Over the past four decades I have eaten my way through hundreds of Perth restaurant meals. But, as they say in the great restaurant reviewing bible, if you can remember them all you probably weren’t there.
Some were so bad they have been blotted from memory. To prove it, I have files of yellowing pages of Sunday Times reviews from the last century which are now as foreign to me as a chicken gristle kebab. Anyone remember Seizan, Picasso’s on Walcott, The Dish, Duchess, Le Poisson D’Or or Just Bar? Me neither. And I was there hoovering up profiteroles, baked camembert, smoked duck cigars, focaccia, pesto, sundried tomatoes and sardine ice cream. Like Sichuan shrimp alfredo and beetroot foam they have been consigned to Perth’s restaurant dust heap, wallowing amongst nouvelle cuisine, fusion and molecular gastronomy.
So, let’s focus on the standout Perth restaurants – some still with us – deserving of a special place in hospitality history here in the west. Their names, indelibly printed in the minds of 80s punters basking in Americas Cup euphoria as they lunched long and hard.
The Mediterranean – long Friday lunches; The Ord Street Cafe – hospitality doyenne Margot Grace and alfresco dining; Luis – haughty French; Witch’s Cauldron – garlic prawns; Oriel – cool cafe cuisine; Shalimar – the tandoori chicken; The Romany – institution status; The Loose Box – need I say more than Alain Fabregues; The Emperor’s Court – Sandy Khoo and nightclubbing fodder; Friends – sing for your elegant supper at Lesley and Clyde Bevan’s enduring classic.
Image: Balthazar
There was a point when it seemed as if along came glamour and a swag of eateries, many with a view, owned and run by colourful operators. Think Jessica’s at the Hyatt, Altos, Matilda Bay, Campo di Fiori, Indiana Tea House, Maya Masala, and Funtastico. There are those that are still around in one incarnation or another, like Steve’s, C Restaurant, Zafferano, Coco’s, The Subi Hotel, and Balthazar (formerly Luis). They were places to be seen, dining on Steve Scaffidi’s mums’ pasta at Altos, Ivan Mather’s upmarket bangers and mash at The Subi, wolfing down oysters Kilpatrick at Coco’s or scampi risotto at Campo.
Come the late nineties and the noughties, and a new breed of quietly confident chef emerged, showing us that breakfast was cool, as was Mod Asian. David Coomer earned his culinary stripes at 44 King Street and Fourteen Seven before making an unforgettable splash with laksa at suburban Star Anise, then Spanish at Pata Negra. You’ll now find him in Manjimup performing his culinary third act at Hound and Hunter, skirting the line between black truffle production and all manner of deliciousness.
And who could forget Russell Blaikie at Must Winebar, Neal Jackson at eponymous Jackson’s, Todd Stuart of La Petite Mort and Hadleigh and Carolynne Troy who pushed the fine dining envelope with ten-course degustations at Restaurant Amusé featuring egg, peas and parmesan served with clouds of smoke billowing from a jar. Another husband-and-wife duo, Scott and Hazel O’Sullivan, cemented their south-of-the-river restaurant Red Cabbage as a destination with Manjimup marron and saltbush.
Image: Vasse Felix
Sadly, down south, Food Farmacy, Vat 107, Clancy’s and Knee Deep have wilted on the southern vine but Cullen Wines, Leeuwin Estate and Wills Domain still pull adoring crowds. For decades Vasse Felix was the domain of Aaron Carr (now at Yarri) but it has served as a launch pad in the post-Carr era for Brendan Pratt and now Cam Jones.
There are casualties about which the less said, the better – Ku De Ta, Park and Vine, The Butchers’ Arms and Matisse. They came, they saw, they certainly didn’t conquer. But, importantly they gave it a go.
If I’ve learnt anything over four decades, it’s that hospitality is a tough game, and Perth punters are now more discerning than ever. We should always look forward to what comes next but hopefully value what has gone before, knowing that influences live on, whether it’s Lawson Flats naming its club restaurant and bar Luis’ or a new generation of chefs influenced by the last.
