Perth City Farm is a garden oasis alongside railway tracks in the heart of East Perth. The community-focused spot is open for events, like the weekly Farmers Markets, and is now home to a wonderful little cafe – Be Free.
I love Be Free’s ethos of using local, wholesome, organic produce – much of which is sourced straight from Perth City Farm’s veggie patches, fruit trees and bee hives. Here, the coffee is excellent, also on offer are healthy smoothies and cold pressed juices.
Run by husband and wife team, Caillan and Alessia, the sweet cafe is dedicated to Alessia’s late father and the idea that Perth does not have enough access to organic meals that were affordable, convenient, nutritious and delicious. There’s a scrumptious line-up of fresh bakes.
For brunch, I ordered the miso butter mushrooms (GF). This was served on a savory buckwheat cheddar waffle – which I loved. Being gluten intolerant I rarely get to enjoy waffles! The mushrooms were sauteed with oodles of green, leafy veg, a whipped lemon-chilli ricotta and perfectly poached gooey egg. My one note is that this is a spicy meal and I would have loved that the creamy component was cooling, not the spiciest! But, I am a massive woos with chili – so chili lovers with really enjoy this brekky dish 🙂
Helen, sitting next to me, enjoyed the wild caught salmon crumpets – which looked just lovely. Herby cream cheese was smeared on the crumpets, and that was topped with a poached egg. For the kiddos there’s scrambled eggs on toast, and mini waffles with ice cream on the menu.
There’s a small, shaded play area/sandpit, with a few toys under a tree. This is within sight of a few of the cafe’s tall tables. Handy hint – A Yellow Cat stops just outside if you choose to take public transport, or there are paid parking in the bays nearby.
After brunch, I took a wader around the lush grounds, full of flowers and herbs, and abuzz with busy bees.
Perth City Farm has been running for about 30 years, since it was established in 1994 by environmental organization the Men Of The Trees, as a thriving community garden project based on permaculture, education and the arts. Kids will love spotting the bright mosaic art works and murals throughout the gardens, and learning the names of different plants and flowers.
Why not use all your sense and smell herbs, like mint and lavender too?
It’s well worth stopping by to Perth City Farm with the fam, particularly if you don’t have access to a big garden at home. It’s a great spot to show your kids where fruit and veggies, herbs and eggs (if the chooks are still there) come from, and to enjoy a tasty morning tea, lunch or breakfast.
Perth City Farm volunteers love educating children from primary age through to high school and TAFE students on the benefits of gardening, recycling and other aspects of permaculture. Private tours can be arranged.
Perth City Farm also holds a Farmers Market every Saturday morning in their courtyard. They have their own stall selling goods from their farm door, as well as inviting other sellers of organic, biodynamic and environmentally friendly wares to join them. These markets are where the Be Free kitchen source most of their fresh produce.
Be sure to check out Be Free with your family!
Find Perth City Farm Cafe at 1 City Farm Place, East Perth.
Get more info here.
Amanda was invited to dine as a guest of Be Free – all words, opinions and images (except the 3 cute pics of Miss Abbey from our original 2017 blog) are her own.
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life” has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as “The Chef’s Ex-wife” embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son “Little Chef” in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
