The Painted Bird Bar & Kitchen

We have previously been to the Painted Bird for a drink, however until our recent visit had not tried the food. But in town and at a loose end this week we dropped in for lunch.
It took the place of The Quarter in the arcade behind the Wesley Church at the corner of Hay and William. It is an intimate little space, with an al fresco style area at the front, then through glass doors to the bar and well set up dining room.
The menu is small but has a good selection of dishes, with something I think to suit most diners, and they offer a two course special each day.
Similarly the drinks list is not extensive but shows that care and thought had been put into its construction. There are a number of wines from smaller wineries not always spotted on lists around town and it was on two of those we set our sights — a Pepperilly Rosé from the Ferguson Valley and the lovely 2013 Riesling from Zarephath in the Great Southern.
The Pepperilly has lifted strawberry aromas, with good acid on the palate. It is a crisp, dry style rosé and perfect with food, or simply sipping on a lazy autumn day while the Riesling is another fine example of the wines produced in the region — lemon blossom aromas, a hint of nectarine, with a chalky, intensely limey palate all balanced by tight acid to produce a vibrant, elegant wine.
For our food, we started with a bowl of smoked eggplant and tahini dip, served with some crusty bread and oil. The dip had the right mix of smokiness and creaminess — a pleasant start to our meal.
Moving on, Lady FWO decided on a Reuben steak burger while I went for the house smoked ocean trout.
The trout was served as small batons of fish, tender, succulent, juicy– along with the fish came dots of blitzed beetroot providing an earthy sweetness and shaved fennel for crunch and a fresh lift. Buckwheat and corn blinis added a salty, grainy, doughy element and helped mop up any leftover beetroot. It was a light and well turned out dish.
The burger came in a glossy roll, served on a bed of mixed greens. The roll was smeared thickly with mild Dijon mustard, a good covering of tangy, sour tasting fermented cabbage, melted cheese and topped with skirt steak cooked medium rare.
The flavours all jelled well however the steak let the dish down — it had a little of the curate’s egg about it — good in parts — but in the main much too chewy and tough — described as slow cooked it didn’t live up to its name. Pity as it could have been a very good dish.
We thought about dessert, succumbed to the thought and shared a crème brulee — flavoured ever so slightly with thyme, crunchy caramelised topping, rich velvety custard, accompanied by a scoop of pumpkin ice cream, sweet, creamy, and some tiny, sugary doughnuts to soak it all up. A delightful conclusion.
Despite the letdown of the steak on this occasion, the Painted Bird looks to be a welcome addition to the Perth dining and bar scene. The menu is innovative, while the wine list provides excellent support to the food. The dessert menu in particular has a lot of appeal. It is certainly worth a look.

This is a bit of a mixed review, some elements of this restaurant could probably quality for 5 stars and some others only deserve 2. Unfortunately the service is the least deserving of a high rating. It was quite slow and not very attentive. At no stage did anyone come to us and take a drinks order and provided us with one specials menu between 11 of us. Then we were left waiting for quite a while for both the starter and the main course.
Where the 5 stars come into play is the little touches such as taster plates compliments of the chef which are always welcome additions. The food itself was also mixed among the table. My plate was very salty but I heard great things about others. Also, the oyster starters are very fresh and complimented by the sorbet.
Although this restaurant provided us with an enjoyable night, I would not suggest that it was memorable and there is room for improvement.

I walk past this restaurant most days and couldn’t really tell what type of food they would serve! Every single course served was amazing, a lot of little complimentary samples given throughout the meals and extremely friendly staff.
For three Entrees, two Mains and three Drinks the bill was under $ 150, which now days is an extremely big wish! Anyone keen on experiencing what modern Australian with twist is, definitely must try «The Painted Bird Bar & Kitchen»

My friend took me here on a Tuesday night after work. It was quiet inside with a red glow inside, bird cages as décor and well dressed staff.
The menu had fancy expensive items like seafood linguine with crab and exotic mussels which is what my friend got. I got the lamb harissa with pearl couscous.
Both of us also ordered lemon lime bitters and some bread to start off with.
The meals were delicious and the staff friendly.
The bill for both of us was around 100 in total so I would suggest only going here on a special occasion.

We went here recently for a pre — ballet dinner and special occasion. Very accommodating given that we were on a fairly tight and demanding schedule to eat and get to our location on time!
Great décor, and would suit a business dinner, romantic evening out or just a hip place to go with friends. It’s a little set back which is nice as you don’t get all that foot traffic and road noise!
The food was superb though. no complaints here and the complimentary entrée made ad hoc by the chef was delicious. The staff were very helpful on answering my partner’s queries around food and contents, and were able to make adjustments off the cuff, which showcases a talented and able chef.
Fantastic menu options, extensive drinks list and great cocktails on offer too.
Oh and the desserts… Incredible!
Definitely a place I would go again.

Let’s start with the good: The service at The Painted Bird was exceptional — helpful, attentive waiters who knew the menu well. Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to the same standard. I’m not usually one to order pasta at restaurants… & the seafood linguine reminded me why. It was homemade pasta but it lacked flavour & freshness, & was instead quite oily. There was crab & squid & other seafood but it all kind of blended into one, even the chilli didn’t really make an impact. I would have preferred a more rustic version of this dish & having also tried some of my sister’s gnocchi, it was the same story there. They did bring out very tasty little polenta bites for entrée & peppery meringues for dessert — on the house! — which left a nice taste in my mouth. Not a place I would take a large group but good for an after work date maybe.

Having made the trip to the painted bird three times now, I cannot excuses the consistent under performing service levels; in our latest visit fm everything started perfectly the menu sounded good we ordered entrée and wines and then… After a longer than expected wait one glass comes out; after enquiring about the other one the service attendant comes back to clarify what we meant rather than just bring the glass of wine — 15 minutes later after sorting out the other tables.
The entrée was lovely and very tasty; however both mains were flat in comparison no real standout on the plates; this was a shame as the menu has all the makings of a delicious experience; perhaps I have had the misfortune of ordering the wrong meals on my visits but I have found this to be the case with each visit now; some more training of the staff, and tasting (seasoning) of food before it leaves the kitchen and they would easily score an extra star!

I have to say I’m surprised the reviews aren’t higher on here! I went here for a birthday dinner recently and thought it was fabulous! The food was mostly incredible, especially the desserts! All I can say is — get the raspberry and lime trifle! I almost had a «when Harry met Sally» moment! I also enjoyed the drinks, especially their special for the night — a watermelon ginger cosmo! Yum. The only disappointment food-​wise was the bread entrée… not that it was bad but just unexciting, and I was a bit disappointed that none of the other entrée options were vegetarian. (The goat’s cheese panna cotta has gelatin in it.) Well, ok, they had olives, too, but that just doesn’t do it for me. However, the chef DID send out a complimentary little entrée that I don’t know exactly what it was except delectable, and I don’t normally even like fried things! Overall, fabulous dining experience. A bit pricey, but pretty much what you expect for Perth CBD.
One of the things I also really loved and appreciated about this place is that not only do they have a lot of vegetarian mains (three!) and were responsive to my questions about ingredients and gelatin, but they specifically say that then are able to accommodate a variety of dietary requirements, including vegan, gluten-​free, nut allergies, etc. It also always inspires confidence in the ability of the chef that they are willing and able to whip up dishes off the menu to suit special needs. So a major bonus!
We were there rather early on a Saturday night (before the kitchen even technically opened for dinner), so it was pretty quiet. That was great for us, because it meant a nice, intimate atmosphere for a romantic dinner where we could chat easily. I’m not sure how busy it gets later in the evening and what kind of vibe it may have then. It’s right in the CBD but a little tucked in off the street. It strikes me as a pretty cool, laidback kind of place.
I was tempted to give this place 5 stars, but it just missed perfection. While the staff was friendly, there were a few times we had difficulty catching their eye and had to wait a bit for service.
Personally, I loved the vibe, drinks, and food and will definitely be returning!

This eatery has lovely food and a pleasant ambience. It doesn’t have a clear identity though — relaxed bar? fine dining? foodies’ favourite? It could be any of these but it’s a bit of each. The service staff let it down — food is excellent but staff are not very skilled or savvy, which is a pity. I enjoyed lovely Tuna Carpaccio, Sourdough bread and a Baby Spinach, Pear and Walnut Salad. The chef’s surprise Appetiser — a Sweetcorn and Basil Croquette — was great too.

I did not have any starters, but i ordered «bottled still» water, spinach salad, and the seafood linguine ($ 30). The spinach salad was nice with good flavor, but had too many walnuts and not enough spinach to balance, but was nicely dressed. The broccilini was very tasteful of olive oil and garlic, and appealing to the palate. It was cooked perfectly. However, the best of the meal stopped there. The seafood linguine was dry with little to no sauce and was smothered in bread crumbs. Get over the bread crumbs chef (the broccolini was also topped with them). Morever, I noticed that the «bottle» of my bottled still water seemed dirty and not a manufactured still mineral water from our aquifers. I questioned the server and she said it comes from their own taps… ie., it was tap water!!! They’re charging patrons over $ 5 for tap water. They did offer to remove it from the bill. The food was very average. Bill was $ 52 with no alcohol.

Had an enjoyable dinner here with three friends. The food was enjoyable and the service pleasant. So no complaints there, it’s just that there wasn’t much of a vibe and something seemed to be lacking. Price was reasonable. Worth a visit to make up your own mind.

Visited the Painted Bird using the online reservation site Dimmi as they were offering a special 50% off. Food was tasty and flavoursome and service was friendly, however nothing was notably special. It was incredibly cheap because of the special however it needs a bit of refining for a supposed fine dining restaurant.

Brand new, open today! I think this will be popular.

Don’t know why more people don’t come here. They are great chefs! I have a soft spot for French cuisine & a weakness for charcuterie. Their parfait, terrine & salami are excellent. Couple that with homemade sourdough bread & cultured butter & you feel like you’re in Europe. Now if they can only get staff with continental accents…

I decided to give this place a try one Saturday night.
Arriving, I as shown to a table and sat with the specials and normal menu.
There were quite a few different meals I wanted to try.
In the end I decided on the oysters with Bloody Mary sorbet for entrée and the snapper special served with scallop, lemon mash and salsa.
First off we got an amuse Bouche which was a scallop in a port reduction. The flavours we delicious and complimented each other. Before I even finished it my entrée arrived. I would have preferred better spacing of these as they did not compliment each other.
The oysters were plump and the Bloody Mary sorbet a nice change from a shooter.
The fish came out and was not the same as listed, rather it had prawns, risotto and fennel. I advised the waitress of this and said I was happy to eat it. It was nice, but I would have ordered a side of mash. My partners meal also was different from what was listed on the menu. It would have been nice for the waitress to advise us what had happened afterwards, even if it was as simple as we were given the wrong menus.
I decided not to try any of the desserts this time.
I will go back and try again, but probably order off the main menu and not the specials.