Suburban success story Two Blind Mice adds brekkie and live music

In 2021 Sam Carlini and his long-time hospitality buddy and chef, Josh McDonald, took their combined 30 years of experience in the industry and opened up their resto-pub Two Blind Mice at Curtin Shops.

While the city of the nation’s capital teemed with endless choices, the duo sought to prove a hypothesis – people in the ‘burbs didn’t necessarily want to contend with the hustle and bustle, premium pricing and paid parking for a night out.

About a year-and-a-half later, it’s no longer a theory.

“It’s been a difficult year for people with the interest rate and cost of living rises, yet we continue to see the same faces two to three times a week,” Sam says.

“I think something like this was really needed here. The community has embraced it.”

Serving up Aussie bistro classics such as steak sambo, cheeseburger, salads and pizzas, the family-friendly casual dining establishment has become a go-to for locals looking for a good meal and a tipple at affordable prices.

The bar serves up wine sourced from the likes of Farrah’s Liquor Collective, so it can pass savings on premiums wines to the customer, offering $5 house wine and beer during Happy Hour, Monday to Friday from 4 pm to 6 pm.

“We started our wine selection with a European twist, but the list is a bit more accessible now, and chosen to suit the needs and tastes of our clientele,” Sam says.

With lunch and dinner down pat, Two Blind Mice is now serving up breakfast. On weekdays it’s simple – offering the classics such as banana bread and bacon and egg rolls. But on weekends they dial it up.

The weekend brekkie menu features dishes including buttermilk hotcakes with maple reduction, vanilla mascarpone, banana and strawberries, or woodfired field mushrooms with focaccia, labne, spinach, poached egg and dukkah.

And as always, there’s a children’s menu and colouring-in to keep the littlies occupied.

Sam says the suburban location in the Curtin shopping square makes Two Blind Mice perfect for young families.

“We’ve always wanted to be a place where families felt at home,” he says.

“We’re located in the courtyard in the Curtin shopping square, so lots of families come with dogs and kids and they run around the square and don’t have to worry about roads and other dangers. They can dine in peace.”

The concept has breathed new life into a space at the Curtin Shops that had sat languishing after the demolition of a building about three years before.

Now, live music courtesy of a rotation of local talent creates a vibe for locals to soak up on Saturdays from 7 pm to 10 pm – another way Two Blind Mice has netted the suburban market.

And just about every other day of the week there are specials. This includes $19 pizzas on Tuesdays, $19 burgers on Wednesdays and on Thursdays, a free kids’ meal with any $50 purchase. On Sundays, anyone who buys a charcuterie board scores two free Aperol spritzes.

It’s no longer the new kid on the block, but Two Blind Mice continues to meet the needs of Curtin.

And the invitation is wide open for locals to rock up, eat, drink and relax in their own neighbourhood.

Two Blind Mice at 6/44 Curtin Place, Curtin is open Tuesday to Friday 10 am to late and Saturdays and Sundays 8 am to late.

Original Article published by Dione David on Riotact.