NO. 4 BLAKE STREET, North Perth
by JENNY D’ANGER:
My friend’s double mastectomy meant I was dining alone.
It’s probably up there in terms of an excuse for cancelling a long-standing lunch date.
My mate is doing fine, al la Angelina Jolie, and her prognosis is excellent, post-operatively.
The waiter looked a trifle askance at a woman of my vintage asking for a table for one, having erroneously assumed I would be getting something on the run.
But if my friend can face her surgery with a positive attitude, the least I can do is front an uber-trendy eatery on my Pat Malone.
Once settled the service was excellent, friendly and efficient.
I toasted my anaesthetised mate with a massive glass of delicious watermelon and mint ($6), as the advertised watermelon and strawberry I’d first eyed off had sold out in the breakfast rush.
With an extensive wine list I could have gone for something stronger, but this was a working lunch after all.
No 4 Blake Street, North Perth, is off the beaten track, one of those wonderful suburban finds that one congratulates one’s self on for “discovering”.
The lunch menu has plenty of mouthwatering choices. For carnivores it includes spicy lamb balls, with sweet onion and red peppers ($13), lamb burger with goats curd, eggplant and hummus ($18), several fish dishes and a chargrilled pork loin on a bed of polenta, with braised cabbage and sugar snap peas ($32).
Gluttony is second only to lust on the list of seven deadly sins, and I committed both by lusting after another diner’s basket of wedges ($6), and ordering one for myself.
There was a time the duck breast salad, with watercress, coriander, pickled pineapple, toasted peanuts, poached egg and red curry dressing ($28) would have been in my sights.
But we vegetarians don’t miss out with choices such as a veggie sandwich, with hummus, pumpkin, eggplant red pepper and rocket ($16).
Going for the vegetarian risotto ($18), I was rewarded with a creamy and deliciously sharp, piquant mix of mushrooms and goats curd, topped with rocket for a spicy kick.
Gluttony is second only to lust on the list of seven deadly sins, and I committed both by lusting after another diner’s basket of wedges ($6), and ordering one for myself.
It was more mini-roast spuds than wedges and dipping sections into the dish of sea salt, I thought, “if I’m going to Dante’s third circle, they’re worth it”.
Deciding I may as well be hung for a lamb as a sheep, I compounded my sins with a deliciously sweet passionfruit tart ($7.50), washed down by a particularly fine black coffee ($3.70).
Number 4 Blake St is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an a la carte and a regular degustation menu.
Owner and executive chef Tom Randolph has a wealth of experience when it comes to Perth’s dining scene, having served a stint at a French fine dining place in West Perth.
He kicked off inner-city cafe Entendre in 2007, where he continued to develop an obsession with modern cooking, and the science behind great-tasting food, before opening No 4 Blake 12 months ago.
No 4 Blake Street, North Perth
open Tues–Sun 7am–4pm, Tue–Sat 6.30pm till late
9444 6678
Perth Voice Interactive 
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