Mmmmm, what better way to spend a hot, sunny Friday afternoon than having an outdoor lunch by the water? Little Creatures was our venue of choice today, and the back deck was definitely the place in demand.
For those who haven't ventured all the way out the back at Little Creatures, there is a delightful deck area, complete with bar and "kid zone" (aka sand pit) right on the harbour overlooking the blue blue water and the gleaming white boats. Well, there was one particularly gleaming type of boat that a very rich type of person would park there, plus the parked fishing vessels across the harbour and the odd couple of motor boats moored just outside our deck.
Patience is the name of the game if you are after a nice shady table, and with the West Australian sun glaring down (albeit on a "moderate" 30 degree day) you do need some shade. We managed to squeeze in on the end of one table that had a slither of shade. Knowing that the sun was favouring us and would soon be behind next-door's umbrella, we made do with that. I saw at least two other groups of people that waited up to half an hour to get their prized table in the shade. If that wasn't enough for one group, after another half hour or so, they moved again to another table that (obviously) had just the right combination of shade and dappled sun under the olive tree. Some people are never satisfied!
So we whiled away the afternoon planning our next batch of holidays (I fear this might also turn into a travel blog before too long), enjoying the sunshine and the nice cold drinks. As far as food goes, Little Creatures change their menu every few months or so, but it is the same basic choice of some tapas-style dishes meant for sharing or combining, plus a few full sized meals. Beware the tapas-style dishes though. It has been my experience (at least around Freo & Perth) that this is basically a way for the restaurant to make a lot more money. For example, if we decided to have some corn cobs (VERY yummy, grilled nicely and served with salted butter) and a salad, this would set us back $24 before even looking at anything more substantial. OK, if you are vegetarian, or just so inclined for the day, this would probably be enough for many people, but hey, I know I can get a basic grilled vegetable dish for well under $20 in many other venues. And this is just a pub after all.
But no mind, we decided to share a pizza (very tasty mediterranean lamb & feta) and a vege nachos, which is quite large and comes complete with jalapeno chillies, quacamole and sour cream. One thing you have to watch out for at Little Creatures is that the food comes when it is ready - not when the customer is ready. We have struck this before when having dinner there, so it is obviously one of their policies: the order goes in and the food comes out. You can't choose what order you want it in, unless you wait and order the next lot afterwards, and even then they may happen to come together. If we had been having one dish each, not sharing the two, one of us would have been very very hungry today. We managed to polish of the nachos (stopping short of licking the plate) and the waitress was even going to clear the table before she realised our pizza hadn't arrived. That was fine for us, as we kept grazing, but be aware that this can happen any time when you eat at Little Creatures!
When they do stuff up, the staff are very nice and happily fix things up, even throwing in something for free occasionally, but this sort of thing is too common to be considered the "exception" at this pub. It's a great casual venue, you can be comfortable there at any age, any type of dress, etc, but you will be paying "premium pub" prices for food & drinks thanks to their location. Still... the setting speaks for itself, and judging by the amount of partrons jostling for that ideal table with just the right amount of shade, people are willing to put up with the basic menu and service.
I did forget to mention their beer - quite nice indeed. This is a brewery pub, you can have a good look at the big BIG vats & see where they make the beer. You can sometimes even see a truck parked right next to the front door being loaded up with some kind of gungy stuff that they have to remove after making all that beer, all of which makes for an interesting place and definitely something for tourists to have a look at. They have the gift shop at the ready, and there are a number of little nooks & crannies, not to mention 3 or 4 different areas to sit & drink or eat, each with a distinctly different feel. It must be about time to check out the Loft Bar again since I haven't been there for quite a few months, so look out for my coming post on that. It was superb in winter (especially with my special mate Squid singing & guitar-ing away in the corner)... I'll be back!
Beware of school holidays though - the little creatures running wild (aka playing cricket) in that sandpit today hit a six into neighbouring tables more than once, much to their delight - not!
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