The entry is 6 bucks, but if you go mid afternoon the fee is halved! Yoohoo!

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Showgrounds Railway Station (Perth WA)

The Showgrounds Railway station is one of the stops in the Fremantle Railway Line, and very close to the Claremont Showgrounds, where the Royal Perth Show, business fairs, expos, exhibitions and craft and vintage markets take place. Do not to be mixed with Claremont Railway Station, which is a different one.
 
The place looks as new and it is well maintained, spotless clean and tidy, has a decent seating area, and a few ticketing machines on the ground.  The access to the platforms is by underground stairs, no lift or escalator available, but there is an access ramp for wheelchairs. 

The Claremont showgrounds and the station do no have a regular connection system, but a free shuttle operates during scheduled events, which is great, as the station and the grounds are close, but not that close!

There is no electronic or printing information system on the premises showing the timetable of the trains, and time remaining for the next train to arrive. There is a small information booth on the ground, but, if there is nobody there, an alternative information system is needed. I have just seen it closed, so it was of no use to the many customers arriving with the shuttle to the station. How difficult and expensive can be having a framed timetable placed in different areas of the station for the travellers to check?

There is a security booth on the platforms, but no body guard was there in the late afternoon of a Saturday. I hope the security camera is working and big brother is watching, especially after sunset.

There are no toilets in the premises or around them.

TIP
There are not machines to recharge your multirider, so do so before heading that alley.

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