Just a few years ago, Perth was lacking in quality dining venues by the beach. Now we are positively spoilt for choice! Up and down the coast are restaurants worth booking a table at, where the food is as fine as the view. Think Odyssea, Bib and Tucker, Shorehouse and now there’s a newbie to add to the list – Island Market.
Behind the menu of Mid-Eastern eats are two excellent Chefs. Head Chef Sonny de Ocampo (Formerly from Apple Daily), and one of Perth’s very best Chef’s David Coomer (Pata Negra, Fuyu, Star Anise), who acts as their consult chef.
Brunch at Island Market
On my first visit (yes, there’s been a few already!) we arrived mid morning for brunch. The interior of what was briefly “Kailis Trigg Beach” has had an upgrade. Now the dining room has a younger, more on-trend feel than it’s earlier Hamptons chic incarnation. The slick white dining room has splashes of baby pink everywhere. Chairs, neon signs, flooring, plant pots, even pink lights in the ladies bathroom…
The eatery is bathed in natural light from the huge windows, giving diners a picture postcard view over the white dunes of Trigg Beach. We had a window table and I have to admit I was very distracted by the ocean, and it took me a while to focus on the menu and place an order!
Five senses coffee, one of my favourites, is the blend of choice here.
The brekkie menu has all your brunch favourites with a Levantine-inspired twist. Think Israeli smashed avocado, Persian omelette, Blended strawberry and banana bowl with chia coconut pudding and much more.
I picked an old favourite, Shakshuka ($17). Two delicious free range eggs are surrounded by a wonderfully rich tomato sauce and creamy labne. Pita is usually served on the side, but I chose the GF option. Gluten free bread isn’t as exciting as their pita, but hey, the GF bread was still tasty dipped into the ooey gooey eggs – yummo!
Chef loved his breakfast pide ($17), which is a sort of Turkish stuffed pizza. Inside is meaty Turkish sausage and peppers – topped with crumbled haloumi and a perfectly runny egg. He also ordered some crispy bacon on the side.
Little Chef, who had already eaten breakfast, had a house baked orange and cinnamon morning bun from the well stocked cabinet of sweet treats.
Lunch
We really enjoyed our brunch, but I had this niggling feeling that there was so much more to this spot than a couple of egg dishes. I was itching to go back and delve a little deeper. Luckily I didn’t have to wait long. I lunched there just a few days later with my friend Reeva, who’s behind ex-pat blog Proudly South African in Perth.
WIth all this pink around us, it would have been remiss of me NOT to choose a pink drink (Any excuse for a rosé!). I enjoyed a summery drop of Jim Barry Annabelle’s ‘17 Grenache/Cinsault from Clare Valley, SA. The extensive cocktail list also caught my eye, another reason to stop by again.
Here, food is best shared. First up we had Pita ($5) with hummus ($5) – one of only a handful of my gluten slip ups in the last 8 months. I treated myself to a little pitta and it was totally worth it. Also to choose from for dipping the fresh flat bread in is taramasalata, baba ghanoush, Israeli smashed avocado, feta labneh, dukkah & olive oil and Greek dried olives & pickles.
The buttery soft fried calamari ($19.50) was dusted in am Arabic spice, and served with preserved lemon aioli. Lovely dish!
Fried cauliflower ($17.50), with hummus and pomegranate molasses was another superbly flavoured dish. Most people who know me will know that I could eat hummus for days!
A light, fresh and summery dish was bookara goat’s curd ($22.50), with plump broad beans, zucchini, basil and crisp pita.
Reeva won’t mind me saying that she doesn’t eat a lot of meat, so this time we had a rather veggie lunch. This was fine with me as I really love my greens and the vegetable dishes are certainly no afterthought at Island Market. Also featured on the share menu are wood roasted pork belly, duck, lamb shoulder and more, so there’s yet another reason for me to visit. And I keep hearing amazing things about their pineapple dessert for two.
See you again soon Island Market!
Find more info on Island Market Trigg on their website.