Wild Poppy
2 Wray Avenue, Fremantle
Tel: 08 9430 8555
Open: Breakfast and lunch every day, dinner Friday and Saturday
I have been on what I thought was a fruitless hunt for a cafe which ticked all of the following boxes: child friendly, serves good food and coffee, is reasonably priced, and has a comfortable ambience.
Today my search has ended.
Wild Poppy is centrally located in Fremantle but is a safe enough distance away from the craziness which is Marine Terrace. It is a large-ish and spacious venue eclectically fitted out with funky furniture, old prints and old-lady-esque lace doily lampshades. I liken it to eating at your cool grandmother’s house, minus the mothballs.
At the far end of the restaurant is the more child-friendly area with a few lounges and armchairs for added comfort, and a few highchairs available for use.
I grabbed one of the Ikea highchairs for Little Monkey and sat down to peruse the menu which I had picked up at the counter on the way through. The menu isn’t large (see below), but it is does cover all bases and offers a couple of twists on old favourites.
Back up to the counter to order and I was sorely tempted by the baked goods on display, including some cute mini breakfast rolls containing bacon, eggs and sauce ($5.00) of which I grabbed one for Little Monkey, and stuck with my own choice of the Full Meaty Breakfast ($18), cappuccino, and an OJ.
As we waited for our food and drinks, I enjoyed the mellow music playing in the background as I gazed out of our window seat doing a spot of Fremantle people-watching (spot the hippie!), and pointing out cars to my car-obsessed toddler.
Our food and drinks arrived together in a pleasingly prompt fashion. The coffee was spot on, no complaints. The orange juice didn’t taste super freshly squeezed, and was just adequate.
Before I began, I grabbed a couple of bites of Little Monkey’s breakfast roll (see below, couldn’t help myself, had to make sure it wasn’t poisonous you see!) and it was super fresh and simplistically tasty. My full breakfast, on the other hand, had a lot going on that’s for sure! Pleasingly crisp bacon, sausage (which Little Monkey devoured), rosemary mushies, balsamic tomatoes, three slices of toasted turkish bread each with a unique spread, seductively fluffy scrambled eggs, gosh have I left anything out?
Whilst individually each of the components within the Full Meaty Breakfast were perfectly cooked and seasoned, I can see how some people might find the above combination of flavours on one plate to be somewhat overwhelming. I, on the other hand, love a naughty mixture of flavours and consequently loved it all! I felt like my tastebuds were being taken on an enjoyable morning tango.
The waitstaff within Wild Poppy were collectively friendly and efficient, even engaging Little Monkey in a bit of banter which kept him happy for just that little bit longer.
I noticed that Wild Poppy also serves alcoholic beverages, and being that it is such a comfortable venue, I can imagine whiling away quite a few hours having a relaxed weekend lunch over a few wines. Next time!
In Summary
I found Wild Poppy to be the answer to my breakfasty prayers. The food was solid, the coffee great, the ambience super comfortable coupled with funky decor, and they were welcoming of children – tickety tickety boo!
Food: 8.5/10 (generous serves, interesting twists on old favourites, but the bold mix of flavours may be off-putting for some.
Service: 9/10 (waitstaff were genuinely friendly and efficient. Implementation of table service would see me giving a 10/10).
Ambience: 9/10 (spacious, inviting and comfortable, Wild Poppy would be somewhere you’d happy waste away a few hours, however the alfresco at the front of the cafe is a little uninspiring)
Overall: 9/10 – my new favourite cafe yeehaw!
ediblescapism 