IN the land of the rising sun an izakaya is an informal pub where work-weary Japanese stop for a drink on their way home. Contemporary izakaya style is what you’ll find at The Bonsai Restaurant and Cafe Lounge in Northbridge, but the venue is too stylish and funky to be really labelled informal. The decor…

I’VE been intrigued by No Mafia for a few years now as it’s the sort of restaurant name that not so long ago could earn the owner a horse’s head on his doona. Upon walking through the restaurant’s narrow entrance you  enter a long, enticing alleyway that debouches into a cavernous space with an open…

LUNCH for one at Yefsi at Attika turned into a Shirley Valentine moment as Greek music played in the background and the decor evoked the sparkling blue water and white sands of an idyllic Greek island. Then my food arrived and my love affair with Greece was sealed. Yefsi means flavour, “and food, life and…

I LOVE a good story behind the name of a restaurant and Phi Yen didn’t disappoint. It means Flying Swallow and was the nickname given to owner Yen Dang when she was a little girl in Vietnam. She and husband Tuan operate the Northbridge eatery on the corner of Brisbane and Lake Streets, situated on…

I HAD booked interviews for last Tuesday before it dawned on me I’d miss the Voice Melbourne Cup party, but given the state of some colleagues the next day it worked out well and I enjoyed a peaceful lunch at Sayers Sister instead I’ve been to Sayers in Northbridge quite a few times and the…

KANGAROO bolognese and pigs cheek carbonara are just some of the innovative dishes on offer at Francoforte Spaghetti Bar in Northbridge. Mates who have eaten there say the roo dish ($24/$18) is “rich, delicious and not gamey”. Tucked away in one of Northbridge’s atmospheric lanes, the eatery is so popular it can be hard to…

THERE’S almost as much drama at Aisuru Sushi than at the State Theatre around the corner. Watching the adroit chefs prepare dishes in the open kitchen is sheer box office, and we became totally engrossed as flames leapt out the frying pan and beautiful sushi was rolled by the dozen. Aisuru means to love in…

MY Voice colleague David Bell has been raving about Uncle Billy’s in China Town for years, so I finally acquiesced and went there for a pre-theatre dinner. Like many of the neighbouring restaurants, Uncle Billy’s is not salubrious, the decor is haphazard and the service efficient but perfunctory. When I mentioned to the waitress we…

A HORDE of drummers in garish outfits were looking for somewhere to satisfy their taste buds after a gig at the WA Deaf Society. No it’s not a scene from a new Zucker brothers’ comedy, but another episode from my wacky life, and we ended up at Hawker’s Cuisine in Northbridge. The food is great, the…