AFTER six hours with my kids at Funmantle, I was in dire need of some food and a bottle of vodka.

Grumpy dad jokes aside, I have to take my hat off to Fremantle Council and say the collection of funfair rides scattered across the port city – six rides for $5 – was great value and the queues weren’t too bad. 

The kids had a ball but I was hangry, so I made a beeline for Sana, a Middle Eastern joint off the Cappuccino Strip on Market Street.

Over the years the restaurants on the Strip have copped flak for serving over-priced, average cuisine.

But for me, it’s still the quintessential Freo experience to sit alfresco on the Cappuccino Strip after an afternoon trudging around the port city.

The Strip has a unique holiday buzz, courtesy of the raffish mix of nut jobs, tourists, hippies and families streaming by.

Sana had a large modern dining area inside, but we opted to sit in the alfresco opposite a grizzled busker who serenaded us with swampy blues played on a resonator guitar (he’s normally outside Timezone).

Sana specialises in Middle Eastern street food and the menu had a range of lighter share plates including fattoush, koussa, falafel and spicy grilled eggplant, and larger plates like shish tawook, lamb cutlets, hibar and marinated chicken.

They also did meze boards for two or four people, including a vegan option, and a small range of desserts including panna cotta and baklava.

There was an under-12 kids menu with lamb and chicken dishes, but they were priced at $25, which I thought was super expensive, but we’ll come back to that later.

My wife “Special K” and I decided to go for the meze plate for two ($109 including two desserts).

I had a hunch the food would be good as the aromas of chargrilled meat wafting out Sana were mouthwatering.

It wasn’t long before the attentive and smiley waitress was back with our huge board of Middle Eastern goodies.

Wow, it was huge, and had a lovely rustic presentation. It could have easily fed three people.

I’ll start off with the meat: the chicken was divine – chargrilled crispy skin and moist, succulent flesh.

Instant Proustian flashback to eating at tavernas on Mediterranean holidays in my youth.

The lamb kofta was just as good – I’ve had my fair share of koftas that look and taste like a rock-hard dog treat – but these were top quality.

It was accompanied by a lovely, semi-spicy slaw which stopped the dish from becoming monotonous or dry.

The generous mound of potatoes were another hit – super crispy skins and fluffy inside with a subtle garlic punch. Some of the best I’ve had.

While the little bowl of watermelon and feta was perfect for refreshing the palate.

A great side dish that really complemented the meal.

Across the table, my wife was busy dipping the thin bread into the hummus, aduki and baba dips.

“A great variety of dips and lovely fresh flavours,” said Special K.

“I’m really enjoying the chargrilled corn as well.

“The bread is super light and doesn’t bag you up.”

We couldn’t finish the potatoes and bread, and wanted to leave room for our desserts – a panna cotta and a baklava.

Both were delicious and the panna cotta had a lovely selection of berries with an indulgent coulis.

We got Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles a Chooky Chicken ($25) from the kids menu to share.

It was the right call as the portion of hummus, bread, potato, corn and marinated chicken was massive and enough to share between two under-12s.

The kids meal came with a drink and ice cream.

The quality of food was the same high standard as the main.

Overall our meal at Sana was fantastic – the service, food and ambience were all great.

My only gripe would be the price point of certain dishes and the portion control.

$25 for an under-12s meal is way too much, and the meze for two ($109) could easily feed three.

However there was a lunch special for $28 – a mini sana plate with meat, bread, hummus, corn, potatoes, zahra and rice.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and it ended a quintessential day out in Freo.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

Sana Fremantle
93 Market Street, Fremantle
sanafreo.com.au
0483 179 995