This was a art of an abortive attempt to get the hell out of my job and move into something way cooler. Well, The Urban List didn't want me, but that's no reason why you can't be introduced to 5 places that are pretty awesome (for me, my bladder and my dirty mind anyway).
The Toilets at ‘The Trustee’
Brookfield Place, Perth City
The back of house is often an area that gets overlooked when designing a restaurant. As a woman with a tiny bladder and a love of design, I really appreciate a good toilet block. To me, if a restaurant takes the time to extend their design flair to a women’s toilet, they really have the happiness of their customers at heart.
The toilets at The Trustee are like stepping back in time to a mix of a Jules Verne novel and your grandma’s house. They’ve coined their own design theme here, ‘Submarine Chic’. There might not be much room in the loos, and you have to keep your elbows close to your sides when you’re washing your hands, but the exposed pipes and floral framed prints make it well worth the trip.
The Theatre at Kitsch
Leederville
If you go to Kitsch, you have to get the table in front of the bar. There’s nothing better than watching a mixologist at work, especially if they’re sampling as they mix. It’s like dinner theatre without the cheese.
The Side Salads at Low Key Chow House
Leederville
Yes, Manu said this was his fave restaurant in Perth, but I knew it was cool before you did.
Just like my attitude towards toilets, I think that a restaurants side salad indicates their customer focus. There’s nothing worse than getting a great looking main meal with a desultory salad of wilted packet mix and some generic balsamic ejaculated over it.
Low Key have it made on the salad front. They have some truly amazing kim chee with just the right mix of sour and sweet. And their som tam (green papaya, chilli, green beans, dried shrimp, tomato, mint, thai basil) is something from another world. Although I’ll admit that I had to ask what the papaya was, like a proper Aussie.
The Creativity at Studio Bomba
Leederville
Something about the words ‘shared creative space’ gets me all tingly inside. Couple that with a shop and a schedule of classes and I’m banging down the door.
Studio Bomba is a perfect example of a fluid business that moves with the times to meet the needs of the city. From design firm, to a stationery line, to shared space and now a studio and shop, Studio Bomba is here to stay.
The Décor at Halcyon
Wolf Lane, Perth City
Halcyon’s décor is a testament to glory days gone by in WA. I was remembering things I had forgotten existed when I walked in their doors, and I was reminiscing tipsily about my childhood after a couple of glasses of their shiraz.
Who remembers Telecom? Or the black and yellow swan that was painted on bins? These design elements are blended in with a pumping bar and some truly amazing pinxtos: tiny, delicious foods on sticks.
Don’t forget to take a trip to the toilets for their extremely unique wallpaper, either. Naked celebrities. How deliciously decadent.
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