Perth Voice Interactive

HEADING for a pre-theatre Chinese meal, I thought “hello, hello, a new eatery” as Pleased to Meet You greeted me.

This is Clint Nolan’s (La Cholita and Who’s Your Mumma?) latest venture, a self-styled “mess hall” offering small plates of things to share and an awesome selection of things to drink.

The food provides a blend of Central and South American cuisine, served in a cavernously-casual joint that is so cool it borders on cold, but is saved by the very warm welcome of its staff.

Meat-lovers will go ga-ga for the open fire-pit and slow-turning suckling pig (a hundred grams of coal-roasted Babe will set you back $14).

My dinner companion and I shuddered at the thought of beef tongue ($6), but apparently it’s quite popular.

Service is fast, and at lightning speed a coconut ceviche was delivered to our end of the long, timber bench we were seated at.

We puzzled over what I can only describe as cold salmon soup ($12.50), and how to share it. In the end we grabbed a spoon and dug in from either side.

“Weird,” we said when the cheery waiter asked what we thought, adding hurriedly, “in a good way”. The soupy mix gave a slight champagne bubble on the tongue, which could have been because the small slices of salmon had been “cooked” in lemon and lime juice, and sweetened with mango, paw-paw, cucumber, chili and coconut.

Next to land was the S&P banhmi ($8.50), which stands for squid and pork, but the chef was happy to leave the pork out.

An Americanised version of the Vietnamese banhmi, this was probably my favourite dish, great flavour in a soft bun.

A serve of Navajo fried bread and salsa ($14) on a chunky pottery plate (think Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars) was pleasantly oily, with a liberal dousing of paprika and the salsa had a rich, smokey flavour.

Sadly the cup of fries ($6.50) failed to hit the spot even with a chip-o-holic like me, being rather dry and tasteless.

Feeling our age, we had a good laugh at the flat-style “retro” champagne glasses making a come back from the ‘70s.

And on that note we said farewell to Please to Meet You, to wander the short distance to the State Theatre.

by JENNY D’ANGER

Pleased to Meet You
38 Roe Street, Northbridge
open Mon–Thurs 5pm–late, Fri–Sunday noon–late