I met one of my lovely besties, Ren, in Freo for a lunch date. Bread in Common has been on my “to visit” list for ages and it’s a great spot for a catch up. We found the hip restaurant in an old warehouse on a Freo side street – just around the corner from the Esplanade Hotel and park.
The aroma of freshly baked bread and coffee fills the air. The set-up of long communal tables, makes for a bustling atmosphere, there are a few smaller tables too and a few outside. Racks and racks of wine adorn the brick walls. We’re seated at a long table and order some juices to start.
The menu is a mix of brekkie, brunch and lunch foods. We opted for the lunch-y dishes. Also on the menu are gourmet sandwiches – I liked the look of the rump, cheese, horseradish, shallots and BBQ sauce. They even do a decadent chocolate, ricotta, honey and cinnamon toastie! This time though, we were not there for sandwiches. Ren and I decided to share our food as we both like to try a bit of this and that. The dishes are mostly in-between the size of an entrée and main – perfect for sharing a few plates.
Our waitress was warm and had a great memory. She took our 6 dish order without need of pen and paper. Maybe that’s not super impressive, but for someone who has a goldfish memory (like me), I certainly couldn’t do it. Our food comes out about 15 minutes later, just as we ordered:
Mushrooms, bitter leaves, coconut, almonds, thyme ($15)
Duck fat roasted potatoes, rosemary, garlic and ketchup ($13)
Salmon, cauliflower, goji berries, sunflower seeds ($26)
Prawns, char grilled cos, salami, orange, oregano ($24)
All the dishes were excellent. I really loved the mushroom dish which was packed full of nutty flavours. I also couldn’t go past the duck fat roasted potatoes – they were perfect and complimented by the sweet tomato ketchup.
We had a side of super fresh bread too – it would be rude not to!
They don’t have a kids menu at Bread in Common. To be fair there weren’t many kids there. They were more than happy to adjust their scrambled organic eggs & rocket (minus hazelnut dukka) $14 so it was friendlier for Little Chef. He relished the buttery eggs.
There is a reason why Bread in Common often sits at the top of the Urbanspoon “Talk of the Town – top 5”. It has the trifecta of fantastic food, great service and casual vibes down pat. It’s also a cool wine bar by night.
