ON a glorious winter’s day, the redeveloped East Fremantle Community Park was bathed in sunshine and looked spectacular.
It’s got something for everyone – playgrounds, cafe, dog park, bowling greens, restaurant, skate park, basketball court and lots more.
There’s a nice flow to the open design and the doggie park has been a hit with my mutt Angus.
But today I wasn’t carrying any poo bags, I was here to review the Park’s flagship venue – Carnaby’s cafe, bar and restaurant.
It’s been well thought-out and caters for a variety of folk – there’s an alfresco overlooking the playground for mums and bubs, a casual pub for drinks while watching sport on the big screens, and a more formal restaurant with larger tables and comfy seats.
The star of the show is the floor-to-ceiling windows, which conjure up panoramic views of the footy oval and bowling greens. It’s a fantastic backdrop.
The interior was modern, unpretentious and uncluttered – just like a community venue should be – so hats off to the design team for getting things pitch perfect.
Carnaby’s all-day menu was compact and leaned heavily on pub classics with the likes of fish and chips, steak sandwich, beef burger, chicken parmi, bangers & mash, and sticky date pudding.
There was also some salads and share plates like Malaysian-style chicken skewers, pork belly bites and cauliflower popcorn.
If you were feeling a bit more adventurous there were specials like Fremantle swordfish, and paccheri pasta with lamb ragu, olive and grana padano.
My wife “Special K” felt like grazing, so she ordered the manchego & corn croquettes ($18) and a bowl of chips ($12).
Let me forewarn you – the portions at Carnaby’s are huge and my wife’s plate was piled high with croquettes.
“They have a light crunchy batter and a rich, indulgent filling,” she said.
“The accompanying tomato chutney helps to refresh the palate and has that distinctive homemade flavour.
“Very enjoyable, but when they say a share plate they really mean it, unlike some fancy restaurants where you get four tiny croquettes between two.”
I had a sneaky taste and thought the dish was well executed, but the smoky Manchego was a bit overpowering.
The large bowl of chips were nicely seasoned (not too salty) and had a subtle hint of rosemary.
They came with a bowl of confit garlic aioli which had a strange grey/blue tinge (it looked a bit like charcoal toothpaste or worse). Thankfully it tasted lovely with the confit adding a soft creaminess to the garlic.
My cioppino ($34 seafood stew from the specials menu) was a hearty delight.
It came in a huge bowl overflowing with shark bay prawns, squid, crimson snapper, clams and two large slices of garlic ciabatta for dunking.
The all important murky, tomato broth was a meal in itself and had a deep, rich flavour.
The seafood was nicely cooked, but there was so much of it I had to leave some of the snapper, which languished in a pool of tomato sauce at the bottom of the bowl.
It was my first time trying cioppino, a seafood stew created by Italian-American immigrants in San Francisco, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Hearty, robust and crammed with flavour, it’s a proper winter treat.
Carnaby’s has various offers during the week including all burgers $20 on Tuesdays and a $25 roast dinner ($12.50 for kids) on Sundays.
I was impressed with Carnaby’s restaurant – friendly service, great views and big hearty serves of quality pub grub.
What more could you ask for at a community venue?
Carnaby’s cafe, bar and restaurant
1 Carnaby Close, East Freo
carnabys.com.au
by STEPHEN POLLOCK