Cicerello’s has been an iconic Fremantle eatery since its founding in 1903, offering the best of the port’s amazing seafood selection. In 1996 Nick Unmack and his father Tony along with Henry Liacos bought Cicerello’s from its original owners. Together, they renovated the humble sized shack and made it two stories high whilst maintaining its original charm by sticking with the original concrete floor and laminex tables.
The team also stood true to their philosophy that food service should be timeless. They want patrons to visit Cicerello’s and experience the same fish and chips that they had in 1975, 1985 and 2005.
“Cicerello’s is very Australian; it’s the iconic fish and served on paper and enjoyed with a can of coke. We want our customers to come here and experience the same thing with their kids as they did when they were kids. It’s really simple but there is a real science behind producing a very good fish and chip,” said Nick.
“At Cicerello’s we cook over 250 tonnes of chips a year. So when I talk about food science and the science of frying I’m referencing that there is a lot more to it than most people think. I’ve got a lot of people around town, some of which are big operators; they ask me how much oil I use. When I tell them they are stunned because I’m using on average a quarter of the amount of oil they’re using for an operation that’s three times the size of theirs. To achieve this we are not compromising on the quality of product it really comes down to the type of oil you use and how you use it,” explains Nick.
The extremely busy open kitchen at Cicerello’s is lined from wall to wall with a staggering 17 Frymaster MJCF fryers.
“Frymaster commercial fryers are very durable and long lasting. They have a fantastic lifespan and as far as I’m concerned they are the Toyota Land Cruiser of fryers,” adds Nick.
As expected, Sunday is the busiest day of the week at Cicerello’s, feeding on average a staggering 3,500 people! With most patrons being served within a five hour period (2.5 hours over lunch and 2.5 hours of an evening) it’s no surprise that Cicerello’s employs a team of over 100 dedicated staff and run a 24 hour operation to ensure that the restaurant is ready to feed the hungry customers.
