Bittersweet Bake East Fremantle review: April Ooi visits a Perth bakery straight out of a Nancy Meyers film

Step into Bittersweet Bake on a spring morning and the cabinet feels like a garden in full bloom. Ripe fruit and florals bloom on top of their cakes and lush green salad fills their selection of savoury options. The treats strike a balance between decadence and freshness — like something you’d find in a Nancy Meyers movie. The bake shop itself is elegant and old-timey. The Federation-style frontage is beautiful, and the fresh black-and-white contrast paint makes a great backdrop to a brunch spread photo. My favourite was the salami-filled focaccia ($17). The slight spice from the salami mixed with the fresh pesto and spongey focaccia made my tummy sing. It hit all my brunch requirements and was quite large, too — definitely enough to share with a friend. We also tried the chicken, avocado and herbed aioli baguette ($14.50). The baguette itself was the star, with a crisp crust that has an audible crack as you bite in. The chicken breast, avocado and lettuce combo is simple, but never goes amiss. For drinks, they had all the regular cafe staples, but what I found really yummy was the orange and passionfruit juice ($9), which was bright, sharp and definitely woke us up from our morning drowsiness. There were too many good-looking sweets to pick from, but I had to go with the double choc cookie ($5.50). Cookies will always be my favourite sweet treat, and while I prefer a bit more chewiness I can appreciate this cookie for what it was: a crunchy vessel for delicious itty-bitty chocolate droplets. I doubled down on the chocolate and ordered the chocolate, rose and raspberry cake ($10). While the price was a little dear compared to your average slice, it was understandable as it had more raspberries on it than my frugal yearly intake. I liked the dark chocolate used in the glaze and the tartness of the raspberry, but there was surprise coconut in the cake itself which unfortunately reminded me of the ever-so-divisive Cherry Ripe. Overall, Bittersweet Bake is a thoughtful bake shop with gorgeous treats that let the fresh fruit and good produce shine. It’s not only an aesthetic bakery, it has a hint of magic, too, and that makes the simplest foods feel special. Bittersweet Bake 50 George Street, East Fremantle OPEN Monday-Saturday, 6am-3pm CONTACT 0499 370 983 BOOKINGS No THE VERDICT A cosy, local and quietly beautiful bakery in East Fremantle. 15.5/20