Cottesloe has seen its fair share of openings over the past few years, but the latest newcomer, Tigerfish, arrives humming with a new kind of energy – built on rhythm, heat and a quiet sense of harmony. Located inside the Cottesloe Beach Hotel, it brings together a bar-first drinks program, a Southeast Asian kitchen fuelled by fire, and a relaxed coastal flow that sets the tone from the minute you walk in.
We sat down with Tigerfish Venue Manager Mark Rutter to explore the experience they’re building, the intention behind the design, and how Tigerfish hopes to anchor itself as Cottesloe’s new all-day meeting place.
Tigerfish speaks about harmony as its starting point, a balance that flows from the glass to the kitchen and into the conversation at the table. How do the food and drinks teams work together to create that sense of alignment across the entire dining experience? Why is the cocktail program different?
Tigerfish is a bar-first venue, the cocktail program needed to do more than refresh – it needed to lead. The drinks are clean, bright, aromatic and intentionally aligned with Southeast Asian flavours. They lift spice, cut richness, highlight acidity, and help the food dance the way it’s meant to.
Harmony is the backbone of Tigerfish – a shared rhythm between the glass, the plate, and the guest’s experience. From the beginning, the kitchen and bar developed the menu shoulder-to-shoulder, tasting each other’s ideas and building flavour in conversation rather than in isolation.
The cocktail list is different because it isn’t built on theatrics – it’s built on balance. Yuzu, shiso, lemongrass, oolong, Davidson plum, ginger and citrus all echo ingredients and techniques used in the kitchen. Every drink belongs on the table, not just the bar.
The food offering is playful but disciplined. From crispy rice cakes with red curry and kaffir lime to banana leaf roasted fish with green curry. How would you describe the flavour philosophy of the kitchen, and how does it shape the way guests move through the menu?
The Tigerfish kitchen is Southeast Asian at heart – bold, aromatic, spicy, sour, fresh and deeply textural. The flavours are recognisable, authentic and intentionally not Westernised. Sambals, pastes, chilli oils, marinades and curry bases are handmade, powerful, and meant to transport guests to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia or Korea with every bite.
The playfulness is mainly due to Stevens’ relentless passion to create something unique, to offer a dish, a flavour or an experience which is original and uniquely Tigerfish.
It comes through in the presentation and the share-style structure, but the discipline is in the technique – the layering of aromatics, the timing over the robata, the restraint in seasoning, the clarity of flavour.
This philosophy naturally guides how guests move through the menu: Start bright and crunchy, then uild into heat, smoke, char and umami, and end with deeper curries, banana leaf aromatics, or our signature show stoppers like our West Coast snow crab with Steven’s red curry or Goldband snapper from Geraldton dressed with kalas and herbs.
The menu is written like a journey, not a list.
Many dishes draw on Southeast Asian technique and pantry notes; somtam dressing, sambal butter, betel leaf, nuoc cham – and yet some feel unmistakably modern Australian. How intentional is that interplay of influences, and what does it express about Tigerfish’s identity?
Completely intentional – it is Tigerfish’s identity.
Tigerfish is modern Australian dining seen through a Southeast Asian lens. We honour the traditional techniques, but the produce, the coastline and the relaxed WA lifestyle shape the way they’re expressed.
WA ingredients like West Coast snow crab and Geraldton Goldband snapper sit effortlessly beside locally grown betel leaves & Thai herbs, Vietnamese dressings, Geraldton wax-infused black vinegar and Japanese citrus.
This interplay captures exactly who we are: A coastal Australian venue with Asian soul – bold, bright, local and alive.
Your cocktails speak the same language as the kitchen – yuzu, shiso, lemongrass, Davidson plum, oolong tea. Do you see the bar as an extension of the kitchen?
Absolutely. The bar is our cold kitchen.
The teams develop flavours together – swapping ingredients, tasting new ideas, and ensuring both sides speak the same flavour dialect. If the kitchen is developing a new sambal or curry paste, the bar tastes it; if the bar is building a new house infusion or tea blend, the kitchen plays with its application.
This is why nothing on the drinks list feels jarring or out of sync. Both teams are building one experience, not two separate menus.
Share-style plates like the wonton bombs, laksa prawn shumai and San Choy Bao set a lively, interactive tone at the table. How does your service philosophy support that?
Tigerfish service is built around movement, energy and interaction. Share plates spark conversation, so the service needs to be fluid, intuitive and social.
We are a bar at heart, so our service leans into that energy – relaxed, social, and built for a good time. Share plates kick off conversation, so the way we move around the room has to feel the same: fluid, intuitive, a little playful.
It’s all about grabbing a few snacks while the sun goes down, sharing a couple of cocktails, cracking open a bottle of sake, or diving into a kick-ass riesling with your crew. The food is made for the middle of the table, not the centre of attention.
Our goal is simple: Keep the vibe alive. Keep the energy flowing. Make sure guests stay engaged with each other – not fussing over their plates.
It should feel like family dining… just with better drinks.
Cottesloe is a beach suburb at heart, where sandy feet are almost inevitable. How welcome are those sandy feet at Tigerfish?
They’re completely welcome – they’re part of the fabric of Cottesloe, and part of the Tigerfish story.
We’re coastal luxe, not coastal strict. We want the venue to feel just as natural for someone strolling in after a swim as it does for someone dressed up for date night.
Saltwater, sun, linen shirts, sandy feet – all of it belongs here.
Your sake list stands out for its depth, range and sense of purpose. How did you go about pulling this program together? What was the process around the tasting, the research, and the selection that led to building a list of this calibre?
The sake list was built with intention, education and balance in mind. We wanted a list that wasn’t intimidating but still showcased the incredible breadth of the category – sparkling, junmai, ginjo, daiginjo, nigori and more.
We spent months tasting with key importers and producers, studying regions, rice polishing ratios, and production techniques. The goal was to curate a list that paired naturally with our food’s spice, acidity and texture while also allowing guests to explore something new with confidence.
Every sake on the list has a reason to be there – a story, a purpose, a moment where it truly shines on the table.
With dishes ranging from wagyu rendang to prawn toast spring rolls and pork belly skewers, Tigerfish seems equally suited to a slow, intimate dinner or a lively group feast. What kind of moments do you hope people come here to create?
Tigerfish is built for every kind of moment – the big, the small, the spontaneous and the slightly unhinged.
Maybe it’s cracking a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal and going to town on a 2.2kg West Coast snow crab with Steven’s red curry sauce. Maybe it’s popping in for a couple of beers and a couple of fish finger bao while the sun drops into the ocean. Maybe it’s date night. Maybe it’s a birthday. Maybe it’s Tuesday.
It’s a democratic dining space – come as you are, eat how you like, stay as long as the vibe’s good.
We want Tigerfish to hold the full spectrum: Whatever the moment, Tigerfish should feel like the place you want to be – relaxed, delicious, a little wild, and always fun.
What have been some of the highlights of bringing the Tigerfish team together? What have you loved, what has surprised you, and what moments made you realise, “yes, this is something special”?
The highlight has been watching individuals transform into a unified, passionate, high-energy team.
Chefs working with bartenders on flavour trials. Floor staff learning sake with genuine excitement. Soft-opening services where everything clicked – the rhythm, the timing, the buzz.
What surprised us most is how quickly everyone embraced the Tigerfish spirit – curious, proud, collaborative, hungry to elevate the venue and each other.
The moment we knew it was special? When the venue filled with noise, laughter, heat from the robata, cocktails shaking, and guests leaning in over share plates – and the team moved as one. That harmony we talk about? We watched it happen in real time.