Breakfast at Phoenix and the Wolf – Perth, Tasmania [now closed]

This was going to be a story about a name.

Unlike like an accidental plot reveal, or a ‘tell all’ expose of a magicians art, a palette of grey paints life at its most vibrant.

Questions of why, how and who, so important to an experience built on immutable axioms and the foundation of logic, yet whose answers remain unfulfilling in their hard edged certainty.

“Phoenix and the Wolf” – What does it mean?

I know the answer, but do I really want to? Our relationship with memory is increasingly paradoxical. As the digital expands, the human contracts, and becomes ever more valuable for its dearth. When it comes to such a constraint equation, which answer do I retain? The one that is right, or the one that matters? Or do we again fall back on our palette of grey?

And so it is with our perceptions of food. If you’re looking for a traditional review of a meal consumed, then, for today anyway, you’re knocking at the wrong door.

The facts are there for all to see. With this you can’t argue.

Owner: Sean Keating, chef and ex-Josef Chromy kitchen maestro.
Front of House: Damien Webber, the man with ten green thumbs and a passion for produce of the soil.
Ethos: Ethically raised meat viewed through paleo tinted glasses.
Provisions: Breakfast, lunch, cakes, coffee, charcuterie, bakery, organic herbs and vegetables. Good enough?
Location: 86 Main Rd, in the spiritual home of Perth. Give us this day our daily bread…
Times: 8am-4pm, 5 days per week (Wed-Sun), spring/summer/autumn.

Perhaps I should describe my experience, as I have countless times before? Critically analyse the interplay in flavours and textures. Cast an eye over the aesthetics and assess their service ethic?

I probably should, but I won’t. I’m going to leave this experience in your hands. Go for a drive, explore your local backyard and create your own truth. If you feel like it, let me know what you think. Or don’t. I’m with Freddie Mercury when it comes to deciding what matters and what doesn’t. What I do care about is that it matters to you.

Despite my best esoteric intentions, a score is still required. So here ’tis…

Flavours – 9/10
Menu – 10/10
Ambience – 9/10
Service – 9/10
Value – 10/10

Overall – 9/10

If you’d like another perspective, I also recommend reading Cathryn’s perspective over at the fantastic Heads Up Food Guide to Eating Out in Launceston. You can find her article here.