There’s not much more we love than getting a friend or ten together to sample our way through a menu of share plates. It’s like your very own customised dego of everything your heart and stomach desires. Can’t decide on entrees? Get both. Have a sweet tooth? Order one of everything.
We’ve interrogated the Urban List team, asked our friends in the know and revisited all of those Insta snaps we’ve drooled over when the hungerlust hits.
Strap yourself in, here’s 50 of Perth’s best share plates.
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Whipped Hummus and Pita | Pogo, Mount Hawthorn—The Shawarma WA King Oyster Mushrooms variety is a hit but trust us, it’s hard to narrow it down so please for the love of God go for the feed me menu.
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Corn Tentacles | La Cabana, South Fremantle—You’re gonna have to stalk down an Insta snap of these ones to get the picture (no pun intended) but just think long strands of sweet corn with chickpea mayo washed down with a grapefruit margarita, cause why not?
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Chargrilled Octopus | Lady of Ro, Subiaco—Possibly the juiciest, most tender occy you will ever get your hands on.
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Charcuterie | Little Pig Eatery, Inglewood—Bread, locally cured meats and irresistible cheeses. There’s no better way to spend a Sunday. Plus it’s BYO. Winning all round.
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Pan Fried Chicken Dumplings | Juicy Bao Bao, Northbridge—Yep, dumplings are not only a share plate, they’re quite possibly the best kind. Every type of pan friend, steamed or boiled here is top notch. On a side note, order the dry noodles with scallion oil—the safe choice is to get one each.
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Guacamole | El Grotto, Scarborough—In our humble opinion, one of the best big ol’ bowls of guac going around. Scoop it up with some tortilla chips overlooking the beach and you’ll be feeling fine.
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Barramundi Red Curry | Madam Queenie, Sorrento—The South East Asian menu has all sorts of goods but this has to be one of our faves.
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Chargrilled Chilli Squid | Sauma, Northbridge—We can’t get enough of the Indian street food at Sauma and we are totally obsessed with this spicy dish served with chorizo, pickled fennel and aioli. Please go with a group and order as much as you can.
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BBQ Romanian Tenderloin Steak | Ethos, East Fremantle—The real question here is, how is one to choose? While incredibly difficult, this fall apart steak with a creamy sauce and a full-flavoured herby salsa is top on the list. Try it and you’ll be ready to order the rest of the menu.
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Island Woodfired Pita | Island Market,Trigg—Yes we keep saying it, everything is good. Just start off with some pita and dips like the feta labneh and we guarantee the rest will be just as good.
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Softshell Crab Tempura | Double Rainbow, Northbridge—Finding its home inside The Rechabite, Double Rainbow’s menu is full of flavour exploding goods. Think dumplings, curries, glazed slow cooked meats and salads—nothing’s off the table. We love a good soft shell crab and that’s why this one is on our list.
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Salt & Pepper Squid | The Beach House, Jindalee—The epic views over the Indian Ocean and stunning interiors are only matched by the seriously good food at this Northern hangout.
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Patatas Bravas | Heno & Rey, Perth—Hola! These crispy fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce and aioli are possibly the best you’ll have this side of the hemisphere.
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Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Flatbread | The Beach Club, Cottesloe—This massive slab of freshly cooked flatbread comes with a delish eggplant puree. Order one of these and you’ll be the talk of the table.
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Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese | Brooklyn Lounge, Scarborough—Get ready for a food coma with all things American. Spicy mac and cheese, buffalo chicken and blue cheese—hell yes.
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Raw Scallops | Tiny’s, Perth—These melt in your mouth goodies are served with creme fraiche, herb oil and Geraldton wax, yep that’s right, that pretty little native flower we love so much. The perfect start to your feast at Tiny’s.
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Karancini | Neho, Victoria Park—Neho’s motto is ‘sharing is caring’ and we couldn’t think of a better outlook on life. This Asian tapas gem serves up delectable eats and to start we recommend the Korean rice balls filled with kimchi and mozzarella.
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Austin Platter | Sidedoor BBQ, Highgate—If meat sweats are your thing, you’ll be pretty damn impressed with these loaded sharing platters. This one comes with cornbread, mac and cheese, pork belly lollipops and tonnes more to dig into.
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Cypriot Salad | Brika, Perth—Sometimes you just crave a good salad and this one with freekeh, currants, puffed rice and a whole bunch more is worth every spoonful. Honourable mentions go to the slow cooked lamb, fried saganaki cheese and Greek doughnuts.
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Jalapeno Poppers | Decanter, Victoria Park—It would be rude to visit an American tapas bar and skip these spicy, cheese filled parcels of joy. While you’re there, an order of the Texas pork belly is mandatory.
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Shark Bay Clams | Il Lido, Cottesloe —The menu is seasonal so everything is going to be super fresh and full of flavour. But if these Shark Bay babies are on the menu, it’s a no brainer.
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Stagionato (Cured Kingfish) Garum, Perth—Italian share plates are always a good idea prior to carb loading. The cured kingfish with cinnamon, beetroot, radish and capers is a super fresh way to start your meal at this Italian powerhouse.
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Glazed Wagin Duck | Le Rebelle, Mount Lawley—Oh Le Rebelle, we love you. This cosy and super mod French bistro nails every dish. We recommend sharing a few plates and making sure the glazed duck, complete with a generous amount of bernaise sauce and oh-so-good frites, is on your table. By the way, the wine list is also amazing.
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Sriracha and Garlic Roasted Cauliflower | Kitsch, Leederville—Cosy in for date night under the huge frangipani tree adorned with lanterns and get stuck into an Asian-style feast. This spicy, garlicy cauli goes with everything on the menu.
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WA Shark Bay Scallops | Odyysea, City Beach—The perfect spot to lounge around and treat yo’ self to plates of goodness like the ceviche scallops whilst sipping on a cocktail and looking out over our stunning blue ocean.
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Caramelised Pork Satay Dip | The Standard, Northbridge—We love the lazy weekend rotating share boards as well as everything else on this bloody good menu. There’s no better way to start than by mopping up this tasty satay dip with puffed rice crackers and pickled cucumber.
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Linley Valley Pork Spare Ribs | Apple Daily, Perth—Housed in the stunning Print Hall and serving up South-East Asian style food, this is one place you need to book for your next group dinner. Don’t go past the sticky pork ribs coated in a tamarind, lime and chilli glaze. If you all want to stay friends, order enough.
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Pumpkin Gnocchi | Bib & Tucker, North Fremantle—Try as many of the carefully curated dishes as possible and you’ll get a real appreciation for our West Aussie produce. The breads, pizzas, ceviches and roasted meats all deserve a run on the table, but we just can’t go past the fan favourite pumpkin gnocchi with burnt butter, kale, sage, goats curd and crumbed walnuts.
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Parfait Toast | The Flour Factory, Perth—What we love about this place is the set and forget sharing menus for the whole table to get stuck into. If sitting at the bar with a cocktail in hand and nibbling on all sorts of deliciousness is more your style, you’ll be one very happy diner. Either way, we can’t pass up the Parfait Toast with chicken skin (trust us) and red cabbage.
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Salt and Pepper Cuttlefish | Tonic & Ginger, Fremantle—We really can’t play favourites cause everything here is so damn good but we reckon the cuttlefish is just that little bit different. Please also order the potsticker dumplings while you’re at it.
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Korean Fried Chicken | The Old Laundry, North Perth—If fried chicken is your thing, we recommend adding this version to your table’s worth of food at this gorgeous neighbourhood locale.
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Snapper Croquette | Post, Perth—Not only can you marvel at the beauty of The Treasury Buildings, you can tuck into all manner of Italian goodness. Crunchy on the outside, clouds of mashed potato and snapper on the inside—yes please.
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Ricotta and Broad Beans | Bread in Common, Fremantle—There’s possibly no better place to head to for a lazy long lunch. Order some bread, dips and cold meats while you peruse the menu. Just be sure to add this ricotta to the list and ensure there’s some bread left to mop it up.
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Mushroom and Blue Cheese Manoushe Propeller, North Fremantle—The modern Middle Eastern fare in this vibrant and colourful eatery is incredible. The manoush is kind of like a Middle Eastern style pizza dough with tasty toppings. The mushroom, blue cheese and za’atar variety will not disappoint.
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Chicken Larb | Long Chim, Perth—If you can handle a bit of spice, you’ll be in for the ride of your life at Long Chim. And the Chang Mai style chicken larb is a pretty great way to start your Thai food journey.
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Tortilla Espanola | Pinchos, Leederville—Tapas, or as we like to call it, the founder of share plates means you can never go wrong. We love this fresh take on the classic tortilla (sort of like Spain’s take on the omelette meets quiche) with confit onion and aioli.
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Milk Bun | Young George, East Fremantle—Finding its home in the uber-cool George Street, there’s nothing this place doesn’t do well. We love starting off with the super soft milk bun filled with crispy ramen fried chicken, fermented slaw and caesar mayo.
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Zucchini Flowers | Petition, Perth—We’re a sucker for these pretty little flowers, especially when stuffed with garlic ricotta alongside peaoli and celery salt.
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Pan e Sugo | Lulu La Delizia, Subiaco—Quite literally the simplest of foods for an Italian, we can not go past the slow cooked vegetables in tomato sugo and house bread used to get every last bit of it in our mouths. The pastas are also ace, as are Nonna’s meatballs.
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Steamed Snapper & Prawn Wontons | Sweetwater Rooftop Bar, East Fremantle—The menu changes frequently but expect every single cocktail and Asian inspired eat to be darn delicious. There’s also a vegan menu if you’ve got some mates to cater for.
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Grilled Peaches | Si Paradiso, Highgate—The retro Italian vibes at this place will have you feeling like you’ve been transported to Amalfi. Everything looks absolutely next level but when we saw the grilled peaches with stracciatella (only the softest cheese) we knew there was no looking back.
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Nachos | Little Creatures, Fremantle—There’s a reason the nachos have gained cult status at this well-loved Freo hang. Pint in hand, nachos in the other. What more could you want? Whether you go the veggie or beef we know you’ll be in love.
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Burrata | Papagallo, Leederville—Order the set menu and you’ll be treated to fine Italian antipasti to share before some incred pizzas. But our fave has to be the burrata (like a way creamier version of mozzarella) with caponata—a Sicilian dish of eggplant, celery, red capsicum, olives, capers and pine nuts.
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Chicharron | El Publico, Highgate—We couldn’t narrow down the tacos, so grab a Marg, munch on some chicharron (deep fried pork crackling,) sit back and work out just how much you’re going to order. You can thank us later.
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Chips | Hadiqa, Perth—You may be wondering why on earth we’re singling out the chips at this Middle Eastern influenced gem. Trust us, it’s worth it. Confit garlic, feta and Moroccan spices. It’s the perfect side to go with all that bread and tagine.
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Nutella mousse | No Mafia, Northbridge—After you’ve devoured several plates of amazing cheeses, cold meats and pickles as well as a decent serve of pasta, you’re going to want to dive into this nutella mousse with an almond crumb. Just ask for multiple spoons.
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Black Cod Miso | Nobu, Burswood—Treat yo’ self to a night at Nobu and salivate over the signature Black Miso Cod. It’s a no brainer as to why this dish has earned itself a reputation.
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Sweetcorn and Mahon Croquettes | Duende, Leederville—Whilst we’ve already mentioned croquettes, but it would be remiss of us to leave Duende’s off the list. The sweetcorn and mahon (a type of cheese) interior make for the perfect flavour explosion with every bite.
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Lomo de Cerdo | Andaluz Bar, Perth—Considered the Godfather of tapas in Perth, this small bar is full of character and dishing out some of the most authentic Spanish food in town. The Lomo de Cerdo, aka pork loin served with pork crackling, surely akin to pork belly is a crowd pleaser.
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Cozze Bianche | Tommasinos, North Perth—Before you dive head first into your pizza, share a round of the cozze (known as mussels to us non-Italian speaking folk) in white wine, garlic and parsley.
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Image credit: Pogo, La Cabana, Heno & Rey, Le Rebelle, Long Chim