photo by: broadsheet
Chris Howard, North Bird’s former Head Chef, wowed us with the restaurant’s sophisticated, exciting, and damn delicious share plates and wine-friendly eats when it first opened last year, so we were ecstatic to learn that he was planning to kick off 2021 with The Humble Onion, a brand new venue (in an iconic old urban space).
Howard has paired up with his partner, sommelier Caitlin Johnson, for this new endeavor, and is returning to the former Greenhouse property, which was most recently home to 100 Cups by Fiori, where he spent a lot of time as an apprentice.
It’s unusual for venues to open on time. Even rarer is a venue that opens ahead of schedule. Chris Howard and Caitlin Johnston (both ex-North Bird) have surreptitiously opened their new café The Humble Onion for takeout breakfast and coffee — ahead of its formal launch on February 1 – which is likely to please city workers.
It’s a terrific way for them to “test the waters” while getting to know the CBD community. The concentration is on day trading, but there are plans to extend their hours in the future.
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Everything, from the HP sauce to the bacon and sausages, is cooked in-house for the initial breakfast offering, which is little but substantial. Three sandwiches loaded with the aforementioned bacon and sausage, as well as fried eggplant with mushroom XO, are on the starter menu. Expect Sicilian-style pizza, pastries, and whatever else Howard decides to create as opening day approaches at the counter.
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The brunch menu is rustic yet polished, with tantalizing, flavor-packed dishes that highlight the freshest seasonal food available, some of which is produced on the rooftop above. We’re not sure how Howard does it, but he manages to make even the most basic things taste incredibly great.
It’s all pretty heavenly and surprisingly different from every other cafe offering around Perth, from the silkiest oat milk pudding flecked with pieces of crunchy baked granola and fresh berries (honestly, who knew oat milk could taste this good) to the moist yet fluffy zucchini bread topped with a yummy muhammara (a Middle Eastern style roasted capsicum dip) and ripe tomatoes.
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Aside from the fantastic cuisine and drinks, the atmosphere is quite chill. It’s easy to lose track of time and let your lunch meeting run past time with artworks mounted on the walls, industrial-style concrete floors coupled with light timber, and pops of fresh greenery, not to mention the laidback indie tunes playing throughout the indoor-outdoor dining room.
For the time being, it’s open for dine-in and takeaway from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, but Howard and Johnson have already begun planning special Friday night activities to take advantage of the gorgeous rooftop.
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We’re more than eager to raise a glass to these two titans and soak up those inner-city rooftop vibes, given how amazing the food and wine are here.
The quality of Howard’s items, according to him, is the primary differentiator. “We’re not trying to hide behind the notion that this is a cafe, which [could] allow us to have lower standards.” His and Johnston’s restaurant backgrounds will affect all aspects of the establishment. The notion of keeping things simple, though, will not change. Howard clarifies, “It’s the Humble Onion, not the Flash Cabbage.”
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Humble Onion, which has taken over the former Greenhouse site, ups the ante for inner-city brunching with tomato salad on zucchini bread, crab-and-leek quiche, and superb sandwiches (fried chicken!) on pillowy house focaccia.
7 – 11 takeaway & coffee
11 – 3 Humble Lunch
www.instagram.com/the.humble.onion/
