It seems there’s a new restaurant or bar popping up in Perth every week. With so many new dining options, it would be easy to forget to visit an old favourite. It had been too long between drinks for Duende and I. We were super excited when Chef’s best mate (the Ice Cream Addict) chose it for his birthday dinner.
The atmosphere was just as I remembered; lively, friendly, and dimly lit. We were practically dining by candlelight. The service was excellent. Our waiter gave us some great advice on dish selection and also recommended to us an OUTSTANDING bottle of Red Wine. The Spanish Shiraz was incredibly smooth and matched the food well.
Being tapas, we ordered a range of dishes to share. The best were;
Salt Cod & Potato Stiffed Piquillo Peppers ($12) These were delicious. The fish fresh and creamy, the peppers with their sweet, roasted flavour. Just wish they were bigger!!
Pork Belly braised Fennel orange glaze ($20) lovely citrus and aniseed flavours, Delicious !!
Spicy lamb meatballs, braised beans, tahini yogurt ($16) The meatballs were in Chefs words “sublime”. They were really tasty. Unfortunately, the beans were a little burnt. Duende’s chef agreed and we were not charged for the dish.
Lamb Rump, Hummus, Fetta, pomegranate molasses ($24) The lamb was tender & the hummus was very tasty.
Goat Tagine, pomegranate Cous Cous, makfoul, Yogurt ($25) Lamb was substituted, as the kitchen had run out of Goat. We were advised of this and not charged for the dish, as well as apologies sent from the kitchen. We thought this was very good service, as usually you’d be asked to make another selection and charged. The dish itself was exceptional and had bundles of flavour. This was my fave for the night. I want to go back again next week to try the goat version!! Yum.
Doughnut balls, condensed milk ice cream ($14). It would be a crime for “The Ice Cream addict” to not have a bit of the cold stuff to end his birthday dinner. He is a self-confessed freezer aisle aficionado, who claims to have tried pretty much every brand and flavour known to the Perth retail world. On news Ben and Jerry’s was newly available in Perth he went out and bought 6 tubs of the stuff!! So it was important that he give the Duende dessert the big thumbs up. And he did! The doughnuts were as fluffy as could be, we all loved them.
Duende has been among the best tapas restaurants’ in Perth for a long time. The last time we dined there was for my little sister’s (The Singer) birthday, some years ago. It was excellent to see Duende is still very popular and the food and service are still as fantastic as ever.
