Perth Voice Interactive

A CROSS between urban grunge and nanna’s house, with menus pegged inside the Little Golden Books that grandmas read to kids—Mrs S cafe is an eclectic mix.

There’s lots of kitsch, along with delightful cups, jugs, cute tea towels, cookbooks and other tempting things to purchase, and a very distracting selection of cakes in a variety of glass domes at the counter.

The food is the sort your nanna made says the webpage, “only a little more frisky (and seasonal)”.

My nan was the traditional meat and three vege-boiled-to-death kind of cook, and, as much as I love her she would never have come up with the mixed mushroom kebab ($19.50) I so enjoyed.

Served on warm flat bread it was a divine mix of fungi, wilted silverbeet and fennel, sprinkled with dukkah.

The addition of lemon-infused labneh was pure magic. I was so inspired I tried making my own the following weekend, but it fell short of the Mrs S version.

My lunch companion went for the manwich: pulled pork, beetroot pickle, cucumber and aioli in a ciabatta roll ($16).

Zelda’s a fussy eater and while the pork was tender and melt-in-the-mouth, she wasn’t prepared for its Asian spiciness and heat, (no mention of it on the menu) denting her enjoyment. She did have a tooth removed that morning so her cranky pants were already on, by the way.

Maybe she should have gone with her first choice of Granny June’s cornbread, which comes with bacon, poached eggs and maple syrup ($18).

Zelda’s mood was however sweetened with a couple of delicious coffees and a generous slice of cake.

I was torn between the lemon curd cupcake with its promise of a sharp, oozey lemon centre, but in the end a rich carrot cake ($6.50) won out, while Zelda looked after her delicate choppers with a moist lime and white chocolate cake.

Both came with a scoop of cream so thick and delicious it reminded me of clotted cream eaten in Cornwall.

Just over the road from the Maylands train station, this cafe with its great cakes must be a deadly temptation for commuters.

Mrs S
178 Whatley Crescent,
Maylands
9271 6690
open Tues–Fri 7am, weekends 8am, to 4pm