In July this year, we told you how impressed we were with the food on the bar menu at Perth’s newly opened watering holes. As we approach the end of the year, we’re ready to call it: this was the year of the bar snack. We’ve showcased Mediterranean dishes, cacio e pepe chips, a menu with the best of British bar snacks (curried Scotch egg anyone?) and handmade pastas. With quaffable wines, structured cocktails and Guinness on tap, there’s never been a better time to be thirsty in Perth.
Perth’s Best Bar Openings of 2023
We toast a Mediterranean-inspired wine bar, a low-key neighbourhood spot, a rocking rooftop bar, a venue with a design that’s “a little too much”, and more.
Published on 28 November 2023
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In alphabetical order, here are the seven (plus one honourable mention) new spots we’re raising a glass to in 2023.
Bar Vino, Mount Lawley
“When’s the bar opening?” For four years, Willing Coffee owners Veronique and Tim Willing fielded this question. With the opening of Bar Vino in May, they finally had an answer when they turned their popular Central Avenue café into a wine bar. There’s also some fine-diner in this bar’s DNA; Jed Gerrard (Wildflower and Hearth) consulted on the Mediterranean menu, and bar manager Mathieu Fichot – also a Wildflower and Hearth alum – oversaw the list of 150 wines.
Beaconsfield Wine Bar, Beaconsfield
While there’s a prosaic quality to the name of Beaconsfield’s newest drinking establishment, don’t go thinking it’s ordinary. Run by Matt Sharples, a former venue manager at Madalena’s, the bar has snappily priced and highly gluggable by-the-glass options and straight-shooting cocktails. It also serves snacks like cheese, charcuterie and tinned seafood, a potato chip dish inspired by the cacio e pepe crisps at Adelaide’s Hellbound, baked goods from Teeter, and Hunter Bread.
Bertie, Bassendean
When veteran bartender James Connolly told the world he was opening a neighbourhood (wine) bar in Bassendean, drinkers expected great things. Now that Bertie is finally open, could it be possible our man has surpassed these lofty expectations? The wine selection is handy, but it’s supported by well-made cocktails and good beers. Plus there’s a sharp menu from Anthony Yuill (Shadow Wine Bar, Vue de Monde) that riffs on the comforting British dining theme: think Scotch eggs, steak and chips, and roasted capsicums in tikka masala.
Edward & Ida’s, Northbridge
Nieuw Ruin and Foxtrot Unicorn owner Dimitri Rtshiladze has strong opinions on what makes a bar great. Guinness on tap, Midori Splices on the menu and heavy pours of liqueurs are all absolute musts. His newest venue on William Street embraces all of these and echoes the retro styling Rtshiladze has become known for. (“I had it described as ‘a bit much for me’, which I took as a great compliment,” jokes Rtshiladze.) The cocktail menu is different across the upstairs bar and the downstairs speakeasy, and the menu – from promising young chef Blaze Young – boasts curry-spiked Scotch eggs, a sausage roll with a house-made brown sauce and a fish burger making waves with its use of flaky Patagonian toothfish.
Folly, CBD
A former member of the food and beverage teams at QT Perth and Crown Perth, Michael Ribaudo understands the finer points of the hotel bar experience. It makes him the perfect general manager for Folly, a rooftop spot on the 18th storey of Quest East Perth. While the views are one of Folly’s major draws, those photo ops are supplemented by classic cocktails and crowd-pleasing plates such as crumbed snapper sandwiches and Korean fried cauliflower with gochujang.
Patio Bar, Fremantle
“We want to build a community-driven, beating heart, social connection kind of place,” Kim Isaac told Broadsheet. In Patio, the Freo bar Isaac opened with fellow locals Max Kordyl and Rhela Belton, they’ve hit the nail on the head. Taking over the former home of the beloved X-Wray cafe, Patio is a study in giving punters what they want. The drinks list favours small players in the wine and beer space, while the Mediterranean-leaning menu (meatballs, focaccia, fried whiting) is designed to comfort rather than challenge. Non-alcoholic options astound and most of the menu is gluten-free: everyone’s welcome at Patio.
Vin Populi, Fremantle
If the name – or the CV – of owners Emma Ferguson and Daniel Morris (Balthazar, No Mafia) didn’t give it away, vino is the calling card of this easygoing wine bar in Freo’s west end. Each day’s offering is listed on chalkboard menus by style (“local orange”, “Marg River chardy”, “natural red”). But wine is only part of the story. Just as pivotal to Vin Populi’s appeal is its menu of Italian comfort cooking. Handmade pastas such as tagliatelle wet with shredded ossobuco anchor the carte, supplemented by porchetta, mushroom risotto and roast lamb to share.
Honourable mention
Powells Fromagerie & Wine Bar, Leederville: What’s better than a fromagerie? A licensed fromagerie. Owned by a mother-daughter duo, this intimate spot offers all the best cheese and charcuterie with a short rotating wine list that simultaneously highlights local producers like Margaret River’s Mon Tout or, if you’re really pushing the boat out, Laurent-Perrier champagne and bottles from Burgundy.
Additional reporting by Holly Bodeker-Smith, Clare Ryan & Briony Whitton.
