The Old Crow in Northbridge is a place that knows how to hit all my soft spots. Believe a foodie when she says this is undisputedly the best place she has ever eaten at, because I cannot offer many more adjectives of praise higher than this. This is the second time I've visited The Old Crow, and it has quickly clawed its way into my stone cold heart. 

The staff offer fabulous service, the interior is engaging but not excessive, and the dining areas are intimate, practical and welcoming.

They score top marks on both aspects of ambience and service, but this does not detract from the show-stealer, which is the menu that keeps us coming back for more. Both times that I have been, the food has been exceptional- large serving sizes, good variety and most of all, displaying an utter creativeness that cannot be found anywhere else. We greatly anticipated the challenge of their new seasonal menu, full of unique and exciting flavours The value and experience of coming to The Old Crow is something I have never encountered at any other restaurant.

Our picks:

Fried potatoes, ranch, Cajun salt………$9

Duck parfait, rhubarb, charred bread………$16

Rye smoked salmon, beetroot remoulade………$17

Lamb rump, crispy belly, lentils, cauliflower puree………$32

BBQ pork hock, mash potato, pickled cabbage………$30

New Orleans Nutmeg Pitcher

I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of the New Orleans Nutmeg Pitcher before it was down our throats. Elderflower is my weakness, it was so good I cannot describe. Definitely recommend this one hands down!

We went with the fried potato side again (above), this offering was minus the spicy seasoning that was on their summer version. Still absolutely delicious for something so simple. I loved the complimentary bread and the fragrant butter was heavenly.

The smoked salmon was another intense dish was stimulated my senses. I'm not a huge fan of salmon (unless it's steamed, yes, I'm boring!) but this dish was also great. I became a fan of the beetroot after nibbling on the cubes. There are several elements to this dish that work in perfect harmony together. The smokiness and intense salted salmon is neutralised by the poached egg and several textures were at play with the beetroot and garnish. All of it melted in the mouth.

The lamb rump was beautiful and pink, with two variations- a simple cooked slice contrasted the battered and crunchy strips. Again, another dish with excellent harmony within the elements. Loved the lentils and sauce in this one!

Now what could top off this plethora of flavours? The GIGANTIC piece of pork hock is what! It came out as the stunning finale to our whimsical journey. There was a unanimous silence as we beheld the beast at our table- a thrilling offering of meat that had been prepared perfectly. Each shred off meat that fell of the bone unmasked soft puffs of smoke that was a tribute to its freshness and delicious flavour (My mouth waters even thinking about it now).

Even the mashed potato was perfectly smooth, without the noticeable presence of a sickening creamy flavour. 

You know ain't no body had time to be taking proper pictures when the food is so good. I'm not even going to apologise!

The Old Crow

Typika Artisan Roasters is a large cafe-style establishment located in Claremont. The space is a trendy restaurant that offers breakfast, lunch and other cafe treats. The decor and design of the place itself is similar to Raw Kitchen, with rustic and unique ornaments and embellishments and different varied seating areas placed in an upscale environment.

We were greeted at the entrance by the manager and then seated around the middle on the high tables and chairs. it is evident the space has been designed for sharing despite the large seating areas only occupying 2-3 diners in the relatively quite lunch hour that we decided to visit.

Onion Rings $6.00 Beer battered onion rings, served with aioli. 

Beer Battered Fish & Chips $30.00 Beer battered fish of the day served with beer battered chips and sweet potato wedges and our own delicious tartare sauce.

Petite Steak Sandwiches $25.00 Three mini steak sandwiches on garlic croutes, succulent grilled fillet steak, cream cheese, bacon, asparagus and harissa hollandaise, served with beer battered onion rings and aioli.

We didn't realise the steak sandwiches came with onion rings (our mistake!) but they were delicious and quickly snapped up. We chose dishes that were quite similar in style but they were still very good. My favourite would be the petite steak sandwiches, but I wish the serving size was a little larger.

Despite it's minuscule size, the sandwich is packed with flavour. The steak was cooked perfectly and melted into ones mouth, leaving the crunch of the bacon to contrast with a great mix of fillings. I loved that I could still distinctly taste the garlic croutes amongst all the flavours- wasn't too much at all surprisingly. Would definitely recommend!

The fish and chips were good but not my favourite. The fish was well cooked and enjoyable with the unique  and flavourful tartare. I assumed the spray bottle was a vinegar of some sort but there was no real noticeable flavour as I sprayed it onto my fish to test. Not sure what was going on there. I really liked the chips and would order them as a side on my next visit. 

 The restaurant itself was a new experience. Typika does tend to render some polarising opinions from not only my acquaintances but also on sites such as Urbanspoon. I'm fairly sure the staff and management are well aware of the criticisms they face as they seemed weary once they noticed I had brought a dslr camera with me (a very clear indication that I would be publicising my dining experience). 

I was honestly quite uncomfortable taking pictures as I was receiving vibes from the staff. They were not rude vibes, but more so that they were extremely aware of my camera... I don't even know really (I can't explain the feeling properly).

I could see how people dislike the style of service as they do appear to approach different customers in inconsistent ways. I don't feel like the place is particularly welcoming and constrasts greatly with the type of service you would get at places such as The Tuck Shop Cafe. I can't help but think that they would've been so much more accommodating  at Typika had I been decked out in luxury brands. They were not as rude as a lot of negative reviewers make them out to be though. The girl who handled our bill was lovely and very professional. 

I liked Typika and would recommend it to people who aren't too fussy and like a fulfilling eat with some great flavours. I do think that it's better than it's rating and I prefer the food over other places I've been to in the ninety percentile. Although nothing is unbelievably outstanding, I quite enjoyed the visit. Give it a chance!

Typika Artisan Roasters

Claremont 331 Stirling Highway Claremont, WA

raw nachos dehydrated hand-cut corn chips, walnut refried ‘beans’

fresh tomato salsa, guacamole, cashew sour ‘cream’, chives (R) 19;again, a very interesting dish. Serving size was quite small. The dehydrated corn chips were the stand out: thin and crisp yet full of flavour. Quite delicious but would probably try something else next time.

The staff were friendly and the menu has a good variety of sides, mains, beverages and dessert. We were very excited to try the dishes but the extremely long waiting time after we ordered was quite disappointing. We initially ordered the mushroom pizza instead of the nachos. Only after thirty minutes from when we ordered were we informed that the pizza was unavailable. Felt that it would have been more appropriate if they had told us when we ordered and I was confused as to why the staff did not know or bother to check up on something like this for over half an hour. Elapsed waiting time was over forty minutes for the two mains and one side, and the smoothie arrived twenty minutes after ordering. I didn't mind as much as my dining company, who were actually quite mad and felt this situation was unacceptable. The staff were sincere and apologetic about both the wait and the unavailable dish, but I became quite disgruntled as well after witnessing several tables that had placed their orders after we did received them within ten to twenty minutes. I think that the service could be greatly improved with more organisation (mixing up the order of your customers from who ordered first for no reason is unacceptable in my opinion). The waiting time had probably affected my judgement and appreciation of the dishes, and I feel that is quite reasonable considering we were waiting for almost an hour for such a small order.