BETTY and Dave’s sounds like a questionable UK sitcom from the 1970s, but it’s actually a cute cafe on the border of Mt Lawley and Inglewood.

I’m a sucker for a good name, so I’ve always been intrigued by the cafe, which does breakfast and lunch and is situated on the corner of Beaufort Street and Central Avenue.

Things got off to a good start when I secured a table in the sheltered alfresco on the quieter Central Avenue-side.

Set back from the pavement on an elevated terrace, you are shaded from the sun and removed from the noise of the traffic.

The menu had a small range of breakfast and brunch dishes including the obligatory smashed avo, big breakfast, eggs benny, steak sandwich, chicken burger and rosti.

There was nothing earth-shattering on there but the cafe had some old favourites, which if well executed, would be enjoyable.

I liked the design of the menu with the font evoking a 1950s American diner. The interior was nice too with plenty of space and wood finishes. It’s testament to the rise in technology that even a small cafe like Betty and Dave’s now has QR ordering from the table.

But I went old school and ordered at the counter to gauge the customer service.

Unfortunately it was some of the worst I’ve encountered in Perth – the young girl could barely muster a word, never mind a smile. She looked miserable and like she couldn’t be bothered being there.

I retreated to my seat, where it wasn’t much better, with the man sitting behind me loudly arguing with his mobile provider over the phone.

Thankfully the waitress was soon along with my Green Goodness mocktail ($10) – only she wasn’t and gave me the Real Refresher, which was pink, instead. I chugged it down regardless.

The medley of watermelon, apple, strawberry and mint was nicely presented in one of those trendy jam jars. 

It was a bit on the watery side and sweet, but a fairly enjoyable mocktail. The cafe also had a range of smoothies and hot and iced teas and coffees.

After the man sitting behind me had successfully upgraded his plan to call Alpha Centauri for free on bank holidays, my chilli scrambled eggs arrived ($20 and button mushrooms $4).

The presentation was nice with each colourful element grabbing my attention, but those poor mushrooms should have never left the kitchen. Shrivelled and dried-out, they looked a bit old or overcooked.

The smashed avocado was top notch though; thick and super fresh it tasted delicious when combined with the lovely sourdough toast.

An exotic flavour boost came courtesy of the little tub of chipotle sauce, which had a nice consistency and smoky tang.

There was plenty of scrambled egg, but rather than it being subtly infused with chilli there were slices of chillies with seeds, meaning the dish lurched from being lava hot to pretty bland.

A shame as the scrambled eggs were well prepared with a nice mix of housemade salsa, pine nuts and watercress.

Like when you revisit your favourite sitcom from the 1970s, Betty and Dave’s was a bit of a disappointment, but it’s been going since 2015 and gets good reviews from locals, so maybe they were just having an off day.

Betty and Dave’s
817D Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley
bettyanddaves.com.au

by STEPHEN POLLOCK