Cicerello’s Fremantle

Cicerello's has been a fixture of Fremantle's waterfront for generations. The business traces its roots to 1903 and to the city's fishing pioneers, and it is still a third-generation, local family-owned operation. Its home is Fremantle's Fishing Boat Harbour, and it has long been one of the best-known places in the port city to eat fish and chips by the water. A photograph held by the City of Fremantle's local history collection shows the restaurant on the harbour in 1987, taken at the time of the America's Cup, with the Fremantle Princess tour boat moored at the landing alongside it.

The menu centres on traditional fish and chips, with fish cut by hand and served fried or grilled. Beyond that you can order local seafood such as crayfish, crabs and prawns, as well as lobster and abalone, and seafood platters for those sharing. The kitchen's chilli mussels and crab are another option, and coffee and cake are available for a lighter stop. Prices are firmly at the casual end of the scale.

Part of the fun is the setting. Inside, the restaurant houses what it describes as Western Australia's largest private free aquariums, so children can watch the fish while they wait, and the walls are hung with Western Australian memorabilia. Many people prefer to take their food outside and sit along the harbour, watching the boats come and go. Either way, it is a relaxed, family-friendly place.

Cicerello's is open every day of the year except Christmas Day, from 9.30am to 8pm, and you can dine in or take away. That makes it an easy lunch or early dinner after the Fremantle Markets, the Maritime Museum or a morning at Fremantle Prison. It works for families on a budget, travellers who want a classic Australian seaside meal, and anyone after a quick, informal bite by the water.

The restaurant is at 44 Mews Road, in the Fishing Boat Harbour precinct of Fremantle. There is a second Cicerello's on the foreshore in Mandurah, south of Perth, which also serves breakfast, homemade ice cream and desserts, but the Fremantle original is the one most visitors know.