harvest espresso

For my very first food blog post, I thought it would make sense to visually take you to one of my favourite cafes in Perth of all time. I present to you, Harvest Espresso! A small, quaint but extremely popular cafe along Albany Highway, Victoria Park.

It can sometimes be quite difficult to get a table, and you may have to wait, but I can assure you -  the food is definitely well worth it. Just have a look at how visually aesthetic every dish is.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'd know that the most posted type of photo I love to take of food is none other than the #flatlay. I love the challenge of simultaneously attempting to fit everything relevant, avoiding excessive cluttering while ensuring equal spacing - all into a single square for Insta.

Fred and I both had class at Uni in the later afternoon, so we decided to go out for brunch and fuel up with three dishes to share between the two of us - because studying requires a lot of energy, right?

Chicken & The Egg

Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Whatever the answer, all I can say is that this dish is a must try! I'm usually not one for chicken dishes, as they can get dry when overcooked. However, this confit chicken was cooked absolutely perfectly, I couldn't fault it at all, and neither could Fred - who absolutely loves his meat, so that says something!

Fried egg, confit chicken, crepes, bacon jam, romesco sauce, lemon crème fraiche - gfo ($21.50)

Grilled Octopus

I'll admit, I was a little hesitant about deciding to choose this dish as our third option to share. I felt like grilled octopus was a strange choice of ingredient, especially for brunch. Boy was I wrong. You'd think the generous serving of succulent octopus atop a bed of delicious smoked chorizo and hummus was enough? Nope, add two perfectly poached eggs and you've got a match made in heaven.

Grilled Octopus, smoked chorizo, two poached eggs, hummus ($21.50)

Tonka Toast

We saved the Tonka Toast for 'dessert' after we demolished the first two savoury dishes. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the Octopus and Chicken dishes, I have the biggest sweet tooth, so I'd have to say this was my favourite. French toast with seasonal fruits, tonka mascarpone, granola and crumble? What's not to love?

Seasonal fruits, French toast, tonka mascarpone, granola, crumble ($18.50)

One of the best things about brunching, is getting to see familiar faces when you visit. It's a bonus that one of my friends is a chef at Harvest. This guy taught me how to poach eggs when we were on a camp together.

Does his face look familiar? Yep, your guess was right. It's Steven Peh from Masterchef (Season 6). I phangirl hard every time.

Harvest Espresso has a seasonal menu, so if you want to try any of these dishes out, be sure to drop by soon as this Summer Menu ends next week on Wed 18th March!

P.S. They're holding a #loveharvestespresso competition, so be sure to check that out on their Instagram.

Harvest Espresso $$

629 Albany Highway, Victoria Park

TUES - SUN  7am - 4pm