Mary Street Bakery Highgate

Paul Aron and Michael Forde have a modern-day Midas touch. Individually and together they’ve been involved in Greenhouse, Cantina, El Publico and Ace Pizza. At Mary Street Bakery they’ve created another winner, one that has woven itself into the social fabric of Beaufort Street (and later, West Leederville, Allendale Square and QV1).

Mary’s is a neighbourhood joint if ever there was one, where you can eat in or grab your daily bread from the bakery section. This isn’t your average bakery, though. It’s got all the boxes ticked: decor, atmosphere and ethos (local, sustainable, etc.). Also: incredible house-made doughnuts.

But if we were to pinpoint what’s made this Perth’s most successful cafe, we’d mention the always-on staff and the inventive menu. You can expect anything from Asian- and Middle Eastern-inspired dishes to much loved staples such as boiled eggs with soldiers. Then there’s the fried chicken with buttermilk pancakes, which has become something of an MSB signature.

Coffee is made to the same high standard. Milky ones use a blend from Pound Coffee in O’Connor, and Mary Street Bakery’s head barista roasts the single origins (best experienced sans milk) himself.