Little Creatures Brewery, Bar and Restaurant

LOCATION
Fishing Boat Harbour Fremantle, 15 minutes walk from Fremantle train station.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
When Fremantle’s old boat-yard-cum-crocodile-farm was converted to a brewery in the late 90s, few could have predicted the massive success Little Creatures would experience. Ten years on, this iconic industrial-style venue is more popular than ever and has recently undergone a few changes to further impress regulars and tourists. Punters can enjoy a game of bocce in the back garden, stretch on one of the pallets in the front courtyard, take in some local artwork in the upstairs gallery or venture next door to Creatures Loft after hours.

Needless to say, the award-winning beer at Little Creatures is as cold and fresh as you’ll ever experience but even more to love is the food. Heading the kitchen since the day it opened, chef Mark Gill and his team are famous for their delicious pizzas, finger-licking nibbles and smacking the gong when it’s “order up”. Brought to your table by Bohemian-looking staff with tattoos, dreadlocks and/or a foreign accent, the grub here is so delicious you’ll be hard-pressed to decide what the real drawcard is – food, beer or atmosphere. For me it’s the prawn, shiitake mushroom and coriander pesto pizza coupled with a few plates of prosciutto-wrapped tiger prawns with seeded mayo. All the wood-fired pizzas are topped with fresh, simple ingredients combining great flavours like harissa-spiced lamb, melanzane and fetta pizza. If you visit Little Creatures with a group, you may want to graze over a few share plates like the marinated kangaroo with tomato chutney, corn cobs with salted butter or marinated octopus. There’s also a scotch fillet and fish of the day for those needing something a little more substantial to soak up the beer. A word of warning though: this place goes ballistic on sunny Sunday afternoons!

Karen Bilsby