The Thousands

There’s that bit in The Matrix when Neo has a déjà vu freak-out after seeing the same black cat twice. Then Trinity freaks out because déjà vu means a glitch in the Matrix. Every time I go to Zekka – the café-come-beautifully-curated-boutique from the team that brought us TestTube – I have a mini Neo freak-out. I wonder if the only way to account for this incredible place is to attribute it to some kind of glitch in Perth’s Matrix.

Trinity, can you explain? Sturdy bleached pine tables, concrete floors, walls of stoney grey, forward-thinking menswear (Rick Owens, Undercover, Raf Simons, Junya Watanabe Man and Comme Des Garcons Homme Plus), local grinder’s Crema coffee, reading material that doesn’t pander to ‘WA lifestyle’ (032C, DAMn , Monocle). Add to that incredible shop fittings, fast wireless, unpretentious staff with decent music taste and a recycled brick courtyard that opens up to the clear blue sky.

Zekka: it sure as hell ain’t déjà vu that we find ourselves in there again, and again.