Smashed Gero (on toast): Sirocco’s Bar & Cafe review

Through its colourful offering, delightful service and giant seaside windows, Sirocco Bar and Cafe helped me clear up some hotel breakfast misconceptions at the weekend. The venue, which is part of the Ocean Centre Hotel, has white walls, artwork depicting local landscapes, and leather chairs with stainless steel finishings. It looks like the kind of place businesspeople would read the paper and eat raisin toast before attending their big orthodontics expo. “See you at the resin-based composites booth, Michael!” For this reason, my expectations were low. When I think of hotel breakfast, I think of baked beans from a can in a sweaty bain-marie, white bread and giant conveyor belt toaster, and those funny little single- portion jam packets. I should never judge a brekkie spot by its cover. You might expect it to be your run-of-the-mill hotel, but it certainly doesn’t taste like one. We ordered two cappuccinos — one soy and one regular. The milk was creamy and the coffee flavour was great. I landed on the avocado on Turkish bread with beetroot puree, fetta and spices. Across the table, my brekkie buddy ordered the Sirocco Burger — bacon and eggs, a hash brown, onions and spinach between two pieces of Turkish bread and slathered with the chef’s sauce. Not to be dramatic, but I gasped when the staff member came to the table with our food. The colour palette between the two dishes — which came out on theatrically long plates — had diva energy. There was as much melted butter on my bread as avocado, which was different from the usual cafe approach of using more avo than bread. The two delicious fats made a tasty light- green paste which complemented the hard and salty fetta used on top. The beetroot purée was sweet and fresh. The spices on top gave the dish a rustic kick. It was a mould-breaking take on a classic dish. My date loved his burger so much he forgot his manners. “Sometimes I find doing these reviews with you a chore, but then I eat something like this,” he said. His dish was less groundbreaking than mine, but he said each element was perfect. His butter-loaded warm bread was also chewy and delicious. Once his egg yolk burst, it ran throughout the whole burger like a vibrant yellow sauce. The chef’s special sauce was a chilli jam. My date said the spice was subtle like my little red sprinkles, but it was also sweet and laid on thick. I put my two grandfathers up at the Ocean Centre Hotel recently when they came up to visit — they’re best buds, it’s awesome — and they raved about how “lovely the ladies” were during their stay. I can see why. The staff seemed to really care about hospitality. I am not sure if they ever hold orthodontics expos in Geraldton. But, if they ever did, Sirocco’s breakfast would surely be the talk of the resin-based composites booth.