gypsy tapas house

the cheap floozy of the freo dining scene is a colorful and tasty little beauty tucked away in a pocket of town even locals might not notice. but with little plates of salty fried and grilled treats and carafes (yes that's right) of red vino to wash it all down, this could be the perfect place to meet friends and avoid the paparazzi. the situation approves!

there is only so much that can be hidden behind novo hippy chic. this disappointing dining experience started with an undercooked quail. the beef rib was adipose and tougher than concrete. the fois gras, if it was fois gras, was army ration grade. atleast the band was competent unlike the mushrooms that flavour forgot. furthermore, what restaurant in the 21st century does not accept credit cards. it's ok sir you can get cash out from the in store atm charging at reaper rates.

best food in freo. most of the restraunters in freo are having a lend, they are overpriced and offer terrible food and terrible service! they treat customers with contempt. there are two exceptions:
1). gypsy tapas house

2). cafe roma

gypsy tapas house is immediately fantastic as soon as you meet the friendly wait staff as you enter, the food is great and reasonably priced, great wine list, knowledgable friendly and pleasant staff, usually great entertainment as well! out door area could be modernised a bit, it is a bit hippy looking..... :)

best eat in fremantle!

good fun !. great atmosphere (with sometimes live music) and tasty tapas. well worth a try!

best quality food and great service.. i was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and service. my husband and i go to a lot of restaurants and we were both very impressed.

our waiter made the best dish recommendations and even persuaded my generally meatatarian husband to eat greens - he loved them!

we will defintatly be back soon and bring friends.

those gypsy's tricked me... here i thought i was going out for a delicious, filling, tapas experience.

went there with a large group. they brought out 2 - 3 of each tapas at a time to serve 18 people. there was a tiny amount of food per plate that had to stretch between 6 - 8. also had none of the fish or squid dishes on offer. halfway through the waitress informed us they had run out of food and we could have a chef's special which was 1 plate of somethiing that i saw down the other end of the table. charged $40 pp. still needed to buy dinner on the way home.

good vibe with friends and the band however dinner was a joke. definitely will not be back in a hurry.

great little place tucked away in freo- just check the bill before paying!. went here the other night with my girlfriend as we were looking for a small and casual place to have some food on a saturday night. booked a few hours ahead but ended up with the inside bar seats- quite noisy and hot but a good view of the courtyard and close to the action so not a major drama.

food was generally very good, for $8 it it quite tasty and the portions are reasonable (think entrée size). as we had had a late lunch we decided to have two tapas each and a glass of the house red and see how we went. turned out it was enough to satisfy, though if i was hungrier i probably would have gone 3/4 tapas (or the banquet option which was around $45 that night).

i had the rabbit and the squid and my girlfriend had the tiger prawn and tortilla dishes. the rabbit was the stand out for me, extremely tender, lovely onion and tomato sauce and a moderate serving size. the squid was ok, cooked properly and not rubbery, but the sauce was a bit oily and pasty. the prawns were nice but as you could expect for $8 you only get two. the tortilla was not what we expected, as it looked more like a quiche using tortilla bread, but it was a moderate serving and tasted alright.

we also had the gypsy fingers dessert which comes as two slices and is perfect to share if you don't want to overload on sweets. this was extremely rich and tasty and we almost ordered another as it was so nice, highly recommend.

the house red (apparently from dunsborough) was pretty average, equivalent to any cheap bottle of red you could buy from a liquor store. glass was nice and big though.

the venue was quite nice, nothing super posh or special but overall it did the job, it wasn't tacky or run-down. our table needed a wipe down as well. staff were generally good, making sure to ask you if you needed anything but they also didn't harass you too much for further orders.

as a venue to just go for a casual eat i would recommend. however i think this place would be best if you went with 4 people, booked a good table outside to enjoy the fresh air, ordered a jug of sangria to share and then a big selection of tapas to try out and share.

on a final note it seems, in true gypsy fashion, we were overcharged or hit with a hidden fee. as we were charged $58 for 4 tapas ($8ea), 1 dessert ($8ea) and two glasses of house red ($6.50ea) which should have totalled at $53.. however we were charged $58 when paying and didn't realise it was wrong until we got home. only $5 but the principle of it matters. next time we go i'll mention it to them and make sure i check the bill properly before paying.

overall i would happily go back and recommend this to friends, some of which live in the area and didn't know about this place.

food 8/10
venue 7/10
service 7/10
price/value 9/10
overall 8/10

my favorite spot to eat in perth. i love the alternativeness of the crowd, the staff and the atmosphere that you can only find in freo. great value for money at $8 a dish, affordable for everyone. choice of live music is always enjoyable too. i love it!

bohemian chic!. i simply love gypsy tapas house!

it has its own distinctive character and style - a far cry from all the homogeneous upmarket tapas bars that have been mushrooming all across perth. the food is simple and rustic, but very tasty. staff members are knowledgeable and engaging in a down-to-earth and friendly manner. the wine list is not extensive, but what's on it goes very well with the food.

we visited on a saturday night and were entertained by a three-person live band - it brought back very fond memories of east european gypsy music parties in uber trendy clubs and parties in london. awesome!

a quick bite. fun place to eat, staff are friendly, some concerns about the hygiene but a jug of sangria fixes that worry ;)
would recommend chossing your own selection, as we found we got the same dish over and over in their selection.

easy to spend alot at $12/dish.

love it!. gypsy tapas never fails to satisfy - i have been here with a large group and just two - and it's always perfect! i look forward to my next visit.

very freo. i've been wanting to try here for a while. went with a couple of friends. the sangria was good. the food not so good. it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't exciting. we all thought it was a bit bland. the servings are small so although it seems cheap at $8 a serving, it's not amazing. we were sitting inside and were struggling to hear each other over the music. the bellydancer was entertaining though! it was a different experience but i won't be coming back here again.

average tapas. food was quite nice, some dishes very basic though.
music very loud and can not hear the person opposite you. service fairly good however watch your bill as we were overcharged $120. out of all the tapas in perth, this one wasnt out favourite!

very freo. i think the high 'thumbs up' rating the gyspy tapas house has on urbanspoon is a fair indication that this place is popular. i'm not surprised as it is a very likable place in spite of its shortcomings. i have eaten better tapas and sat in more comfortable diners but i struggle to write anything meaner than that. the place has a whole lot more heart than a lot of the supposed higher-end restaurants in town.
to get the mean things out of the way: the tapas is ok. if you are hungry, you will eat it and be satisfied. i do like that the dishes are all priced the same and there's much variety. the pork was tender and well cooked; its accompanying apple and chestnut sauce was lovely. however, their prawn dish was literally two king prawns grilled so don't be expecting anything beyond that. i was looking forward to some eggplant gratin but sadly my fave vege was undercooked. the de regieur chorizo makes an appearance here too but i think gypsy would do well to source a better one. it had an odd taste.
anyway, like critiquing your friend's cooking, it feels oddly wrong so i'll end here to say that you could do way worse than spend an evening at gypsy tapas house nibbling on tapas, drinking from their eclectic wine menu and listening to some amazing live music.
gypsy tapas house has two sittings (6:30 - 8:30 & 8:30 ~) and booking is recommended. the place gets packed and that's a sign they're doing something right.

currently they have double bookings per night, 6.30 & 8.30pm