A Decent Lunch in Balingup
Avoid the tree hugging, mushroom eating cafe over the road and cross the south west highway for the best baguette in the south west. Where should you be? Fre-Jac. This is one of those places you just don’t expect to find, yet they exist and make journeys special. This patisserie/cafe is a classic example - excellent french food, but in Balingup of all places.
Lunch here was a pair of baguettes, one filled with smoked salmon, cucumber and yoghurt, the other was chicken, salad and a zesty sauce. Firstly, the bread; quite possibly the second best french baguette in Western Australia - this is crusty yet chewy and filling - a perfect starting point. The fillings are combinations that just go so well together. No complaints here.
Following the main course was a pain o chocolate; fresh, buttery and light. Choose this and you can’t go wrong.
Coffee: Choose this and you will go wrong. Fre-Jac is french and here at a decent feed we hate to perpetuate stereotypes, but this coffee was so french (awful). This isn’t a one off, we have visited Fre-Jac various times in recent years and the food has always been great and the coffee always bad. What’s the answer? don’t order a coffee, just food.
Conclusion: A great place for lunch. Just don’t have a coffee.
Interesting Fact: They also have a restaurant that does dinner. Could be worth a go. We would go there if were in Balingup for dinner.
Fre-Jac
What we think:
Food Rating: Good 4/5
Coffee Rating: So Bad... 0/5
“I’d rather drink my own bathwater” ...anon
