English Breakfast

For many local foodies – myself included – has established itself as one of the best places in Perth for any meal of the day (and the coffee & sweet treats in between). It was with some excitement that I learnt of the opening of in Wembley, a “Spanish inspired eating and drinking house” from Tropico’s owners, George Fowler & Garry Kemp.

Even though visiting a new restaurant shortly after opening often results in a long wait and disappointment, I had high expectations for Hermosa Cantina – and a rumbling tummy having seen the . We arrived just before 7:30 on Saturday morning expecting a crowd and were surprised that we were the only customers.

Hermosa opens at 7am every day except for Mondays, when it’s closed all day. Closing time is 4pm on Tuesdays and until late Wednesday to Sunday.

The front of the restaurant is where the coffee happens. Presumably the open space is to give takeaway customers somewhere to wait without loitering in the restaurant. Clever.

As I’ve come to expect from Tropico, there’s always something in the counter fridge that you wish you still had room for. Today it was fried chicken on corn bread with pimento mayo.

The restaurant itself is really nicely set out, from the impressively expensive front door to the well-stocked bar, comfy chairs (there are armchairs too) and simple but attractive tables.

As at Tropico, Hermosa’s coffee is from Bondi Beach based, and didn’t disappoint this morning. My long macchiato was beautiful.

You can see the full Hermosa Cantina menu, and as you would expect it comes with a Spanish influence. Some of the more interesting options include baked smokey Spanish beans with crispy pork belly, soft eggs & corn bread ($18), corn tortilla with smoked salmon, curds, salsa, soft herbs & pickled red onion ($17) and a “Green breakfast” of baby spinach, fried green tomato, avocado, pistachio & poached egg ($16).