Perth Voice Interactive

THE OLD CROW, Northbridge

by DAVID BELL:

It’s always good to “discover” a new eatery before the hordes.

Further down Newcastle Street they were queuing out onto the pavement, and I’m happy to take bets the Old Crow will suffer the same fate when word gets out how good it is.

It’s only been open four weeks, so fortunately for mum and me there was room to spare in this limestone heritage home that’s been transformed into a very smart cafe/restaurant/bar.

Ordinarily we would have opted to sit in the sheltered courtyard fronting the street, but it was mum’s day out and she seems to have developed an aversion to daylight since turning 85 (sometimes I wonder if she’s been bitten by Eric Northman—half her luck).

As it turns out it wasn’t a bad choice because the inside is a gorgeous mix of heritage, funky spirit-bottle light fittings and a magnificent panel of coloured glass over the groovy bar.

The service was fantastic from the out, the Glaswegian waiter helping mum and her zimmer to a seat while I was still parking the car.

Ordering mum her favourite Moscato and myself a dry white ($9), conversation was on hold while the menu was perused.

Old childhood staple Welsh rarebit has been reinvented for 2013 and it comes with creamed leeks, fried egg and tabasco ($17).

While the lamb and chickpea scrumpet, cabbage salad and buttermilk ($17), has the hallmarks of America’s deep south. Scrumpet is mountain man food, usually cooked by mountain women, and is a cross between a scone and a crumpet.

The dinner menu has even more in this avant-rustic vein, with bunker mushrooms, hush puppies and corn polenta ($14.50 tapas serve) and baked pork and black-eyed beans ($31).

The closest I’ve ever got to America’s deep south was the Old Crow’s charred corn, chimichuri ($9), its corn cobs deliciously flame-seared and smothered in a coriander sauce.

And here’s me thinking the place was all about ribs and grits.

As impressed as I was I do declare I positively swooned over the onion tart, with cress and olive oil dressing ($17).

Its thick onion centre was magnificent and the pastry perfectly cooked and flaky.

Mum’s in a mushroom phase and ordered the mushrooms toast, red pepper and lemon relish, with goats curd ($17).

The fungi—they looked like Swiss Browns to my untrained eye—were cooked to perfection, soft, but still firm and the pepper and lemon added a pleasant zing.

We’re both suckers for chips and a side of battered spuds with cajun salt ($9) didn’t sit in the dish too long.

There’s a good selection of cakes at the Old Crow, including nut balls ($7) from Rawsome, a couple of gluten-free choices and of course plenty of bad-for-you gurgy cakes.

The Old Crow
172 Newcastle Street, Northbridge
9227 9995
Open: Thurs/Fri 10am–10pm;
Sat and Sun 11am–11pm;
Mon 8am–10pm