Fez, Mount Lawley

eggs benedict

traditional Berbers breakfast

We have finally moved back into our old haunt, Mount Lawley; hooray! Not much has changed since we upped and left to travel around the world (without getting very far). Except for the new public toilets next to the new supper club and new Westpac. And new Turkish takeway. And our favourite Japanese restaurant moving to the other side of the road. Ok, so some things have changed, like the opening of a new Moroccan café, named Fez, in the building that looks like a ship on the corner of Walcott Street and Raglan Road, behind Fresh Provisions.

It seems like an eternity ago that we watched the construction of the ship building, complete with mermaid figurehead on the prow of the building, and it is great to see the café tenancy finally open. And since the city Fez was on our list of destinations on our unfortunately much-shortened ('postponed') round-the-world trip, we were keen to visit Fez Café to see what flavours we were missing out on.

As it turns out, not much. The café has been fitted out in a modern decor, complete with dark colour-pallette, fancy light-fittings, leather wall-seating, etc. In other words, it looks like every other café in Perth, which is such a shame because the interior designers could have had so much fun with a Moroccan theme. Like exquisite rugs, luxurious couches, intricate wallpaper, a bright colour scheme, interesting plates and cups; it looks like we will have to visit the real Fez to experience this. We did like the outside seating and the water that was served in olive oil bottles (but this didn't make up for the lack of atmosphere).

We chose a seat inside, and we were offered a highchair for Baby T by the waitperson who was proficient in service, but lacked the warmth that you would expect in a Moroccan café (we declined as Baby T likes to sit in our arms). Baby T was particularly fussy this morning, and we decided to move to a table outside. We informed the waitperson, who was cleaning the glass door, that we were moving outside, but she didn't think to help me move the water, 2 glasses, 2 coffees, salt, pepper, baby harness, bag, bottle, dummy, sunglasses and serviettes to the outside table (at one point closing the door on me).

We chose from their menu eggs benedict ($16.50) and the traditional Berbers breakfast ($19), consisting of meatballs with eggs and grilled bread. The eggs benedict was good, with rich creamy eggs and a delicious tasty bread that might have been a wholemeal or rye bread? Either way, it was a respectable eggs benedict. The traditional Berbers breakfast again had tasty eggs that complemented the rich tomato sauce and slightly-dry meatballs. In my opinion, though, the sauce was a little bit like a Sicilian pasta sauce and could have been complemented with some extra ingredients (like olives and toasted capsicum) and maybe some Harissa on the side. The grilled bread was great for dipping in the sauce. Overall, there are better breakfasts out there.

We also ordered a flat white and iced coffee (Baby T didn't give us time to peruse the drinks menu further). The flat white came out in a wide, brown cup and was delicious with a tasty, creamy foam that I just wanted more of (but unfortunately Baby T didn't want to stay). Renee enjoyed her iced coffee.

The Verdict
Coffee  3.5/5
Eggs (the meal!)  3/5
Service  3/5
Atmosphere  2/5
Total = 11.5/20


Baby T's score = 3/5 (Tallulah will be ready for a highchair one day!)

Would we go again? Good day to you, Fez. I said good day! It might be fun to check out their lunch or dinner menu. But overall it is pretty ho-hum and quite pricey!

Website: fezcafe.net.au