
Brunch? Some call it a late breakfast, others an early lunch. Me, well I like to think of it as morning tea on steroids. If you time it right, you beat the breakfast rush, giving you a long leisurely chance to catch up with friends before the lunch crunch.
This week, I continue to share my top 5 places to brunch in Perth, North of the river (NOR). Next up I’ll be sharing my CBD worth casing finds and then who knows, as food reviews and a blogging brunch trip to Melbourne in May join the blogging menu here.
Flinderz – Hillarys
To me the popular West Coast Highway strip north of Scarborough is all about taking in the amazing panoramic views while trying to keep up in the fitness stakes with long walks and the occasional intermittent huffing and puffing snails pace jogging. It’s not a good look for me, it’s far from fashionable and heading off afterwards for brunch in today’s version of lycra isn’t exactly my cup of tea.
While there are a number of popular brunch venues up and just off the coast, where the food will have most people (including the looking good in lycra crowd) lining up for more. It’s the lines and long waits outside and the extra waiting once you are actually seated, not to mention the prices, that have me struggling to find one place that is consistently worth casing.
I did however need to have a couple of go-to venues north of Scarborough for client meetings and the occasional blogging brunch and I must confess all our mystery reviewers have had a lot of fun casing the brunch menus both up and down the coast over the last six months to help me find a place that ticked all the brunch boxes.
In the end, it was a trip to a new (to me) neighbourhood grocery store to purchase a replacement pair of stockings while I was out and about that had me tripping over my latest top 5 worth casing places to brunch NOR.
Now I’m not normally one to head to shopping centers for fun or food apart from groceries. This one at Hillarys though is slightly off the beaten track and on the small side. You don’t usually need to play cat and mouse to grab a car park and the restaurant, Flinderz is attached rather than inside the complex.
You could just dive in the front door, be mesmerized by the menu and miss the shopping centre completely.
There are plenty of seating options for both small and large groups and a semi private area inside. For me I love the almost alfresco style options around the outside, depending on the weather and whether or not the blinds are up or down.
The staff are friendly and attentive, the service as well as the food for me is always spot on.
It was the Pulled Pork Benedict ($18) that literally pulled me in on that first occasion. Two of my favourite things combined with garlic spinach, on lightly toasted ciabatta with spiced hollandaise sauce. Just typing this now and reminiscing over the photos has my mouth watering.
Flinderz Big Brekkie ($24), is a hearty meal that includes the best tasting hash browns (potato hash) this side of the river (NOR) as well as eggs your way, bacon, roast tomato, tasty pork sausages and juicy garlic sautéed mushrooms served on ciabatta toast.
Pancakes come a couple of ways at Flinderz and are super light and fluffy but I must say a bit too light on the maple syrup.
Pancake stack ($16) – 3 light and fluffy hot cake style vanilla pancakes, served with maple syrup and ice cream.
Banoffee Pancakes ($17) – vanilla pancakes with salted caramel, vanilla cream, caramalised banana, desiccated coconut and fried ice cream.
There are also a number of breakfast smoothies starting from $7.50 with options to add protein powder. Their freshly squeezed juices start from $7 but if you ask me, one of their signature milkshakes will be hard to pass on.
Classic milkshakes start from $6.50 but for a little bit extra, I would be upgrading to one of the following…..
Salted Caramel ($7) – Salted caramel, peanut butter, ice cream and jersey milk
Nutella ($7) – Nutella, chocolate, ice cream, toasted hazelnuts and jersey milk
Cookies and Cream ($7) – Cookie crumble, vanilla, cream, ice cream and jersey milk
Our mystery reviewers are also putting the following on the worth casing list:
Omelette ($16) with mushroom, tomato, spinach and manchego cheese with roasted pear, walnuts and rocket salad. You can also add chorizo for just $3.
Quinoa Granola ($16) banana panna cotta, honeycomb, blueberries with honeyed jersey milk.
If you are wanting something on the light side, definitely head to the display cabinet for their morning bakes and cakes specials, all fairly reasonably priced (orange citrus cake $3.50) with plenty of options both sweet and savoury.
With plenty worth casing from the menu, you will probably struggle to decide. The meals are more than substantial and if you are like me, you will struggle to finish them, so sharing with your little ones is a great option. As would be toast with preserves and butter ($7.50) with optional sides ranging from $3 to $6.
[review_bank review_id=4]
If breakfast or brunch isn’t your thing you could always head in and case their Sunday Roast special…..
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Are you a fan of brunch? Do you prefer sweet or savoury? Do you have a favourite place to brunch?
Ooh, this place is literally around the corner from me (and that’s where I do my food shopping at that little centre). I’ve not had a chance to try it out yet, but it looks fabulous. They sometimes have a guitarist on a Sunday in there, which gives off such a great “pavement-cafe” vibe.
I thought it might have been. Funny I haven’t run into you there? The Sunday night sessions sound interesting.
Wow, dems some amazing pancakes. I’m a bit smitten with your brunch reviews x
Thanks, they’ve been a long time coming. I’m hoping to bring more food reviews to the blog in the coming months.
Love Flinderz – the Banana panna cotta and granola is the best 🙂
They are indeed. Do you have a favourite place to brunch The Chefs Wife?
It has to be Harvest! But I have lots of favourites – Flinderz being one of them 🙂
Haven’t really had much of a chance to case Harvest. Will put it on the list.
THOSE PANCAKES!!! Hold the desiccated coconut and I’d be all over them
Not a fan of coconut Beth? I’m a bit partial to anything with salted caramel at the moment.
I like coconut flavour, cream etc but the gritty texture of desiccated coconut puts me off. I am all over anything salted caramel though!