Gino’s Cafe

Gino's is one of the landmarks of Fremantle's Cappuccino Strip on South Terrace. It was opened in 1983 by Luigi "Gino" Saccone, who had arrived in Fremantle from Italy in 1956 and spent more than two decades working as a tailor, much of it in the same corner building. When he closed the tailoring business, he and his family turned the premises into an Italian cafe and trattoria, and three generations of the Saccone family have since been involved in running it.

The building itself has a long history. The single-storey rendered corner building on South Terrace and Market Street was in place by 1900, and over the years it has housed pawnbrokers, a cycle depot, a tobacconist, a bookseller and, in the early 1970s, an electrical goods shop selling radios, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. By 2002 heritage records listed Gino's and the Marconi cafe as its occupants, and the business has since traded as Gino's Italian Cafe and Restaurant. The state's heritage records note the social significance of the cafe strip, and Gino's has been described as a significant landmark of the old port city.

Coffee is the main reason most people stop. Gino's has its own house blend, which it also sells for customers to brew at home, and the classic way to enjoy it is at one of the covered outdoor tables on South Terrace. The kitchen serves Italian food throughout the day, with the home-style Italian cooking credited to Rosa at the heart of the menu.

The cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it works for an early espresso before the markets open, a long lunch, or a casual evening meal. It suits families, couples and solo travellers looking for an unpretentious, traditional Fremantle experience rather than a modern specialty coffee bar.

Gino's stands on the corner of South Terrace and Market Street, on Fremantle's main cafe strip, so it is an easy starting point for exploring the town on foot. Fremantle Markets are further along South Terrace, and the Fremantle Prison and the waterfront museums are all within the town centre, which makes Gino's a natural stop before or after sightseeing.