perth and the margaret river
western australia
Perth is really pumping. Arriving on a Friday afternoon at around 3.30 pm every establishment was packed. The taxi driver laughed when asked was it still lunch of afternoon drinks admitting it was pretty hard to tell because everyone goes out on Friday.
So much money and so many restaurants, being full is not always a recommendation of excellence. In fact we found it means very little and with the boom in Perth it is more important to have insider information than most cities. Popularity means very little.
Fremantle comes billed as the height of sophistication but in truth
it differs little from most other beach tourist resorts anywhere in
the world. The air is full of the smell of old fryer oil and packed
restaurants are not the least inviting. There are however, a number
of really lovely shops, especially womens apparel in the street immediately
across from the railway station. A 20–minute train drive from the centre of Perth it must be said that Perth public transport is easily accessible, inexpensive, frequent, safe and clean. A combination of walking and train is far less stressful than negotiating the traffic and many one–way streets. Walking from the city right up to Beaufort Street is a bit of a hike, but there are great little designer and antique shops and you can always make a half–way
stop at the Brisbane Hotel.
Perth is rich with ethnic food, but it is (not surprisingly) given
the long Chinese history in Western Australia with the pearl industry,
that the large Chinese population ensures some really great Chinese
restaurants. Not going to Star
Anise is to miss a special Australian dining experience.
David Coomer is a brilliant young chef with a deep and abiding passion
for produce and cooking and the technical side of his craft. For anyone who has lamented the loss of Perth’s Eminem Ismail Tosun
has resurfaced in Melbourne at Gigibaba and whilst we have not been yet the word is, less cvoluptuous environment same divine food. We will be adding more in–depth reviews over the coming months and will alert our readers to them via our newsletter. To read other reviews search the net.
Really good coffee is pretty hard to find in Perth and it must be said that during this trip the very best coffee was at the Quay Resort, but bit of a long way to go though!
Brisbane Hotel
292 Beaufort Street Perth Western Australia 6000
t+61 8 9227 2300
w www.thebrisbanehotel.com.au
Modern but comfortable everyone is greeted with genuine friendliness
and the food was better than expected contemporary Australian and quite
modestly priced for Perth. Good well–priced wine list with many
wines by the glass
Etro Café Bistro
49 King Street
Perth Western Australia 6000
t+61 8 9481 1148
This is a good spot for a coffee and breakfast or lunch. Food is simple
and fresh and delicious, can’ ask for much more than that
Halo
Barrack Street Jetty
Barrack Square (Near Riverside Drive)
Perth Western Australia 6000
t +61 8) 9325 4575
w www.halocafe.com.au
Right on the water and just a few minutes walk from the city centre Halo delivers a quality dining experience with the emphasis on good fresh food cooked with respect
King Street
44 King Street Perth Western Australia 6000
t+61 8 9321 4476
Breakfast lunch and dinner this is a cool place with an old–world feel. Located right in the centre of Perth there is some fun (and expensive) shopping close at hand as the street rapidly becomes Perth’s
ritziest. A breakfast and a light lunch were both good and coffee was
better than average for Perth
Loose Box
6825 Great Eastern Highway Mundaring Western Australia 6073
t+61 8 9295 178
w www.loosebox.com.au
About 45 minutes from the city we have never eaten at the Loose Box, but one of our chefs worked there for two years and never stopped banging on about the food or chef Alain Fabregues. They have accommodation attached to the restaurant and given the excellence of their wine list staying the night might be good advice
Northbridge Chinese Restaurant
26 Roe Street Northbridge Western Australia 6003
t +61 8 9328 9288
Seven day Yum Cha, this is located in a fairly scruffy spot, but lured in by smells that were reminiscent of Shanghai it was really authentic and very cheap.
closed for three months — reopening April 13, 2010
Star Anise Restaurant — highly recommended read their full review
225 Onslow Road Shenton Park Western Australia 6008
t+61 8 9381 9811
wwww.staraniserestaurant.com.au
Drinks
Open 7 days from 12 noon till midnight
Must Wine Bar
519 Beaufort Street Highgate Western Australia 6003
t +61 8 9328 8255
w www.must.com.au
This bar is very popular but if you are used to the great bars of Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Veniceand America it will seem a little mid-range.
margaret
river
The main purpose of our first trip to Western Australia was to explore
the Margaret River wine region and visit Australia’s first huge commercial
truffle farm the Wine and Truffle Company in Manjimup. We are just
coming into the Australian truffle season and if you’re in the area it
is a great thing to do, maybe even find your own truffle, for which of
course you have to pay if you want to keep it.
The importance of the tall timber is evident everywhere and timber features dominate interior design throughout the region and to see some exquisite examples of furniture made with the local timber go to Jah Roc Galleries in the main street of Margaret River right next door to Winos.
The Margaret River wine region brazenly and unashamedly drips with new wealth. Newer cellar doors are more like palaces and strut almost every conceivable style of architecture. Older wineries like Vasse Felix and Howard Park are stunningly gorgeous with manicured entrances to optimise the beauty of their vineyards. The wine business in Western Australia is clearly thriving and the numbers of tourists in the region on a daily basis are testament to the interest in the quality wines of the region.
How beautiful this land must have been when the white man first laid eyes upon it is clearly evident with the skyscraper bush still existing in all too rare instances. The unapologetic and apparently unrestricted urban sprawl from Perth along the coast south is rapidly destroying this rare beauty. As so often happens with development it is destroying the very beauty that attracted the development in the first place. Driving in the most obscure parts of Margaret River, curling smoke and heavy machinery are the tell tale signs of yet another new development and for sale signs scar the landscape at every turn.
None of this criticism is to in any way detract from the region it is very beautiful. Small wonder people visit once and return to stay forever.
The region boasts every type of accommodation from simple but well-appointed
camping, a broad range of B & B and hosted accommodation through to the optimum
luxury of www.capelodge.com.au and the Sebel environmentally friendly Bunker Bay Resort. Both of the latter offer absolute world-class luxury, comfort and privacy. Cape Lodge situated off of Cave Road, which is the main run for winery touring is very well situated, but the rolling ocean and heated infinity pool at Bunker Bay is hard to go past and they offer an incredible 50% reduction in their low season from May till August. Additionally the coffee at Quay Resort was excellent and the single meal better than many other meals eaten in the region. Both are class acts!
Vasse Felix
t +61 8 9756 5000
w www.vassefelix.com.au
Of all of the places you can eat along the vineyard strip of Cave Road, for just a few dollars more you can eat well here. Good idea to ring and make a reservation especially at weekends
Wino’s has been sold and Dennis Misfud is no longer involved in the operation. Their wine list continues to be exceptional with an incredibly good back vintage list so we still recommend drinks but until we get some reports dining is at your own risk!
Wino’s
85 Bussell Highway Margaret River Western Australia 6285
t +61 8 9758 7155
A pretty remarkable vintage list that gives a fabulous
opportunity to see wines in their full bloom
window updated January, 2010 by
Ann Oliver
