Saltbush began in 2021, when Mia and Tess took on a restored shopfront on Market Street and filled it with a roaster, a kitchen and the smell of toasted wattleseed.
1890s
Our shopfront went up in the 1890s, the gold rush years, when the West End filled with banks, hotels and warehouses cut from the same soft, honey-coloured stone.
It has been carefully restored, and it still does what limestone does best: keeps cool through the summer heat and glows in the low sun.
2021
Two sisters with one idea: a coffee house that tastes of where it is. Good coffee, roasted close. Brunch that uses the plants of this country as more than a garnish.
They opened Saltbush in 2021. Fremantle found it quickly, and the locals have kept the tables warm ever since.
Weekly
Small batches, roasted on site. Single origins for the filter and pour-over, and a seasonal espresso blend that changes as the green coffee does.
Bags go out the front door in 250g and 1kg sizes, roasted weekly, so the beans you take home are as fresh as the ones in your cup.
Daily
Saltbush, finger lime, lemon myrtle and wattleseed are working ingredients here. They season the bread, sharpen the hollandaise and perfume the hotcakes.
The menu footnotes each one, so you know exactly what you're tasting.
Good coffee, good bread and the sun on old stone. That was the whole plan, and it still is.
Saltbush Coffee House, Market Street
Limestone walls on three sides and a fig tree that does the shading for us. Dogs are welcome out here, and so is lingering over a second cup.
We're open seven days, from early until mid afternoon. The dial shows where today is right now, in Fremantle time.
42 Market Street
Fremantle WA 6160