MY wife gave me a strange look as I parked outside “Play and Pleasure” on Bulwer Street in Perth. Glancing at the purple panties in the window, I quickly confirmed we were going for lunch at Panda & Co a few doors down and not buying some toys for the weekend. After weeks of biblical…

   WHEN are you too old to wear a hoodie and when is it uncouth to wear one? Those were the philosophical questions I pondered when my wife gave me the ‘look’ as we drove to the swanky Petition for lunch. Apparently a hoodie is too casual for this upmarket CBD restaurant, but I didn’t…

USING the car park opposite the WA Magistrates Court is always a roll of the dice. “Sorry I dinged your car – family of convicted murderer who feed their pitbull tabasco sauce – do you accept Visa?” Some of the characters milling about reminded me of jury duty in Glasgow, where I found a man…

COVID restrictions were in full force when the Voice visited Kinky Lizard Espresso Bar in East Perth a couple of weeks ago. Chairs were stacked on tables and there were only a handful of spaces inside the small eatery, but luckily I managed to bag a spot near the window.   Despite everything, the cafe…

I KNEW Compton Burgers  was going to be good when I heard Coolio had popped in for a cook-off before his Perth gig in 2019. For our veteran readers, Coolio is a famous rapper who scored massive hits with songs like Gangsta’s Paradise in the mid 90s (granddads, ask your kids about him once the…

   ONE of the latest Japanese restaurants to grace Perth’s CBD is a real pearler. Opened in October, Nippon Izakaya Bar and Kitchen is a large 120-seater on the corner of Hay and Milligan. It’s towering floor-to-ceiling windows make it hard to miss from the street, with animated diners and perpetually-moving staff creating an entertaining…

MY quest for the best ramen in Perth continues. This week I decided to check out NAO Japanese Ramen on Hay Street, which in restaurant terms is a wily veteran, operating in the city for the past 18 years. NAO claims to have the most authentic ramen in Perth with the core of its dish…

I decided to try Lupo Lab for lunch, but don’t worry it’s not a themed diner where you drink out of test tubes and eat from petri dishes. It’s actually a stylish Italian restaurant on Scarborough Beach Road. Situated opposite the Mezz shopping centre, the interestingly named Lupo Lab is part of a nice row of…

CLAISEBROOK COVE was in full bloom when I went there for lunch on Tuesday. Spring had arrived prematurely and the beau monde flocked to the waterside cafes like flamingos on heat. There was a European air to the Cove and it reminded me of holidays in the Mediterranean, where tourists leisurely promenade at night. Unfortunately,…