Lachie Sheridan knows his way around a kitchen. A former chef turned content creator, he built Perth Dude Food as a playful dig at uninspired food blogging, but his deep knowledge and sharp instincts for great eating make his recommendations anything but a joke.
Whether he’s chasing the perfect burger, tracking down proper birria tacos, or indulging in an obscenely rich sticky date pudding, Lachie has a knack for finding the good stuff. From Nashville-style fried chicken to classic French charcuterie, here’s where he eats and drinks in Perth – no fluff, no filler, just the best.
Burgers, Fried Chicken and Pizza (AKA Food for Dudes and Dudettes)
One of my faves is Local Bird in Tuart Hill. It’s always been good from day dot. I’m a massive fan of Nashville hot chicken. Not your crazy, inedible hot chicken, but a nice heat. I’ve gone through everything on the menu, but my go-to is usually the Spicy Smash—a double smashed-pattie-burger—and hot chicken tenders, or the Spicy Bird burger. If you get the Spicy Bird, you’re done. It’s really delicious, but it’s huge. The chicken tenders are sort of a mash up between Nashville and Korean chicken. It’s Nashville-style fried chicken with Korean flavours and sauces.
I’m a fan of the specials at RoyAl’s, like the Philly cheesesteak or the po’ boy. I try to get most of their specials, just because of how unique they are. And I always like their fried chicken. I enjoy a smash burger when it’s done well. I love Two Stacks. Their smash burgers have a really wide patty; it’s smashed as thin as possible until it’s crunchy and pretty much looks like lace. My favorite cheeseburger in town is the one at Upperhand Burgers. And they’re only six bucks on Wednesday. It’s such a bargain. They’re like little pillows.
Upperhand Burgers
I love a classic cheeseburger, but every now and then you want a tower and sure, you may kind of regret it as soon as it hits your table, but hey. If I’m craving a tower, I’m easily going to BurgerFreak. I can’t remember what it was called, but I had a burger with a beef patty, fried chicken, haloumi and bacon. It’s got like a big knife in the top of it, which it needs, but it was impressively easy to eat. All of their burgers are. They did a birria taco burger special not too long ago. I’d love to see that one back on the menu.
Compton Burgers is family-run and has relaxed lunch bar vibes. It’s only open on weekdays, but that works just fine for me. It has my pick for the best cheeseburger deluxe in town, and I love that they’re happy to make whatever you want to eat, regardless of how off-menu it might be. It’s the kind of burger joint that makes everyone happy.
Maestro Sourdough Pizza in North Beach is my daughter’s favourite margherita in Perth, and she’s tried more pizza in Perth than most. They do traditional, long-fermented doughs. They also do this fried-dough dessert with ice cream that’s far too good.
American Diner Fare
I always go to Mama Mahoney’s American Diner at Malaga Markets. The lady who runs it, who’s American, does awesome Reuben sandwiches and traditional patty melts. The chicken fried steak with chicken gravy is pretty good, too. She also does great American diner-style cupcakes and key lime pies, things like that. It’s really cool.
Perth’s Best Mexican
If you want real, traditional birria tacos, there’s a food truck called La Taqueria that pulls up at Subi markets and Scarborough markets. Their birria tacos are so fucking good. I really like La Cabana in Freo. It’s just really delicious, fresh Mexican food and Latin vibes. There’s also a Mexican spot down the road from there called Frida Mexicana. I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s ace. They do great platters with things like tacos, corn, empanadas and Mexican rice.
La Cabana
My Go-to for Banh Mi
I love Let’s Eat Lunch Bar and Cafe in West Perth. It hands-down has the largest and tastiest traditional banh mi and banh mi specials in Perth, and the owners, a husband-and-wife team, are probably the nicest people you’ll ever meet. It’s where we hang out before heading to Phat Brewing for a few beers.
My Old Faithful
I’ve been going to The Old Laundry in North Perth for years. I just love it. The chef does some great stuff there. They’ve got the best tiramisu in Perth. It has a rotating menu, but there are a few staples that I like, like Korean chicken and pretty much any of the pastas. Monday is burger day. It’s like a thick, traditional burger that tastes like real meat. The cocktails are always good, too. It’s a great spot to relax.
The Old Laundry
Pubs, Taverns and Everything In Between
I love going to Brown Street Grill at Bright Tank Brewing Co. Fallow has also become a favourite. Of course, the roast is great and they always have good oysters. The dry-aged steak is fire, too. I love the big floor-to-ceiling dry-aged cabinet that they have in there. Oh and the sticky date pudding is crazy. It comes out in a big skillet, and it’s sitting in its own delicious syrupy goop. It’s huge. It destroyed me. Probably best shared, that one.
There’s a great pub in Malaga, close to where I live called Limestone Brewing. It’s a little brewery, and it makes really good beer. They do really good red ales. There’s a double red ale which would be pushing 8% and it’s one of the best beers I’ve had this year. For seating, they’ve got these old reclining cinema couches. It’s pretty cool.
I’ve been to Found. Subiaco a bunch of times. They did a really good job with the renovation. The space used to get really hot, like fierce, but it’s a lot better now. Anyway, they’ve got this great pilsner. The food is awesome and goes well with the beer. I had an octopus dish with kimchi mayo, which was insane. The octopus was so soft. The scallops with gochujang butter are also amazing. And there’s this hot dog-slash-eclair with choux pastry and oxtail that’s nuts.
FOUND.Subiaco
When I’ve got a bunch of editing to do, I go sit at Molly’s Irish Pub in Highgate. I just love it. It’s so chilled. The food is what you would consider pub food. They do awesome roasts, and really cool Irish spice bags. The staff—who are all Irish—actually give a shit when they pour a pint.
You’ll find me at Phat Brew Club every odd Thursday. It’s a great example of a big venue with micro brewery vibes, which has become a bit of a trend in Perth. If anyone ever asks me where they should go for a cheeky beverage before an arena event, this is where I send them. It’s one of the few breweries that make experimental beers that actually work.
Feeling French-ish
I love all of the cured meats at Margot’s. They do an incredible housemade pastrami roll with hot mustard and sauerkraut. There’s fresh shucked oysters with housemade sauces, and on Sundays you can get seafood towers and add on things like Alaskan king crab legs and sturgeon caviar. It’s really nice inside, too.
Margot’s
The head chef at Nieuw Ruin, Stephen, makes the most insane terrines and paté en croutes. I want to get Stephen on my podcast, and we’ll just have this hour-long geek fest about temperatures, terrine molds and the right spoons and chimneys and stuff like that. I love that kind of cooking.
A Swan Valley Gem
Riverbank Estate in the Swan Valley is a great spot to go for a date. It has tanks of marron and mud crabs, and big dry-age cabinets out the front. And they use sustainable Dirty Clean Food. You can sit inside where it feels sort of fine-ish dining, or outside under the vines that wrap all around you. It’s a pretty special view, looking out at the endless vineyard that they have.
Perth’s Best Cinnamon Rolls
I’m not a huge sweets guy, but I go to Sugar and Nice for their little cinnamon rolls. They’re my favorite cinnamon rolls in Perth. A big fucking call. They have that sort of sticky, gooey bottom and are heavily frosted. The cookies are pretty good, too.
Parks and Recreation(al) Barbecues
One of the best things to do in Perth is to get out to a park and have a barbecue. Give the garbage snags with synthetic skins a miss and drop into your local butcher (mine is Torre and Mordini). You can cook anything you want on these things. You could legitimately cook a tomahawk if you wanted to. Go for your life.
The best park in Perth for a barbecue is Hyde Park, hands down. There are brand new barbecues there, too. Our It’s Free Gas episode there was probably the best one we’ve done; not just because of the barbecues, it’s just a beautiful environment. There’s plenty of shade, too.
The other park I really like is Subiaco oval, which is a bit of a dark horse. They’ve got three lots of barbecues there, and they’re all under cover. It’s really cool, and there’s heaps of parking out the back.
Looking for more insider recommendations? Check out WA My Way with Blaze Young, our 2025 Chef of the Year.
