Manuka Woodfire Kitchen, Fremantle

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I owe you, my dear readers a small apology. Many of you may have noticed that my recent posts on Chompchomp have been fewer and far between and are often written using content that dates further back than I would prefer. For this I am truly sorry. If the lack of reading has bothered you, I can assure you that the frustration is mutual. Whilst I hate to go on like a broken record and whinge incessantly, the reality is that my slipped disc in my back has made our dining experiences virtually non-existent. Needless to say, life goes on around me and consequently my list of new venues in Perth that I want to visit is growing at an alarming rate.

For the Boy and me, our times spent dining out together form a major part of our enjoyment and their absence leaves us both feeling depressed and disconnected. So, this weekend I necked back a couple of strong pain killers, splashed on some mascara and red lipstick and headed out for a lunch date with my love. I will not be beaten by pain! The Boy wanted to take my new wheels for a spin so we headed down to Fremantle to Chef Kenny McHardy’s new restaurant Manuka Woodfire Kitchen.

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Chef Kenny is one of those who will go above and beyond for us allergy-prone intolerants as I discovered recently on our decadent Truffle Kerfuffle weekend. When I heard that he had moved up to Perth with his family from Albany and opened a new restaurant I placed his venue at the top of my to-do list.

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Manuka Woodfire Kitchen is a cosy space with a warm and inviting atmosphere, a gluten free friendly menu and a short but well-chosen Western Australian wine list. We selected a bottle of Domaine Naturaliste 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was rich in luscious berry and spice aromas making it perfectly matched to the stormy weather outside.

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Garlic and herb flat bread ($6, not GF)

The Boy filled himself up quickly with the wood fired garlic and herb bread while I appreciated having my own gluten free counterpart to enjoy. Manuka make their gluten free bread themselves and it tasted wonderfully fresh and fluffy.

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Gluten free house made garlic bread

Manuka’s menu features a number of uncomplicated share plates using fresh seasonal produce cooked to smoky heavenliness in their wood fire oven. It was hard to choose where to start so we agreed to let the chef decide while we sat back and relaxed.

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Wood roasted olives ($4, GF)

At $4 a serve there was nothing not to love about Manuka’s wood roasted olives. Served warm, the delicately flavoured olive flesh slid off the pits with a light squeeze of my teeth. It would have been an easy task to sit all afternoon with my wine in hand eating more of these olives while we watched the quirky world of Fremantle walk by.

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Chorizo sausage grilled over hot coals ($15, GF)

Our next dish was a plate of chorizo sausage that had been grilled over hot coals. The sausage had a gentle hint of spice and each slightly charred piece remained burst-in-the-mouth juicy.

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Roasted button mushrooms with crisp kale, garlic, rosemary and balsamic ($16, GF)

One of the standout dishes for me was the roasted button mushrooms, the mushrooms were so meaty and succulent. They were served with paper-thin, crispy kale leaves and dollops of garlic sour cream.

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Roasted baby beetroot with fresh ricotta and toasted hazelnuts ($14. GF)

Another fabulous vegetarian dish was the roasted baby beetroot. I could really taste the difference from cooking the beets in the wood fire oven, there was a subtle smokiness and just so much more flavour.  The toasted hazelnuts added some great crunch and texture.

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Wood roasted chicken pieces with miso sauce ($18, GF)

The Boy’s favourite dish was the wood roasted miso chicken. Each piping hot piece of chicken was torn apart easily by our eager fingers and we gobbled it down like we had only just sat down to eat.

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It was tempting to lick the remaining sticky miso sauce from the bowl as we both slurped sauce from our messy fingers. I guess we could have used a fork and knife to eat but when the chicken is this finger-licking good why bother?

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Slow cooked osso bucco with parmesan mash ($32, GF)

Just when we thought we were too full to fit in any more food, our waitress brought us one last dish to the table. And of course being good sports, we found room to fit in some dreamy tender slow cooked osso bucco. 😉 All my good table manners fell out the window as I sucked loudly on the shin bone ensuring to remove all traces of the rich bone marrow.

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Milk chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries and clotted cream ($9, GF)

Despite continuing to feebly protest about being too full, my rubber arm was easily twisted into sharing dessert. Look, my back may be injured but there is nothing wrong with my stomach!! Secretly you and I both know I ALWAYS have room for dessert. Our chocolate mousse was so light and airy leaving us with no problems polishing it off.

Manuka Woodfire Kitchen has only been open for three weeks and yet their team showed no signs of any teething problems that I have come to expect with newly opened establishments. The wait staff are friendly and passionate, the dishes are decently priced and the Chef’s use of fresh local ingredients cooked in a wood fire oven speaks for itself.

Manuka Woodfire Kitchen, Fremantle

134 High Street, Fremantle WA | (08) 9335 3527 | Facebook

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16 Thoughts on “Manuka Woodfire Kitchen, Fremantle

  1. I loved this review and as a Coeliac am always looking to find positive feedback about restaurants and of course a good selection of gf food. I am dying now to try this place. Thanks again :)

  2. Always a pleasure Marnie! I hate feeling like I miss out on anything, especially with food so this place is a total winner in my books. Hope you enjoy your visit too!

  3. I don’t think you ever need to apologise to readers about lags in content. You can always give them their money back… waitaminute… lol! Your health is always of utmost importance. Glad to see you made it out for this lovely meal, and hope you’re *back* to good health soon! Boom tish!

    • Helen you are such a sweet heart. Your words of encouragement mean the world to me. You are so right, I need to cast away my bloggers guilt and look positively forward to a healthy recovery xxx

  4. Wow, Martine, I’m sure the worth was all worth it. The food selection you showed us comes with great plating, carefully planned and cooked as they look. Really catches attention and interest. Great choice! Go ahead and rest well but pamper yourself when you’re able to :) We love your posts xx

    Julie & Alesah
    Gourmet Getaways xx

    • Hi Julie and Alesah, it really made me appreciate eating out…something I had previously taken for granted! Sorry for boring everyone with my ails and I’m determined to be back on track soon (pardon the pun! ) xx

  5. I’ve been wanting to check out this place for a while now. Like you, I’ve been out of the dining (and blogging) scene for a little while due to my wrist injury, the former due to lack of income (as a casual employee I had no sick pay) rather than pain. Not sure which is worse! Hope that the pain is dissipating now beautiful. How horrible. Glad that you and the boy still managed a gorgeous lunch date (albeit with painkillers!).
    I’m drooling over that chicken and the gorgeous wood fired bread. I adore anything cooked in a wood oven, particularly with smokiness involved, so I’m already convinced this will be a new favourite xx

  6. I’ve been wanting to try Manuka for awhile now and I finally am – tomorrow night! I was having a sticky beak at reviews out there and came across your post – the food looks amazing! I see they still have a few items on their menu that you tried last year, like the wood roasted miso chicken. Looks delicious! I wonder if you’ve been back recently?

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