As with most who trundle, slowly, southward on South Terrace in Fremantle your eyes are mostly drawn left as you pass the usual suspects - The Local, South Beach Hotel, Madelanas et al. But during this sojourn if you look right you will spot a largely empty Percy Flint.
We have been coming here for years but the menu and wine list have been hit and largely miss - until now. We swung in a couple of months ago and were blown away by a perfectly executed and beautifully presented Kingfish Crudo for $18.
So on a hot, sunny December Sunday we hurled the dogs in the car and headed south.
Parking, as always, is a bitch anywhere in Freo but if your plan ahead, buses stream past the joint every ten minutes or so.
Anyhoo, we strolled into a largely empty place to a warm greeting from the staff. The courtyard was hotter than a pizza oven so we flopped on the bench tables under the breezy awning out front.
Water bowl for the dogs and couple of achingly cold boutique beers for us. The menu only has about a dozen items but encompasses entres to larger offerings.
We hovered over getting the king fish but decided on Esperance Sallops ($7ea), Tandoori veggie salad ($15) and lamb chops ($22).
The other great thing about Percy Flint, for us anyway, is the wine list. Whilst the by the glass offerings mainly hail from Australia, the by the bottle choices are more refreshing.
Spanish reds supported by Sicilian and Italian whites are welcome surprises. We jumped on bottle of Vicoletto Catarratto from Sicily. Most often used as a blender grape for Carricante, this lemony, earthy white is a standout in its own right.
The sea breeze (i.e. semi-gale) had kicked in and heralded the arrival of the scallops and salad. Larger than expected the scallop were simply plated on shells and crowned with slivers of seared leek.
They were beautiful and we wished we had ordered more. The veggie salad was a bright explosion of blanched and semi roasted root veggies, chickpeas and pickled kohlrabi. The considered addition of tandoor spices was sublime.
The pièce de résistance lamb chops appeared and man they were worth the wait. Resting in a shallow drizzle of olive oil and dressed with a superb fresh mint salsa, this was a master class in how to cook lamb.
Medium rare, the melt in the mouth beauties disappeared post haste.
Percy’s is an undiscovered gem - still - after all these years.
Suck up the parking nightmares and go.
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