ITALIAN techno from the 1990s was playing when I visited La Mortazza. I wasn’t at a rave for middle-aged Italian expats, but a funky cafe/deli in North Perth. According to the friendly lady behind the till they were listening to live radio from their homeland, where people were still out partying in the wee hours.…

IT was the Tuesday night after the long weekend, with fork lightning and thunder ripping open the sky. It was surely a write-off for most restaurants in Perth, but not for Acqua e Sale on Fitzgerald Street, which was almost full to the brim with loyal punters. The little Italian was perfect for a stormy…

IF Angove Street is anything to go by, Perth foodies are keen to get back out there for meals. On a cold Tuesday night, the cafes and restaurants opposite the Rosemount Hotel were crammed with people reading menus and sipping oversized glasses of wine. We decided to try our luck at Tommasinos, a relatively new…

JUST as I discovered one of the best Italian restaurants in Perth, a nasty little virus came along and ruined everything. But don’t worry, Luckily Trattoria Ilaria is cranking up its takeaway service with a discounted menu. The D’Angers enjoyed a memorable meal there a couple of weeks ago. We were heading to a film…

I have fond memories of the Rosemount Hotel. In the early 2000s I caught one of Sunk Loto’s final shows there, before the band became a casualty of the ephemeral nu metal scene and disappeared into obscurity. At that show, Sunk Loto were supported by local act Karnivool, who would go on to become one…

I’VE never been a fan of pickled vegetables. So if I had known about the pickled zuni in the mushroom tart ($18) at Blake Street Merchant I probably wouldn’t have ordered it. Thankfully I didn’t and experienced a vinegar epiphany. The pickled zuni (paper-thin slices of zucchini) was made in-house and had none of the…

THE hip young architect whose home I was reviewing was quick to recommend Satchmo Cafe in North Perth for lunch. It dawned on me that I had enjoyed a great meal there, shortly after it opened, about three years ago. Satchmo is run by mother and son team Benedikte and Nathan Karnovsky, “With a seasonal…

BALI resort and garage grunge combine in delicious harmony at Chinta Cafe in North Perth. The old inspection pit is surrounded by a communal bench seating, and there’s plenty of raw brick work, corrugated iron, and steel girders to enhance the urban funk atmosphere. Next door is furnished like a resort, with colourful umbrellas, a…

KEFALOGRAVIERA. It sounds like a cheese version of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, or some new fusion dish you tried to impress your foodie mates. But a quick Google revealed it’s a hard Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk. Blake Street Merchant chef Navarre Top serves it the traditional Greek way, rolling the dense slices in seasoned flour and…

I SWEAR the waitress at Fiorentina is psychic; she’s got a touch of the gypsy look about her and knew what I wanted before I did. With just a narrow window between appointments I needed prompt service if I was to fit in a reviewable meal, and I’d barely scrunched my butt into one of the…