When the tourists and locals flock nightly to Fremantle’s South Terrace it’s typically for one thing: food. And there’s certainly enough to choose from with the strips succession of gelati bars, coffee shops, Asian takeaways, burger joints and pizza parlours. Tasty, sure. Interesting? Not so much.
Thankfully, there’s a new Freo restaurant spicing things up. The first of its kind in Fremantle, the two-month-old Kaza Blanca Grill is a restaurant serving traditional Moroccan and Middle Eastern halal cuisine.
Tucked in an alleyway just off the main drag behind Soho Burgers, a first-time visitor would think they had entered a Middle Eastern bazaar. It’s hard to know where to look first: the brilliant, multicoloured walls, ceilings draped with flowing embroidered cloth and dotted with Moroccan lamps, a shopfront window filled with traditional clothing or the people happily puffing at herbal shisha from ornate hookahs and lounging on plush cushions.
Inside the restaurant, it’s not the décor that will have you mesmerised, but the gorgeous aromas drifting from the kitchen. Kaza Blanca’s extensive menu represents their unique take on the best of Middle Eastern cuisine. Of course there are everyone’s favourite dips like hommus and baba ganoush that will have your tastebuds singing, convincing you that the store-bought varieties should be ashamed. Entrees like falafel and merguez are delicious, but the star of the menu is the assortment of mains served in steaming tajines filled with moreish grilled meat – great alongside couscous or fried cauliflower.
For a real experience, book a visit on a Friday or Saturday night for the belly dancing shows.
You won’t find that at any Freo pizzeria!
