Who knows what exotic escapade we’d have chosen to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in the BC* era? A cruise? A weekend in Paris, or with family in the Dordogne or in Kent? With WA still hermetically sealed off from the rest of the plague-ridden world, sorely limiting our options, Roy’s suggestion of a romantic heritage limestone cottage in Perth’s historic port town of Fremantle turned out perfect.
*Before Covid
One thing is sure – had we been with aforementioned family members – you know who you are! – our livers would never have got away with so little booze or our heads with such mild hangovers. (That’s not to say we don’t miss everyone. Of course we do.)
Fremantle Markets are arguably the centre of historic Freo – and the Airbnb at 7 Henderson Street is right next to the old market building and Henderson’s Busker Mall. It’s also opposite the popular and noisy Sail and Anchor bar.
Staying here, you’re a short stroll away from the dozens of bars and restaurants on the Cappuccino Strip, or down to the Fishing Boat Harbour, WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle Arts Centre and more.
Like a lot of Perth, parking is pricey in central Freo and can be a bit difficult – especially on market days, from Friday to Sunday. There’s one-hour parking on and off Henderson Street, a parking garage on the next block, or you can find a spot off South Terrace – no doubt seriously annoying local residents – and take advantage of the Fremantle CAT Route free bus service.
Where we ate
Review: Gimlet Café & Aperitivo Bar
Located in a lovely little cottage in Henderson Street, you’d easily miss the Gimlet – and that would be a pity. Looking for only a light lunch, we shared two dishes: a green papaya salad ($19) and strips of tapioca-dusted barramundi, a popular local fish ($26) on a green apple and roast cashew salad. Quick, friendly service and everything super-fresh and delicious. Highly recommended!
I still want to try Old Shanghai in Henderson Street one day. A food court with Thai, Japanese and Chinese stalls (plus Malay and Indian, but they were closed) – it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a Singapore food court.
Without planning it that way (he says), Roy chose two dinner venues that just happened to be less than 100 metres from the cottage. For Saturday night, he booked Angel’s House, a new and authentic French bistro opened by two French brothers. On Sunday night, we strolled across to the Italian Nunzio’s.
Review: Angel’s House, 24 Essex Street
Angel’s House has a couple of dining rooms and a lovely big courtyard. It has all or mostly French wait staff – which, while not strictly necessary, definitely adds to the ambience. What’s more, there were probably twice as many servers than you’d find in the equivalent establishment in France, and a lot smilier, too. (They’ve been here for a while. You have to remember that everyone currently in WA, including us, has been here for at least two years.)
To start, les escargots en persillade ($18) for me. Roy had the organic beef tenderloin tartare: excellent, properly chopped and perfectly seasoned ($22). For mains it was slow-roasted pork belly, mash and apple cider jus ($38) for me and pan-seared yellow-band snapper with provençale ratatouille ($39) for him. Somehow we had room for the yummy cheese board ($28): a creamy local Brie-like thing, an Italian blue and a classic Comte.
Though we’d made inroads beforehand into a bottle of Piper Heidsieck on the upstairs balcony of our cottage, we started with a Kir Royale anyway – followed by a glass of Petit Chablis and another of Bordeaux with the cheese. Parfait!
Review: Nunzio’s
From the modest exterior, I’d never have expected such a big interior: room after room, all beautifully furnished.
According to Nunzio, he retired years ago and handed the business, together with his famous hat, to his children. When they succeeded in luring him back – without pay, he says (they couldn’t afford him) – he insisted on taking the hat back. It’s a good story!
Roy’s Caprese salad came with delicious heirloom tomatoes; and with mint instead of basil. My deep-fried zucchini flowers with mozzarella and anchovy ($16) were nice and crispy. I took a break from gluten-free, fancying the squid-ink spaghetti with octopus ($34). Roy’s gorgeously light and creamy involtino ($29) – chicken breasts stuffed with ricotta and truffles – was a better choice, delicate without being bland.
Review: 7 Henderson Street, Fremantle (Airbnb website here)
As promised, this charming two-storey heritage-listed 1858 limestone cottage has front and rear verandahs, plus an upstairs balcony that’s perfect for enjoying the vibey street location while being raised above it.
Built by Australian convicts to house prison warders employed at Fremantle Prison, it has been superbly renovated to heritage standards. So, you get the atmospheric wooden strip flooring, brass beds and a lot of lovely original artwork, together with features such as a big spa bath. We appreciated the luxuriously equipped kitchen, complete with milk, butter, eggs, spreads, condiments and more.
Price? $150 per night, plus service and cleaning charges.
For more on Freo as one of the Aussie ports we stopped at on our 28-night Viking Sun cruise from Sydney to Durban in April 2019, click here and scroll to the last entry: #5 Fremantle.
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