THE MONK, Fremantle
by MATTHEW EELES:
Many more suggestions were thrown around before we decided on The Monk for lunch.
In the end it was the warm alfresco area, bathed in warm sunshine, that convinced us to give it a go.
The Fremantle icon at the heart of the iconic cappuccino strip turned out to be the perfect place to unwind, have a few laughs and enjoy some sensational tucker.
The menu has a great selection of hearty mains including the delicious-sounding linguini all’acqua di mare ($29) which combines Freo squid, lobster and tiger prawns with homemade pasta.
We wanted to try more than one meal each so we picked a handful of share options as well as the Latino pizza ($24).
From the ingredients described on the menu I expected the pizza to be heaving with toppings. These days we’re taught a traditional style pizza is thin on toppings so the base cooks evenly. I think it’s an excuse devised by the food industry to charge a fortune for something we can make at home for $8.
While the pizza was delicious a few more chorizo slices wouldn’t have gone astray to play off against the artichoke.
We got our fill of meaty sausage by ordering the Spanish chorizo ($16). It’s served in a mini frying pan and accompanied with cornichons—cute little gherkins bursting with flavour.
The chorizo was sharp and spicy. Simple and familiar, but worth noting simply because we were worried it might be “tapas” sized with six pieces, but happily it was packed with meat.
The salt and pepper calamari ($15) was likewise a great size for the cost, with thin strips covered in szechuan dusting and flash-fried, which made a pleasant break from gluggy, thick, oily coatings you can sometimes see on this dish. The white Thai dipping sauce was tangy and refreshing.
The hero of the afternoon was the pork belly ($22). Buttery soft, so tender it was near to falling apart and coated in sticky palm sugar. The sticky sauce combined with the rich porky flesh made for a beautifully guilty combo.
The Monk’s beer style isn’t as adventurous as some other local microbreweries.
Whereas a place like Feral will serve up a highly technical brew tending toward extreme flavours, the Monk goes more towards drinkability. Which is ideal if you want a good session beer: a crazy-bitter black IPA might be great for a few sips, but you wouldn’t drink a six-pack, and Australians tend to drink in the sun and prefer something refreshing rather than overpowering.
The Monk’s pale ale exemplifies this, falling more towards the gently-bitter end of the scale than say Little Creature’s flowery, complex hoppy brew.
Even the Chief, an American-style IPA (which are usually outrageously bitter) is mediated by maltiness to bring it into drinkable territory.
The Monk doesn’t always play it safe though, and the Rauch beer is an exception: a strong smoky ale, and taking a sip is like stepping into a pork jerky smokehouse. Daring and delicious.
The Monk
33 South Terrace, Fremantle
Phone 9336 7666
http://www.themonk.com.au