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Propeller

Gail Williams

All are welcome at this down-to-earth Freo eatery.
All are welcome at this down-to-earth Freo eatery.Supplied

16/20

Mediterranean$$

It's easy to become a pretentious tosser when describing food, especially very good food.

Humble pieces of fried meat can turn into "resplendently fat, juicy, tender cuts of veal" awakening in the reviewer the "lost chord of veal parmesan".

A plain old fish steak can become a Pacific Ocean black cod fillet "delicately balanced atop a melange like a brilliant gymnast".

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Grabbing a caffeine hit from Propeller's shipping container cafe.
Grabbing a caffeine hit from Propeller's shipping container cafe.Supplied

But certainly not at Propeller where the food – a mix of Moorish, Levantine, Spanish and modern Australian – is, to put it simply, excellent.

The food might produce a euphoric high but avoid the temptation to prattle on about the air-dried duck ($22) touching the soul and the smoked ocean trout ($21) moving you to tears and the Greek doughnuts filling you with joy. Nup.

If you did that at Propeller, fashioned from a shipping container and an old garage in the heart of working class North Freo, you'd be looked at like you were a few tinnies short of a slab.

Here, in this former courtyard of the adjoining old North Fremantle Town Hall, the owners – Hamish Fleming and Siobhan Blumann – have created a down-to-earth magical public space reminiscent of the old village square where all ages and demographics are made to feel welcome.

Who needs brightly coloured plastic play equipment when the kids can run around on the grass while watched by their parents from the comfort of the terraced al fresco area?

Things just flow organically and honestly in this 150-seater with the centre dominated by the shipping container – a respectful nod to the harbour city's history. The container, a living sculpture if you like, doubles as a bar during the evening and a coffee station during the day.

Bliss balls: Greek honey doughnuts with halva ice cream.
Bliss balls: Greek honey doughnuts with halva ice cream.Gail Williams
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Tuned-in staff keep things humming along as they top up water, explain the dishes and deliver them all with impeccable timing.

And there's no reason anyone should be surprised that it all ticks over like a turbocharged BMW. That's because Fleming and Blumann bring serious street cred to this operation, another newbie in their ever-growing chain which began nine years ago with Flipside, their burger joint.

Three months after opening Propeller, it is already every bit as popular as their other venues, Mrs Brown - which is over the road - and Northbridge venues Mechanics Institute and Dominion League.

And they've scored a major coup in securing the services of talented former Pata Negra chef, Kurt Sampson, a kiwi who learnt a thing or two about Middle Eastern food from his early mentor, the Lebanese luminary Greg Malouf.

His confidence and expertise came through right from the start with the flat bread, golden brown discs of blistered perfection topped with the zataar,  thyme, oregano, lemony sumac, and toasted sesame seeds, doused in just enough olive oil to make it glisten.

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We piled ours high with the air-dried duck – translucent shavings of the muddy birds which diners will find hanging in the kitchen.
Mixed with the sweetness of fig and the piquant pecorino we had a ridiculous moment when we could all feel our inner tossers start to unleash.

We also found ourselves raving incoherently over the lashings of smoked ocean trout and lentils ($36) on the potato brik – potato puree inside a crispy pancake casing. Then came the "brilliant gymnast", the soft, slowly boiled egg perched on top. Okay, it was knuckle-biting divine. There, I said it.

A crusty slow-roasted lamb shoulder ($36) was paired with a well-seasoned saucy beetroot number with onions and pinenuts thrown in. The lamb, however, was under-seasoned.

And, for what it's worth, here's a hint for novice Middle Eastern diners. Never, ever pass on dessert unless you're giving up the divine, decadent pleasure of baklava coils ($15) for Lent. This little innocuous coil of syrupy golden filo pastry contained all the guilty pleasures in one hit – walnuts, pistachios and dried dates. Yoghurt on the side balanced it all out.

And then there were the Greek doughnuts, little golf ball-sized balls with pistachio and halva and vanilla ice cream. Words began to fail me then. I think I lost them somewhere between the lost doughnut chord and the melange.

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Scoring system:

0-10 Don't waste your money
11-15 Worth a look
16-20 Put it on your bucket list

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