The Best Perth Restaurants To Try In 2026
Whether you're a Perth/Boorloo local, new to town or just visiting (hi), it's only natural to seek out the absolute best dining experiences in Perth. Thankfully, that's kinda our specialty.
With strong ties to the water, Perth is best known for its impeccable local seafood, from Western Rock Lobster, Fremantle Octopus and Akoya Oysters to freshwater delights like Marron and Scampi. We're also pretty blessed to have one of Australia's highest-producing truffle regions a few hours away and one of the country's finest wine regions on our doorstep too, which only adds to the premium culinary offering on offer across Perth menus.
At Urban List, we're constantly asked where the best spots to eat in Perth are, so it's a topic we've put a lot of thought into. Amazing food and a great vibe are key, but how it comes, we're not too fussed about. A cheap and cheerful dumpling house, a wine bar by the beach with fancy snacks, a sustainable fine diner repping the finest Western Australian produce—if we're obsessing over a spot (new or old), you'll find it listed here amongst Perth's best restaurants.
How we choose: Culinary excellence, consistent service, cultural relevance, sustainability where possible, and real-world buzz from our team and community.
The Best Perth Restaurants At A Glance
Vin Populi
11 High St, Fremantle WA 6160
Image credit: Vin Populi | Duncan Wright
Some restaurants hand you a menu. At Vin Populi, you have to get up and find it, handwritten on a chalkboard hanging above the bar and outlining the day’s wines, antipasto and handmade pastas. It's a small ritual borrowed straight from Italy, encouraging diners to leave their tables, squeeze in beside strangers and decide what looks good today, that instantly makes the bustling Italian enoteca feel like the real thing. The seasonal menu changes often, making room for beautiful local produce, fresh pasta and thoughtfully sourced meats, while the 160-bottle Italian and Australian wine list ensures there's always something worth lingering over. Rustic brick walls, shelves lined with bottles and a lively dining room complete the illusion that you've stumbled into a neighbourhood wine bar somewhere in Bologna rather than Fremantle.
Insider Tip
- Nestled among Fremantle's heritage west end, Vin Populi offers almost unrivalled people watching. Nab an elusive alfresco table during golden hour, and settle in.
Si Paradiso
1/446 Beaufort St, Highgate WA 6003
Image credit: Si Paradiso | Instagram
If you’re a thirty-something in Perth, Si Paradiso probably sparks memories of late nights and long afternoons in the discotheque courtyard, rounds of drinks giving way to loud revelry. The good news is the venue’s grown with you. While the alfresco still throws a surprisingly good weekend bash, the dining room makes way for a more grown up, intimate experience. A dimly lit room, light filtering through stained glass windows, sets the tone for aperitivo-like share plates—caviar-topped gratin, carpaccio and caper salsa, ciabatta and cauliflower hummus—and great pizzas. Split the difference and order a little of both.
Insider Tip
- Thursdays at Si Paradiso are an exceptional opportunity to dip into some truly great cellared wines. Book in for their $40 three-course set menu and explore bottles from the cellar at 40% off.
Le Rebelle
676 Beaufort St, Mount Lawley WA 6050
Image credit: Le Rebelle | Instagram
While some restaurants try to impress you, Le Rebelle carries itself with the confidence that it doesn’t need to. Fitting, given the space, is inspired by the old romanticism of classic Parisian bistrots. The Mount Lawley bistro has spent years perfecting the things that matter—a warm and intimate space, a handsome timber bar, and service that lands somewhere between attentive and effortless. The menu leans comfortably into French bistro classics: crab toast has rightly become something of a signature, flakey fish is topped with rich beurre blanc, and duck frites remain a benchmark dish. That said, the thoughtful wine list is reason enough to visit on its own. It's all delivered with a confidence that feels Frenchified, but never showy.
Insider Tip
- Even if you're dining, arrive a little early for a drink at the bar. It's one of Mount Lawley's nicest places to ease into an evening.
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La Lune
73 George St, East Fremantle WA 6158
Image credit: La Lune | Instagram
Consider La Lune the Paris end of George Street. Curved banquettes, vintage mirrors and polished brass capture the easy romance of a neighbourhood brasserie found in the 9th arrondissement without tipping into cosplay clichés. The menu follows suit: confidently short and built around the classics. Think bavette steak frites, moules swimming in creamy apple cider sauce, blushing duck breast and one of Perth's best cheeseburgers. A favourite for girls' nights, start with a round of French 77s and something snacky before letting the menu guide you to something heartier. La Lune is exactly the sort of place where a quick drink has a habit of turning into a leisurely dinner.
Insider Tip
- While it might be better known for the steak frites, the caramelised onion soup is the deeply French sleeper hit worth ordering every time.
Island Market
364 West Coast Drive, Trigg WA 6029
Image credit: Island Market | Instagram
I'll die on the hill that a great chicken dish is far more impressive than any steak. That's exactly what's on offer at Island Market. Start with the warm stone-baked pita alongside silky hummus or taramasalata, then move swiftly onto the wood-roasted chicken. Simply seasoned but perfectly cooked, it arrives with green chilli labneh and saffron rice, and might just be one of Perth's best chicken dishes. The rest of the menu leans approachably Mediterranean-Middle Eastern, with plenty of WA seafood woven throughout—as you'd expect from a Kailis venue.
Insider Tip
- Having little ones in tow often means compromising on a night out—not at Island Market. The restaurant is genuinely welcoming of children while still dishing up great plates for the parents. Win win.
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The Heritage
131 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000
Image credit: The Heritage | Instagram
If you're looking for the antidote to the city's polished but perhaps predictable hotel restaurants, The Heritage trades perfunctory performance for genuine old-world grandeur. Housed inside the restored-from-ruin Royal Insurance Building, expect soaring ceilings, Italian marble floors and colossal arched windows flood the dining room with the kind of natural light you don't often expect from heritage buildings. Thankfully, the menu stands up to its surrounds. European-leaning with a healthy smattering of WA produce, it's backed by an exceptional wine list. Arrive in time for golden hour, when the room shifts from softly diffused to moodily lit, let the team guide you through the wine list, then head downstairs to cocktail bar Bobeche to round out the evening with something a little stronger.
Insider Tip
- Step into the 1920s grandeur of it all, without the price tag. A seat at the bar, a dirty martini and a bowl of hot chips makes for an underrated after-work ritual.
Light Years
140 William St, Perth WA 6000
Image credit: Light Years | Instagram
Sitting in one of Light Years' playfully pink booths, you'll likely spot just as many trays laden with colourful cocktails as you will actual food. And for good reason. Wrapped in peachy tones and soft curves, rather than the predictable tropical kitsch we’ve come to associate with Asian fusion, it's become one of Perth's most coveted spots for a grown-up girls' night. The menu makes choosing almost impossible, in the best possible way. Split the difference and order broadly to pass around the table. Everything lands fresh and punchy, while mainstays like a masterstock pork belly and a coconut cream wagyu rendang earn a place on the table every time.
Insider Tip
- The mango coconut sago is the kind of dessert we want any meal to end with—cool, creamy and refreshingly light, it's the perfect finish to a menu packed with big, punchy flavours.
Hearth
1 Barrack St, Perth WA 6000
Image credit: Hearth | Instagram
At Hearth, the best seat in the house isn't necessarily the oft-coveted window seats. It's anywhere you can watch the open galley kitchen at work. Stretching the length of the dining room, the kitchen sets the stage for chef Brian Cole and his team. Here flame is flavour, an abundance of ingredients eschewed for coaxing sweet smokiness, blistered char and remarkable depth from the WA native produce that underpins the menu. The team brings an infectious curiosity to every dish, happily walking diners through the provenance of each ingredient, versed even in just how many kilometres away the beef was raised. Polished, never pretentious, and easily one of Perth's most rewarding dining experiences.
Insider Tip
- If you can, splurge on the chef’s table. With a front-row seat at the pass, you'll watch the kitchen in full flight while chef Brian Cole personally walks you through each course—part dinner, part produce masterclass.
Gibney
40 Marine Parade, Cottesloe WA 6011
Image credit: Gibney | Tristan McKenzie
Dining at Gibney is as much about the theatre as it is about the food, and if you’re looking for the full-blown white tablecloth experience, this is where you’ll want to come. The seaside brasserie burst onto Perth’s scene with its now-iconic $48 caesar salad, prepared tableside. Start there, and lean into the extravagance. Manjimup truffle topped chicken roulade? You bet. Double Madagascan vanilla ice cream with caviar? Why not? If you want to dip your toes in, order widely from an impeccably executed snack menu, pair it with a few bespoke martinis (they’ll wheel the cocktail cart round and shake these up tableside for you), take it all in and take a deep breath when the bill lands.
Insider Tip
- Bar seating is kept for walk-ins, and is the move on a busy day. Settle in with a glass of something expensive and a few snacks and enjoy one of Perth’s best ocean outlooks.
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Samuels On Mill
14 Mill St, Perth WA 6000
Image credit: Samuels On Mill | Supplied
Grab a seat at the bar, a tumbler clinking with ice and amber liquid in your hand, and live out your sexiest hotel restaurant fantasies at Samuels On Mill. A hotel restaurant done right is something special, and Samuels absolutely nails it. Dripping in old-school polish, dining here feels like stepping back into the heyday of white tablecloth dining. The brasserie leans confidently classic, built around a tight list of elegant pastas, flame-grilled steaks and roasted fish. But where Samuels really stands out is in the lost art of the hotel lobby bar menu. The club sandwich—surely the ultimate hotel restaurant yardstick—is close to perfection: bacon, egg, chicken, tomato, Swiss cheese and mayo stacked between impossibly fluffy bread. Pair it with a Negroni and pretend you’re somebody else for an afternoon.
Insider Tip
- Even if it's the only thing you stop in for, grab the tiramisu. Scooped tableside from an oversized tray, it's become one of Samuel's signatures
Cassia
3/45 Henderson St, Fremantle WA 6160
Image credit: Cassia | Instagram
For Australians, the humble backyard barbecue has always been a casual affair. At Cassia, they asked what if it was treated with reverence. The concept flips the sausages-and-rissoles script on its head. Instead, grilled tiger prawns come alongside a fermented chilli and garlic sauce, pork fillet comes with burnt apple and sobrasada, and there’s even space on the grill to fire up a sugarloaf cabbage. Everything revolves around the open fire, with thick-cut steaks, seafood and seasonal vegetables all passing over glowing jarrah coals, transforming premium WA produce into generous share plates that celebrate the best parts of a backyard barbecue—without a sausage in sight. The room itself offers an unexpected point of contrast. Cascading purple wisteria softens what could have been an overtly masculine fire-and-steak concept, making the whole experience feel warmer and more inviting.
Insider Tip
- Every meal begins with a complimentary shot of housemade lemon, lime and bitters as a nostalgic little palate cleanser before the first dishes arrive.
Nextdoor
79 Angelo St, South Perth WA 6151
Image credit: Nextdoor | Instagram
Perth’s only butcher-owned steakhouse, Nextdoor, brings an intriguing premise to the world of traditional steakhouses—what shows up on the plate when the kitchen is butcher-led? The concept lands as a paddock-to-plate meat-first dining experience, supported by its adjoining butcher shop. The kitchen celebrates meat, naturally, favouring open-fire cooking techniques over the jarrah-burning hearth, and while there are wildly expensive occasion cuts on the menu—the 750g wagyu ribeye, seasoned with nothing but salt and rested with respect, barely leaves change from $400—here, even butcher’s cuts are treated with provenance. Equally thoughtful cocktails, an excellent wine list and polished service elevate the experience well beyond the traditional steakhouse.
Insider Tip
- Don't overlook the bar. The Blood & Bone—a wagyu-washed take on an Old Fashioned—is one of Perth's most inventive steakhouse cocktails.
Avalon
1 Airlie St, Claremont WA 6010
Image credit: Avalon | Instagram
Any kitchen can slap a pasta or two on the menu and call itself Mediterranean-leaning, but Avalon stands apart by looking well beyond the pasta course. Founders Simone Sichel and George Tsimpidis, raised respectively in Milan and Sparta, have woven together their culinary backgrounds, resulting in a seamless blend of Italian and Greek traditions that underpins the venue. Steering clear of the predictable pastas found at every vaguely Euro venue, you can instead expect thoughtful, produce-led plates with subtle nods to Mediterranean flavours and techniques—rotisserie chicken finished with creamy lemon gremolata, kingfish crudo with tomato consommé and kohlrabi, or lamb rack paired with grilled zucchini carpaccio. Elevated without ever tipping into stuffy territory, Avalon carries itself with a quiet confidence beyond its years.
Insider Tip
- The house bread, a lupin and linseed sourdough baked fresh daily by sister venue Cup & Co, is reason enough to book a table.
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La Cholita
279 William St, Northbridge WA 6003
Image credit: La Cholita | Instagram
La Cholita is the kind of venue you come to a few drinks into the evening, and promptly order several more rounds. One of Perth’s longest-standing cantinas, La Cholita basically wrote the blueprint for cantina grunge. Unapologetically loud and unashamedly home to Perth’s best and most extensive tequila selection, with a backbar of 180 bottles of agave, margaritas are not only ubiquitous but the menu is actually devoid of any other spirit based drinks. A tight list of tacos is the menu’s drawpoint: pared back, generously filled and dripping with flavourful salsas. It's the rare venue that draws everyone, from twenty-somethings kicking off a bigger night out to locals simply chasing a genuinely good feed, and where the last round is never the last round.
Insider Tip
- La Cholita might have been the genesis of Perth’s taco and tequila obsession, but it's not all they do well. Hot tip, don’t leave without trying the verde mole chicken
Bivouac Canteen & Bar
198 William St, Northbridge WA 6003
Image credit: Bivouac | Instagram
Some kitchens work best in restraint, knowing how to do more with less. At Bivouac, there’s a more is more approach. Fifteen years in, Bivouac somehow still manages to feel like one of Northbridge’s best kept secrets. At its heart, the menu feels Middle Eastern, but it borrows from international influences liberally. Take the braised goat shoulder with century stock and Sicilian caponata, or spiced chicken with sambal glaze and tandoori pine nuts. Each entry reads as an ode to ingredient excess, and yet what lands on the table is confusingly cohesive.
Insider Tip
- Cap off your evening with the Ti Amo Amaro, a trio of Italian digestifs featuring Averna, Amaro Montenegro and Vecchio del Capo 25.
Santini
133 Murray St, Perth WA 6000
Image credit: Santini | Instagram
Bold and brassy, Santini feels like Italian by way of an upscale New York brasserie. An open kitchen offers a glimpse behind the curtain, and there’s plenty to see. Generous cuts like New York sirloin and a salt-crusted bistecca alla fiorentina hit the grill, and share menu space with saucy pastas like a wild mushroom ragu cavatelli and squid ink risotto. It’s the kind of big, belly-filling eating that you almost feel should be capped off with a cigar. If you’re looking to splurge, the wine-paired chef’s tasting menu is genuinely one of the best around Perth, but behind all the polish Santini isn't above having a little fun. Keep an eye out for playful specials that invite sipping and snacking, like an adult’s happy meal of fries topped with crème fraîche and caviar alongside a glass of bubbles.
Insider Tip
- The meringue sundae is genuinely one of the most intriguing desserts around—a refreshing lemon and mascarpone gelato is topped with a towering pile of Italian meringue, scorched to golden perfection.
Post
1 Cathedral Ave, Perth WA 6000
Image credit: Post | Instagram
A meal at Post is as much about the grandiose setting as it is about the steaming bowl of silky pasta that slides onto the table. In an era where every Italian spot seems built around share plates, it feels almost decadent that Post’s menu leans into generous bowls of pasta, made to be enjoyed unapologetically by one. Housed beneath soaring limestone ceilings and framed by grand French doors, the State Buildings restaurant lends a contemporary take to Italian akin to Milan’s modern trattorias. Bucking the share plate trend, it's the top notch pasta that earns Post its reputation, but the menu is rounded out by seasonal fish and grill dishes. Lean into the elegance with a round of bitter Italian cocktails and the whole experience feels wonderfully transportive.
Insider Intel
- The house tiramisu, finished with a marsala zabaione, is something of a local icon, but Post also offers a selection of cheeses to round out your meal on a more savoury tone. Let the team guide you through some vino dolce to accompany.
Main image credit: Gibney | Tristan McKenzie
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