Finally. After three years, I found an opportunity to visit. I’m combining this post with my experience from the pop-up restaurant in Sydney as both are amazing. The temporary restaurant was an eye opener and a brand new experience, and seeing the real thing was well worth it.

Greenhouse by Joost, Sydney

Greenhouse, Perth

This restaurant is so unique because of its commitment to the environment and being sustainable, and takes it very seriously – says the tubs of compost that greets you at the entrance of Perth. The exterior wall was lined with tubs of ferns, and I’d overheard a waitress say that they did have the same strawberry plants that appeared in the Sydney pop up, but they were expensive and difficult to maintain. Seeing the permanent structure also made me appreciate just how much effort went into the Sydney popup: no lights so everything was candle powered, all served on wooden plates, wooden cutlery, tables and chairs made from old posters that I remember seeing all over the city. Perth still needed lights to survive and metal cutlery for the food, but they had chairs made of old roadwork signs, all wooden things made from recycled wood, and the door handles made from old gigantic plastic things. I’m also fairly convinced that I saw an old shovel as the handle to the door to the stairs of the rooftop bar.

Natural oysters, Sydney

Natural oysters, Perth

Ice versus salt, but still as delicious as ever! So very tasty; I found that the Perth ones had a better sprinkling of salt than the Sydney ones (can you believe I remember that???) and smelled so nicely of the sea.

Table decor, Sydney

Table decor, Perth

Basil versus some other herb I wasn’t paying attention to. I did have the lemonade in Perth but hadn’t taken a picture of it. If I recall correctly, the one in Sydney wasn’t fizzy, but the one in Perth was, and for once, the fizzy one tasted better, even though I’m not usually a fan of fizzy.

Cured meat platter – Sydney

Lamb and yoghurt – Sydney

Kangaroo, beetroot, native apples, celery – Perth

Chai cured ocean trout, kale chips, beetroot, sour cream, 62 degree egg, potato hash with a side of avocado – Perth

Oh Greenhouse, how I am so in love with you! I do wish I had taken some photos of the interior of Perth, but I felt too self conscious and the place filled up awfully quickly. Some very delicious food – and Perth was considerably cheaper, even though it’s a relatively expensive city, being the western hub of Australia and all. I loved the addition of native foods, and whatever that paste was on the kangaroo dish was super tasty and went so well with the meat. Breakfast was actually so tasty and filling that I wasn’t hungry all the way till lunch! Which is very unusual for the size of the dish… but any single dish that keeps my appetite in check is a winner for me.

The best bit of it all, I managed to poke around in my fascinated curiosity and found some very, very interesting signatures on one of the mystery doors at the register:

Apparently there was some sort of gathering of famous food people last year, and so here are an amazing number of signatures! Pete Evans, Maggie Beer, Luke Nguyen, Manu, Jill Dupleix, Terry Durack (I wish I recognised more signatures and names!)… and… JOCK. OMG, who could Jock be? Could it really be the Jock? So I asked one of the waitresses, who wasn’t sure so she asked someone else, saying “I think she’s a friend of his.” I did my best not to laugh out loud and explained that I’d come from Adelaide and that I loved Mr. Zonfrillo’s food and that he had a great restaurant. The other waiter knew about this and said that they’d all come for a convention of sorts, and that Orana was Matt Stone’s favourite restaurant in Australia. Not sure if he was just saying that or whether it’s actually true, but definitely a wonderful tidbit of information that I loved!

For me, this was the pinnacle of my experience in Perth – much moreso than even Rockpool Bar & Grill. This is why you come to Perth, to see a wonderfully unique restaurant being so successful in what they do.

Hooray for food and candles! And compost :)