If you live and/or work and/or hang out in Mount Lawley you will know that over the past few years, a number of coffee shops have appeared along the strip. The first of these boutiquey type cafes was Soto which opened it's doors 8-9 years ago. At the time, Soto reached lofty heights not previously scaled in the Mount Lawley area (which up until that point only boasted Globe and Dome) - it had comfy couches, al fresco smoking table coolness, an interesting breakfast menu, it was open late and it had gooooood coffee. But 8 years is a long time and Soto is now looking a bit old, a bit lonely, a bit worn and there are now a LOT more cafes to choose from - the Merchant, Cafissimo, Exomod, Cantina, Fez to name but a few. For the most part I don't rate them for coffee, Mount Lawley cafes often seem to trade on the coolness of the area rather than the quality of their coffee. The exception is Cantina which does just about everything well - coffee, breakfast, lunch, cakes, snacks, dinner, impromptu coffee and dessert post movies, Cantina doesn't falter. Even though I've had a go of every cafe on the Beaufort St strip, for the past couple of years I've gone to Cantina for my coffee and it's always good, attested to by the massive queue and 15 minute wait. Fez, a more recent addition to Mount Lawley, is closer to my work so my workmates go there on the coffee run. Fez uses 5 Senses coffee and Cantina uses Fiori. Fez and I got off to a bad start when my first coffee on their first day was talked up bigtime but not that great. Being mindful that it was day 1, I've been back a few times and sadly the coffee is never quite right, but Cantina always is. Awesome flavour and texture, never panic-attack-inducing. So for now it's Cantina for me. Until the Planet Cafe opens - Planet have never done anything half-assed, so I reckon they could be a contender. Keep checking!
Cantina: 663 Beaufort St Mount Lawley
Fez: 83 Walcott Street Mount Lawley
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/338/1550188/restaurant/Perth/Mount-Lawley/Fez-Mt-Lawley%22%3E%3Cimg alt="Fez on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1550188/minilogo.gif" style="border:none;width:104px;height:15px" /></a>
Yup, I agree wholeheartedly, I've tried the rest and think Cantina is consistently the best. And that's is something underrated in a coffee place - consistency. There's a few places that sometimes offer you the best coffee ever, but it's russian roulette as to when you'll get it - nine times out of 10 it's burnt and disgusting, but that one time divine. I was actually scared Cantina would be one of these when I got my first couple as it was so good I didn't think maintenance was possible. Happily I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi frustratedwoman! Totally agree about consistency - i reckon the 3 tennets of any great place are consistency, quality and good service = value for money, whatever you pay! I reckon Cantina ticks all those boxes.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree on Cantina - I get coffee there almost every day.
ReplyDeleteI watched the barista competition at the last Beaufort St festival which had a rep from every cafe along the strip, minus Cantina, and Exomod actually took out the trophy. But I just can't pull myself away from Cantina...
Hi east of hudson :-)) I can't believe that the Exomod barista took it out! I would have thought Merchant... Source... surprising! Source would probably be my second choice for a decent coffee - it's too far to walk from my work though. And possibly too far from yours? :-)
ReplyDelete