From fumbling first dates to fifteen-year anniversaries, restaurants have always played a huge role in romantic relationships.
Heading out on the town and sharing a meal with your significant other is a staple in any love story, and while romance is subjective, our prerequisites for a romantic restaurant include dim lighting, share-style dishes, a discerning wine list, moody music and sufficient tables for two.
If you want to “accidentally” brush your date's hands as you both reach for the frites, read on: here are the most romantic restaurants in Perth for wining, dining and falling in luuuurve.
Gibney
South Cottesloe
Image credit: Gibney | Tristan McKenzie
To truly wow your date, go to George Kailis' shining new seaside brasserie, Gibney. Pretty as a multi-million dollar picture, the space is as glitzy as it gets and the menu follows suit. Think caviar, oysters, lobster and a-grade steak alongside martinis made tableside by one of their legendary white jacketed wait staff. It's a splurge, but it's worth it.
Vin Populi
Fremantle
Image credit: Vin Populi | Instagram
If your love language is big bowls of silky, slippery homemade pasta, book a table at Vin Populi for your next date night. From the whimsical European interiors to the spot-on service, Freo’s pasta paradise has serious wine drinkers and linguine lovers coming from near and far. The perennial crowd-favourite tagliatelle osso bucco—rich, buttery braised beef cooked for 12 hours and served with hand-rolled wide ribbon pasta—is sure to get your heart racing, best washed down with a glass (or bottle?!) of Barolo.
The Heritage
Perth CBD
With sandstone arches leading the way to the meticulously restored Royal Insurance Building, it’s easy to see why The Heritage is a popular choice for eloping. Inside, the walls are lined with wine bottles, the floors are Italian marble, and the floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Brookfield Place. But it’s the sophisticated European-inspired menu elevated with WA produce that tops it all off, showcasing the very best from small-scale farmers, fishers and makers.
Mummucc
Wembley
Image credit: Mummucc' | Instagram
Perth’s small but mighty inner-city suburb Wembley is home to some top-tier restaurants, and none is more romantic than Mummucc. From the same friendly family behind next-door’s much-loved pizzeria Monsteralla, Mummucc’s warm dining room radiates romance. The elegant, ever-changing menu features Italian snacks, share plates and homemade pastas, with educated waitstaff always on hand to ensure you get the right drop for your dish.
Fleur
Perth CBD
With a name like Fleur, you can expect a chic, fancy French restaurant, and this inner-city gem within The Royal Hotel is exactly that. From the red marble table to the maroon velvet seats, the dining room oozes opulence. Pull out all the stops with a little somethin’ somethin’ from the dedicated caviar menu, or order the Crêpes Suzette for a bit of tableside theatrics.
La Lune
East Fremantle
Image credit: La Lune | Instagram
To really up the romance, have dinner à deux in East Fremantle at La Lune, the New York-style Parisian bistro on George Street. You’ll find classic French fare, a generous drinks list with ample aperitifs and digestifs, sun-drenched street-front terrace, and intimate banquet seating inside made for quiet corner moments. J’adore.
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Ludo
South Perth
Image credit: Ludo | Instagram
Caviar martinis, lobster eclairs and confit Wagin duck leg… Ludo’s Head Chef Ludo Mulot’s menu is just a little bit indulgent. Down in the basement bistro of The Station, Ludo’s French-ish cuisine, live pianist and lack of phone reception makes this brand new venue a top contender for Perth’s most romantic. Put your phones away and fall in love under the bijou chandelier in the dining room for a date night to remember. Trés romantic. Hot tip, though: it does get pretty loud when it's fully packed so if you want a little more intimacy and space to gush over your date, book for an earlier or later sitting.
Le Rebelle
Mount Lawley
Image credit: Le Rebelle | Instagram
‘Vin Romantic’ is the catchphrase of Mount Lawley’s modern French bistro on Beaufort Street. There’s magic in the moodly lit dining room and exceptional wine list, but it’s Head Chef and Owner Liam Atkinson and his classy kitchen team that are doing God’s work. Here, faultless French dishes are given a distinctly WA twist. Think: saffron and ricotta gnocchetti is tossed with local squid, tomato and basil; WA fillet steak is served with broccolini, black barley and sauce au poivre; and the frites are loaded with garlic snails and bernaise sauce. Bon appetite.
Lulu La Delizia
Subiaco
Image credit: Lulu La Delizia | Instagram
This Subi stalwart has been dishing up hand-made pastas, northern Italian wines and a tonne of romance since it opened to rave reviews in 2016. The six-course chef’s menu is the best way to try some of the very best new and existing dishes on offer, order the spaghetti with clams, spigerllo, garlic and chilly for your very own Lady And The Tramp moment, best enjoyed with a big glass of white nursed firmly in hand. The tiramisu ‘corretto’—an authentic, creamy, oozing tiramisu with zero sog factor—is the perfect end to the evening.
Vinotto
Swanbourne
Image credit: Vinotto | Instagram
Vinotto is the Swanny wine bar where you know you’ll impress even the fussiest of dates. Casual, classy and packing a serious wow-factor, the ever-changing, Mediterranean-leaning share-style menu is ideal for date night. Think local WA oysters, crispy squid with salsa rossa, burrata served with endive and orange and zucchini frittelle on the food front, with a generous range of European wines to wet the whistle.
Casa
Mount Hawthorn
In recent years, Mount Hawthorn has become a coveted dining destination within Perth, and the romantic wine bar and restaurant Casa plays a huge part in this. Start with some punchy nibbles like tuna crudo, cacio e pepe fritto and chicken liver parfait cruller before moving on to more substantial share dishes like paccheri alla carbonara, red wine braised beef cheek and tonnarelli with Shark Bay clams.
Bertie
Bassendean
Image credit: Bertie | Instagram
One of Australia’s best bartenders, James Connolly, is the man behind the magic that is Bertie. Offering modern elegant renditions of British-inspired fare, a 120-strong wine list and Connolly-made cocktails, Bertie was an immediate hit with Basso locals and destination diners alike when it opened in early 2023. Share Bertie’s famous scotch eggs to take your date on a nostalgia trip.
Balthazar
Perth CBD
Image credit: Baltazar | Instagram
Nestled beneath the art deco Lawson apartment building in the city, Balthazar is a Perth institution that’s been radiating romance since 1998. The cosy, dimly lit dining room is made for special occasions—fancy first dates, milestone moments and yearly anniversaries—thanks to a 2016 renovation. Timber tables, red marble features and mat black features gave the space a new lease on life, while the mod-Oz food has never faulted over the past two and a half decades.
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Main image credit: Balthazar | Supplied