It’s a great time to be living in the Inner West, with new cafes and restaurants opening up everywhere. Most recently, our favourites have been West 48 just around the corner, and of course the wonderful Besito. Now, a new taqueria (albeit a chain) has opened in Knifepoint promising authentic, healthy Mexican tacos and other delights.
restaurant reviews
chicco
A very lazy start to ANZAC Day meant we were too late to order at our original (usual) brunch venue. Around the corner, we saw that Touk’s has made way for Chicco, so it was a good time to give it a try.
The place has certainly been given a facelift since Touk days, with clever glass bowls suspended from hanging-basket holders in place of lampshades, and chairs and cushions covered with the rough hessian of a coffee bean sack. We sat at the window and surmised that at least some of the staff had survived the name change: there were certainly one or two familiar faces still.
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middle fish
A challenge accepted and executed meant a free lunch, and so it was that I found myself strolling into Middle Fish last Friday lunchtime with The Pringler (yes, she is a bad guy from a Batman movie).
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clarence’s
Last night in Perth, and colleagues take me out of town (a little) to Mount Lawley. Three or so kilometres north-west of the CBD, it’s a little too far to walk but definitely worth exploring given the lack of decent food in town.
Actually, when I think on it, this is about as far out of town as the Brunswick Street haunts are in Melbourne, so maybe I have to be a little more charitable towards poor Perth.
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valentino
Cnr James and Lake Streets, Northbridge, Perth
www.valentino.com.au
Another night in Perth, another half hour trawling the internet looking for decent pizza in the CBD. Perth is not a great place for food – not in the CBD without a car. If you can get out to Fremantle or even Leederville it’s not so bad, but central Perth is not spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out.
Northbridge is a good option for cheap and cheerful, and I picked Valentino’s at random because of their “woodfired pizza” sign outside. It was a lovely late-summer evening and the restaurant had all the bay windows open. Plenty of diners were eating outside but I opted for a quiet table inside.
Not sure what this place is like at the weekends – the website indicates it might be a bit of a party place – but on a Tuesday evening it was pretty tame. My vegetarian pizza was nice and thin with just the right amount of topping – not as well-cooked as I had asked for though. Service was pleasant but a little absent-minded: I think the manager was breaking a number of new staff in.
Total for a large pizza and two glasses of Barossa red was just under $38. Not bad value for Perth. Nothing life-changing but decent enough.
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globe food | wine | coffee
14 Mill St, Perth
www.globerestaurant.com.au
I had a hankering for Thai food but here in Perth the better Thai places are a long walk or a taxi ride away. And so I found myself in Globe with an interesting menu in front of me: part modern Australian, part Asian fusion, part Italian.
Many of the dishes had an Asian element to them: coriander in what would otherwise be known as gazpacho; prawns encrusted with a coconut crumble. Others were more straightforward like an Angus sirloin or Wagyu beefburger, pan-fried gnocchi, lamb cutlets.
I chose the seared scallops to start, four of them served with a single buttered baby scampi, stringy cucumber salad, crispy shallots, salmon roe and a Thai dressing with a decent kick. My main was one of those Asia-infused dishes: prawn and scallop risotto served with leek oil, a side of Asian greens and some crispy fried curry leaves on top. The curry leaves really gave it a unique flavour. My dish came out piping hot, just the way I like it.
Service was understated, efficient and friendly, and my request for a quiet cosy table was not too much trouble.
Total for the evening, including a couple of glasses of a beautiful McLaren Vale/Clare Valley shiraz, was a hair under $90. Not cheap by any means, but that’s what you get dining in a mining town.
Definitely worth a repeat visit.
fill up on bread 