For over 30 years I’ve been visiting The Vault. First, in it’s previous incarnation as the local Commonwealth Bank. From starting my dollarmite account when I was little, to the shiny and new restaurant it is today, it has always felt like a hub of the community sitting proudly on the leafy Haynes Street. The recently opened Italian-style eatery has been transformed from a drab bank to a airy modern restaurant with its patio overlooking Haynes Street.

The Vault is open seven days for breakfast, brunch, coffee and cake, lunch and dinner. Little Chef and I stopped by with my parents for lunch. It’s clear to see that the spot is still a hive a activity in Kalamunda.

And where is the actual bank vault? The old vault, complete with secure door, is now home to the restaurant’s wine cellar.

There is a mainly WA vibe to the wine list, including a very fine Saracen Shiraz. My Dad enjoyed local beer from The Bickley Valley Brewing Co. too.

The Italian lunch menu has mainly pastas, salads and pizzas to choose from. There’s a huge pizza oven in their kitchen and take away gourmet pizzas are also available. My Dad chose the classic lasagne, very reasonably priced at just $22, with a cheeky bowl of chips on the side ($6.50). I pinched a few of the hand cut chips, which were deliciously crunchy!

I absolutely loved the risotto Milanese ($28). The chilly Perth hills weather begged for a soul warming dish like this. There were generous chunks of osso bucco beef throughout and the risotto, which has nice bite, was nicely flavoured with saffron and parmesan reggiano cheese. Sitting proudly in the middle was a beef bone, with a tasty morsel of marrow inside. Nice touch.

Kids are very well catered for at The Vault with lots of choice – like pasta and meatballs, fish n chips, popcorn chicken and pizza. Little Chef chose one of his favourites, which is not often seen on kids menus – Lasagne.

The food at The Vault is hearty and full of flavour. It’s an excellent spot for groups and I’ll look forward to going back again to try some more dishes.

More on The Vault here.

First, the trail blazing Brookfield Place, a hub of cool eateries and bars arrived in the CBD. Then Perth was positively spoiled with the State Buildings dining precinct. Now, Hibernian Place has opened in the city’s east end. Here, the stunning five star Westin Hotel seems to have sprung up out of nowhere and with it has brought a whole host of trendy restaurants and bars.

We headed to one of the most buzzed about spots, Garum, found in the heritage listed Hibernian Hall. The face of Garum is familiar, celebrity Chef Guy Grossi, of Melbourne’s Florentino Grill. What he has brought to Perth is not your ordinary Italian. Specialising in the traditional food of ancient Rome, the 120 seat diner has components like lucaniaca sausage, hand cut pastas, farrow and the restaurant’s namesake, garum (a Roman fish sauce) on its menu.

The immense dining space boasts the original high timber ceiling, exposed brickwork and timber floors, giving the feel that Garum has been around for much longer than a few weeks.

We’re seated under the vine covered wall and look over Garum’s wine list, which also takes inspiration from the Romans, listing varieties by colour. There’s “white” and “yellow” wines, white being refreshing and light, while the yellows are richer and fuller. Equally, reds are divided into “Red Blood”, “Purple” and “Black Wine” types. The wine list is WA heavy, with a sprinkling of Italian drops. I choose an Italian San Martino Prosecco, which has a lovely dryness. Chef opts for an earthy Silverstream Pinot Noir from Denmark.

Many ancient recipes are used, including the Roman sourdough, which we start our meal with. On the side is moretum, a herb and ricotta cheese spread, that ancient Romans liked to spread on their bread.

Guy Grossi, temporarily in Perth to open his first venue outside of Victoria, is painstakingly looking over each dish that leaves his pass until Head Chef Mario di Natale takes over the reins.

I find the raw kingfish Crudo ($20) cut too thick for my liking. The fresh fish is full of flavour, topped with barley, and complimented with the freshness of sorrel and cucumber, along with garum.

The delicate quail ($22), is brined and then grilled with honey, garum, fennel, currants and pine nuts. Tender morsels of meat are spot on, making it a delicious dish with a real peasant feel.

After our plates are cleared Chef orders another glass of the pinot. His glass is replaced, though it sits there empty for some time.

Chef enjoys the Amatriciana pasta dish. At $24, it’s reasonably priced. You can have a light lunch and glass of wine at Garum without having to blow your budget. The bowl of thick spaghetti-like pasta, bucbatini, is cooked perfectly al dente. The pasta, which is made in-house, is smothered in a lick licking sauce of simple flavours – pancetta, tomato and chilli, giving it a subtle bite.

Perfectly pink Akady lamb cutlets ($45), have a beautifully charred crust. The lamb is a little fatty, but bone-nibbling delicious, served with parsley, capers and anchovy. Sautéed radicchio is too bitter for my taste, even with a squirt of grilled lemon.

Now, to dessert. The brand spanking new restaurant is absolutely heaving with a fully booked lunch service. Our mains are cleared, but we aren’t offered the dessert menu for a good 20 minutes or more. Chef’s waiting on his second glass of red, which is still MIA. After trying to make eye contact with a waiter for what feels like an age, finally I wave one down and request the dessert menu. He is very apologetic about the wine and does not charge us for that.

The globi ($16), small doughnuts with poppy seeds, have a rustic feel. Unlike traditional doughnuts, they are not particularly sweet or fluffy, with a more bread-like texture. The honey ice cream provides moisture and sweetness to this tasty dessert.

A little disappointed by their gluten free menu offering, or lack there-of, I have a bowl of honey ice cream and chocolate sorbet. 

Garum is full of well-cooked Roman classics, made with top West Australian produce. Once the service is polished I’d definitely return. If you love pastas that are the real deal, Garum is the spot for you.

At a glance

■ Garum
Hibernian Place
480 Hay Street, Perth
Phone 6559 1870
■ Opening times
Mon to Fri, 6am until late
Sat to Sun, 6.30am until late
■ Rating
food 4
service 2.5
ambience  4
value for money 3
■ style – Modern Italian
with a Roman focus.
■ wine – mainly WA drops,
with traditional Italian wines
from the region of Lazio.
■ Chef – Mario di Natale
■ Owner – Guy Grossi concept, Westin manage
■ feel –bustling and classy
■ wheelchair access – yes
■ cost –
Entrée – $4.70 to $22
Pasta – $24 to $28
Mains – $42 to $65
Dessert – $16 to $22
■ all in all – Soul warming
mod-Italian classics. Patchy
service, brilliantly different wine list.

North Perth, in the City of Vincent, is a cool little part of town. One place that really encapsulates this is Satchmo, an inner city cafe, with New York Deli vibes. Satchmo, which is a cafe by day and has more of a small bar feel by night, has excellent coffee and soul-warming food. If I was asked where I’d like to go for a Mothers Day brunch, this is exactly the type of place I’d pick.

Little Chef and I took my Mum out for a pre Mother’s Day brunch at Satchmo. My Mum loves a tasty feed and though she wouldn’t know trendy if she fell into it (bless her!), she can appreciate something that’s finger licking delicious. And their coffee is good too. Real good.

The menu at Satchmo pulls from traditional Jewish cuisine and also has a big New Orleans influence. Think Mamm’s Matzo ball chicken soup, fresh bagels and Louisiana gumbo. It’s deliciously different. I hear their house-made bacon is also a huge favourite.

The roasted field mushroom dish ($18) is a brunch winner. I hungrily tucked into the meaty mushrooms, pan-fried halloumi, kale, and an avo-sweet pea-feta crush. This is usually served on rye bread, but I enjoyed the gluten-free option. Next time I’ll add some runny poached eggs too!

The Mississippi special ($18) is pretty darn special! A freshly toasted bagel is jam-packed with southern fried chicken, a spicy chipotle mayo and kale slaw, with a few slices of watermelon on the side. My Mum and Little Chef both loved this.

Little Chef got stuck into the watermelon!

If your Mum loves a trendy and tasty brunch, then you won’t go far wrong with Satchmo. Music lovers will also like to browse their vintage vinyl collection and even have a chat with owner and music enthusiast Nathan Karnovsky.

On the jazzy soundtrack, you’ll be sure to hear the café’s namesake Louie “Satchmo” Armstrong, singing the blues and blowing his trumpet. I’d blow my own trumpet too, with food that’s this delicious! Satchmo is well worth checking out.

Find Satchmo at 400 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth.

Web www.satchmocafe.com.au

Beautiful photos by Monica Defendi Photography.

This article is sponsored by the City of Vincent to promote Mother’s Day in and around North Perth. All words and opinions are my own.

For Little Chef’s birthday we enjoyed a special pre-Derby lunch at the Merrywell. We’ve visited the gastro pub many times since it opened about 6 years ago. The incredibly popular, laid back eatery is always buzzing. Crown Perth had invited us in to taste test their “Battle of the Sanga” specials, where you can choose your team and help out their Perth charity of choice too. It’s a food fight for charity!

We made sure we got there extra early (11.30am) to dine on something delicious before the big game. The wrap around, leafy courtyard is a top place to sit. This time, we sat inside, at a table along the curved window. Despite it being filled to the brim with Dockers and Eagles fans, we could still hear ourselves chat.

Chef, a massive Eagles fan, has been to every Eagles game for the past few seasons. Saying that, the amount of football he actually watched was minimal – since he was working as Executive Sous Chef at Domain stadium. Today, we were lucky to have three tickets to the Derby at Optus Stadium, which was a wonderful birthday surprise for the AFL-mad Little Chef.

The Merrywell’s menu has an easy to eat, American “dude” food vibe. Gluten-free meals are not marked on the menu, so I ask one of the friendly wait people for a bit of assistance. The last couple of times I’ve been to the Merrywell I’ve had the same waiter, who is so happy to help and basically goes through the whole menu and explains the various options for me. He’s lovely.

We shared the lollipop buffalo wings ($21), with blue cheese fondue and celery sticks. This has been a Merrywell menu staple since day dot and long may it continue! The chicken was very tender and the sauce has a good kick, but not overpowering. This was balanced by the creamy fondue. A top share dish.

Chef scoffed the Eagles Big Bird Sanga ($25). This is a “Battle of the Sangas” special on till May 27th 2018. At $25 (including fries and a soft drink) it’s great value and also includes a $5 donation to Telethon! There’s never been a better time to head into the Merrywell! This was stuffed with tender buttermilk fried chicken, oozing cheese sauce, slaw, salad – sandwiched between two waffles.

And for the Dockers fans there’s the tastebud tempting Freo surf n turf sanga with sliced roast beef, crisp popcorn prawns, cheddar cheese, remoulade sauce salad and pickles – which I love the sound of. I also love that $5 from the sale of each of these Freo sangas goes to Ronald McDonald House.

Pic Credit: Crown Perth

Feeling like something light, I chose the Merry’s Little Lamb tacos ($22), their GF option for these is to serve them in lettuce cups, which is just fine with me. Filled with spiced pulled lamb shoulder, a coriander crema and sweetcorn salsa, they really hit the spot.

For little one’s there’s a kids menu, and on request, they provide some colouring paper and pencils too. Their famous Mac & Cheese Bites feature on the kids menu too. These deep-fried delights were very cheesy and more-ish. Little Chef can’t get enough!

We were a little full, but since it was Little Chef’s birthday, we just had to treat ourselves to something sweet to share. We love s’mores and the Merrywell’s take on this American camping dish is to turn it into an ice cream sandwich – nice one! Vanilla ice cream is wedged between chocolate chip cookies, which are topped with gooey toasted marshmallow and smothered in chocolate sauce.

The Merrywell doesn’t disappoint. There’s delicious food, good service and I love that kids are welcome, but it’s not overrun by ankle biters!

Crown Perth is the perfect place to stop before or after a big event at Optus Stadium!

I was invited to the Merrywell by Crown Perth, all opinions and words are my own.