Reviews

Dining Out - Amanda Saunders. Fresh The West Australian September 29 2011

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 05:48:00 GMT

Spain attraction in the city
Andaluz mixes innovative tapas with old favourites

Andaluz is a glamourous underground den that's the perfect place to take a date or for businessmen to bring clients and talk shop. It is a sultry, classy bar and its tapas places it firmly into eating experience territory.

A maze of intimate rooms unwinds from the bar, which prides itself on its international wine list. There is a big focus on Spanish and an impressive line-up of reserve tempranillos.
Andaluz is no stranger to good, hard liquor either, with whiskies particularly well represented.
It's one of the most talked about bars in town so be prepared to nurse your vino tinto while you wait for a table and mutter to yourself about the no bookings policy.
And unless you arrive seriously early you'll be struggling to nab one of the more private rooms kitted out in Chesterfield style.

Andaluz seduced the city crowd soon after arriving in the basement of the Parker & Parker building 2 1/2 years ago. It gets all the little things right, from the more-ish roasted almonds ($6.50) to the glassware and the candlelit laneway courtyard.
An innovative kitchen keeps the regulars guessing with new tapas, while signature dishes, like the off-the-charts seared scallops with Berkshire pork cheek confit and Pedro Ximenez ($13), delight.
Pan-fried garlic mushrooms ($17) are vegetarian heaven. Done in a reduced fino cream with roast garlic and caramelised shallots, they are lethally rich.
For those who like a taste of meat with their wine, go for the rare beef salad ($17).
Slow-cooked Black Angus girello is done with pickled mushrooms, radishes, a light aioli and dressed with truffle oil.
We had a real soft spot for the slow-cooked octopus ($13) with shallots, preserved lemon and chilli. Bay leaves and sherry vinegar also add oomph to the marinade
16 out of 20

The Hot 100 - 81 to 100

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:15:00 GMT

Whether you can eat it, cook it, drink it, smoke it, fly it, drive it, sail it, shake, rattle, rock and roll it or just simply luxuriate in it, we’ve got 2010’s most compelling food and travel trends nailed. The GT team have combed the globe, polishing plates, swirling glasses and leaving no hot-stone treatment unturned to bring you this sizzling list.

82 Silliest name, yet most impressive debut
This one has to go to d’Arenberg’s 2007 Cenosilicaphobic Cat Sagrantino Cinsault. The wine itself is so brilliantly innovative – and tastes so damned good – it deserves a berth in this list for quality drinking alone. It’s a blend of 91 per cent young-vine sagrantino, a tongue-hugging red grape originally from Umbria, and nine per cent old-vine cinsault, a robust southern French grape that’s deeply savoury and superbly satisfying. The fact that it’s been named after a sozzled winery moggie (“cenosilicaphobia” is the fear of an empty glass, apparently) only makes it all the more delicious.

83 Least traumatic indian train ride
If you think you know Indian trains, think again. There’s a vast gulf between the standard of Indian Railways’ 800 locomotives and the standard of the new Maharajas’ Express: its lavish carriages are the last word in subcontinental train travel. Themed itineraries, such as Princely India and Celestial India, crisscross the country via fabled cities that might include Varanasi or Khajuraho, with butlers and bearers on hand to grant every wish. There are 14 carriages in all, including one devoted entirely to the $6500-a-night Presidential Suite, two restaurants (black-tie dinners, naturally), a bar and an observation lounge. Guest speakers include Sir Mark Tully, former BBC correspondent, and The Cinnamon Club’s executive chef Vivek Singh.

84
Most ingenious use of vacant space

Ryan Gregory and Carla Arevalo, the husband-and-wife team behind Perth hot spot Andaluz, have transformed a block of vacant offices into the CBD’s number one post-work, pre-dinner destination. Whether it’s Brenton Pyke’s bangin‘ tapas or a grown-up drinks list served by dapper bar staff, the Andaluz blueprint is one that more bar owners should follow.

Andaluz Bar & Tapas, 21 Howard St, Perth, WA, (08) 9481 0092

85 Best reason to step into a dark alley

It’s taken a while, but Brisbane finally has its own back-alley bar – and it’s a doozy. The clever space, poised metres above the newly christened Spencer Lane, is the wild-child offspring of last year’s multimillion-dollar revamp of fine-dining restaurant Urbane. The Laneway bar lacks grunge but pays tribute to its gritty location with a black-and-off-white palette, complete with a striking wall-sized metal-cut screen emblazoned with road sign references. The snacks, from Urbane chef Kym Machin, are suitably luscious and judiciously salty, ranging from a wagyu burger with shoestring fries to in-house cured and smoked ocean trout with confit lemon. The Laneway, Spencer La, Brisbane, Qld, (07) 3229 2271

86 Toughest way to get back to nature
Call it Hard Tourism (as in “hard labour”), but a week-long stint at Ecotraining Australia’s Swim Creek camp, sleeping among mozzies and snakes and crocs and sweating buckets in the Northern Territory, is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. The camp is an offshoot of the high-end hoteliers Wild Bush Luxury, so you’re guaranteed gourmet meals and plenty of good times, but the underlying emphasis is on the environment. The facilities might be basic but the experience is anything but. Seven-day stays from $1990.

87 Most fetishised beverage
Seven Seeds, St Ali, Brother Baba Budan, Toby’s Estate, Sensory Lab, Proud Mary, Dukes, Auction Rooms, Outpost – the list of specialty coffee houses/roasters in Melbourne keeps growing at a super-caffeinated pace. With the expansion comes an increasingly complex conversation about vacuum, siphon and pour-over filter methods, single-estate beans, seasonality and the fine art of blending. The latest to throw its hat in the ring is Fleur Studd’s Market Lane. Studd (daughter of GT cheese guru Will) says Market Lane’s focus is on quality, seasonality and provenance, with a particular emphasis on beans sourced from individual farms. “People are finally realising that coffee is an agricultural product subject to location, soil and weather,” she says. “It matters where it’s from.” Market Lane, Shop 13, Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra, Vic, (03) 9804 7434

88 Most death-defying restaurant meal
Chef Kenji Ito’s self-titled eatery, Kenji Modern Japanese, is the only restaurant in Australia to offer fugu, the potentially poisonous Japanese pufferfish, on its menu. The fish are farmed in Japan and then imported to Australia by Oceanic Food in Melbourne. Ito gets his fish without the heads, gills or guts. He uses about 10 fugu a week, preparing them in dishes such as air-dried fugu fin in sake, and fugu skin in ponzu sauce, though his most successful enticement for diners is a triple taste on an $18.50 entrée plate, which includes a small piece of fried fillet. Kenji Modern Japanese, 5/242 Hutt St, Adelaide, SA, (08) 8232 0944

89 Finest gastropub for sunday lunch
From humble beginnings in the ’70s, the Drunken Duck Inn at Barngates in Cumbria has spread its wings to become Britain’s leading gastropub, according to GT contributor and Time Out restaurant critic Guy Dimond. The Lakes District landmark blends the best of the old – a superb slate bar from the local quarry, oak floors, and boutique beers from the award-winning Barngates Brewery – with New English cuisine and hospitality. A long lunch might include ham hock terrine with boiled egg, toast and chutney, followed by braised lamb shoulder with fondant potato.

90 Putting a really good face on it
Call it “face bacon“ if you must, but guanciale, a bacon-like cured meat made from the entire side of the face of the pig (not, as commonly reported, simply the cheek or jowl) has an intensity of flavour that chefs and diners alike can’t resist. Cooked rather than served as salumi, it’s an essential ingredient in many Roman dishes – spaghetti carbonara made the traditional way with guanciale is a revelation. Melbourne’s Donati’s and Sydney’s Quattro Stelle, AC Butchery and Pino’s Meats all make fine examples.

91 Tastiest hotel makeover
One of Melbourne’s finer hotels, the Grand Hyatt Melbourne has emerged from a $45-million makeover bolder, swankier and tastier than ever. The hotel has its own restaurant, Collins Kitchen (the brunches are legendary), and the Ru-Co bar, but it is Greg Malouf’s restaurant MoMo and the adjoining bar, Spice Market, that are really wowing hungry crowds. Malouf encourages family-style eating with sharing platters that might feature crunchy zucchini blossoms stuffed with homemade haloumi, and brik pastry parcels of garfish and chermoula. If you prefer dance music with your mezze, head to Spice Market where Malouf’s bar snacks fortify well-heeled partygoers in this Middle-meets-Far-East club lounge. Rooms from $270. Grand Hyatt, 123 Collins St, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 9657 1234.

92 Skin is the new fat, so get cracking
Whether it’s chicken skin grilled at a yakitori bar or wrapped around fish at Melbourne’s forthcoming Maze restaurant, crisps of fish skin garnishing marinated ocean trout at Sydney’s Foveaux, pork skin enriching morcilla or cotechino sausage, or just a great piece of crackling, chefs are embracing tasty ways to make the most of the whole beast.

93 Most exhilarating art gallery
It hasn’t got the crowds of the Louvre or the cachet of a Guggenheim but the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, is sure to give art-lovers a blast. Dalí’s eccentric take on the world will be familiar to many from last year’s Liquid Desire retrospective of the late artist’s creations at the National Gallery of Victoria. But to witness his works in the fantastical building that Dalí once called home is to immerse yourself in another world entirely – a world defined by paintings, sculpture, fashion, jewellery and photography that challenges our notions of normal.

94 Most outré serving vessel
Beyond the drinks, one of the chief pleasures of new Sydney bar Eau de Vie is the quality of the vintage wares in which they’re prepared and served. Owner Sven Almenning is a noted collector of cocktail antiques and one of his favourite pieces is a glass shaker cast in the shape of a lady’s lower leg, made by the West Virginia Specialty Glass Co in the ’30s, replete with chrome high-heeled slipper. It’s reserved, Almenning says, exclusively for groups of female customers at the bar. “I’d been looking for one of these cocktail shakers for years before I finally managed to purchase one from a fellow collector in the States.” The Lady’s Leg Cosmopolitan, the shaker’s very own signature drink, sees Ketel One Citroen vodka played off against homemade cranberry sorbet. Eau de Vie, 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst, NSW

95 Gnarliest wave in the world
Monster swells like Maverick’s in Hawaii and California’s Ghost Tree are almost predictable in comparison to the pororoca in Brazil. An enormous tidal surge that rises out of Brazil’s Rio Araguari in February and March, the “Great Roar” (as the local Tupi Indians call it) reaches comparatively tame heights of five metres but unfurls itself for half an hour or more. As a bonus, this barrelling water wall is said to sweep up trees, alligators and piranhas as it surges towards the Amazon Basin. Strictly for the insane. (Get a taste for it by searching for “pororoca” on YouTube.)

96 Smartest face lift
When it first opened as a restaurant four years ago, Sydney’s Bentley Restaurant & Bar looked pretty slick, but its recent renovation at the hands of Melbourne interior architect Pascale Gomes-McNabb (best known for her work at Cutler & Co and Cumulus Inc) has raised the bar. The new look, unveiled in February, gives Nick Hildebrandt’s wine and Brent Savage’s food a setting that is both more comfortable and more fittingly luxe without losing the edge that has become the pair’s signature. Bentley Restaurant & Bar, 320 Crown St, Surry Hills, NSW, (02) 9332 2344

97 Best gallery café
The bucolic, peaceful bushland location helps, but even without the smell of eucalypts and the twittering birdlife (and the smart Chris Connell-designed metal and glass dining room), Café Vue at Heide Museum of Modern Art would stand out from the often average gallery café crowd. Flexibility is part of the attraction – sandwiches and quality coffee for the between-exhibition snackers, a weekly changing menu based on produce from Heide’s famed kitchen garden and, three nights a week, dinner that amps things up again in a snail spring roll/skate wing salad kind of fashion. With nary a bain-marie or heat lamp in sight, Shannon Bennett’s foray into the gallery world is a smart and artful success. Café Vue at Heide, 7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen, Vic, (03) 9852 2346

98 New winery that makes a statement
In California’s Napa Valley and Spain’s La Rioja, it’s almost de rigueur for vineyards to have an impressive architect-designed building announcing their winery/cellar door/restaurant, but on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula things have been more low-key. Now, however, Port Phillip Estate in Red Hill South has changed that with a strikingly austere, curved and undulating rammed-earth building that raises the “we’ve arrived” flag. Designed by Wood Marsh, the multimillion-dollar structure provides one of the Australian wine industry’s great moments of architectural theatre when a discreet wooden door in a fortress-like wall swings open to reveal the restaurant and tasting room sitting before a vast curved wall of glass with spectacular views of vines, farm and sea. California, here we come. Port Phillip Estate, 263 Red Hill Rd, Red Hill South, (03) 5989 4444

99 Best excuse for a house party
A restored 1848 sandstone priory has become Tasmania’s hip new spot for weekend gatherings of groups seeking the good life. Ex-investment banker Greg Peacock oversees proceedings at his country seat at The Priory Country Lodge, an hour from Hobart, where the wine, food and conversation flow freely. Group activities include fly-fishing on highland lakes (Alexandra Keating’s a big fan, apparently), golfing at the rustic Ratho Links, Australia’s oldest golf course, whiskey tasting at the bijou Nant Distillery or lingering over a long lunch at Bothwell’s rather good Elm Corner Café and Wine Bar. The Priory’s not only for groups of course – couples are welcome too. Rooms, including breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner, from $400. 2 Wentworth St, Bothwell, Tas, (03) 6259 4012

100 Taking the sting out of nettles
His goat ragù with pappardelle became a must-have dish at his previous berth, Bar Alto, and now Saragossan-born Pablo Tordesillas is converting Brisbane diners to the culinary benefits of nettles at the city’s coolest new dining addition, Ortiga. The stinging leaves (ortiga in Spanish) make an appearance in an intriguing oysters and trotters dish, the trotters wrapped around an oyster and topped with a wafer of pork crackling, the plate dressed with an intensely green-flavoured nettle picada. Ortiga, 446 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, Qld, (07) 3852 1155

This article is from the April 2010 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

Andaluz Bar & Tapas

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:55:00 GMT

The best of Perth’s CBD bar scene serves seasonal cocktails and has an exhaustive range of aperitifs and digestifs as well as a compact list from around the world, with more than 30 wines by the glass. While the specialty is Spain, there’s plenty more especially from Europe’s cutting-edge producers.

21 Howard St,
Perth, WA
T:(08) 9481 0092
W: www.andaluzbar.com.au

Wines on list: 89 (34 by the glass)
Wine list by: Jarle Almeland
Wine prices: $$ ($9-$19 by the glass)
Cuisine: Spanish

Perth Dining The Best in the West

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

The confluence of a mining boom and the liberalisation of licensing laws has sent energetic Perth restaurateurs and bar owners into overdrive, with small bars, restaurants and coffee shops opening with amazing regularity.

Locals are rethinking their breakfast, lunch and after-work habits – and the new enterprises are proving a boon to business travellers and holidaymakers. Nightlife, too, has upped the ante, with new bars such as Helvetica, Venn, LouVe, the Terrace Lounge, XO and – a little further afield – 399, Five Bar, Clarence’s and the Ellington Jazz Club. Two major projects on the Terrace – Print Hall and City Square – will see more than $10m invested in at least 16 new venues in the next year.

Andaluz

Basement Level, 21 Howard Street, Perth.
+61 8 9481 0092.
The pick of the CBD’s small bars, with an impressive array of drinks, first-rate tapas and lively music. Marvellous small platters: jamón, fresh oysters shucked to order, and rich, creamy seasonal croquettes with a dipping sauce. Two mains are offered as daily specials. Open: lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat. Licensed. Lunch bookings. Tapas $6.50-$29.To drink Gin, vodka, rum, tequila, bourbon and whiskies; a seasonal cocktail list and a wine list with 30-plus by the glass. Unexpected choices are a 1990 white Rioja from Lopez de Heredia, a 2006 Dashe Zinfandel (California) and a 1990 Grange.

Source: Qantas The Australian Way June 2011

The Australian Way - Qantas Magazine

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:59:00 GMT

Here’s another sign that the nightlife in Perth is maturing: a lively, sophisticated tapas bar in the CBD that serves great drinks until late and impressive food until at least 11pm weeknights and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

It’s a sprawling subterranean bar with nooks and crannies and comfortable lounges. If food is secondary to drink, there’s still no compromise on quality, freshness, presentation or authenticity of the tapas dishes. Oysters are sparklingly freshly shucked; New Norcia bread accompanies the jamon and other meats; and salads are imaginative – bread salad, roasted peppers, capers and slow-roasted tomatoes. Standouts include the perfectly seared scallops on a disc of Berkshire pork cheek; crispy serrano ham and egg croquettes with lemon thyme aioli; spiced chickpea-battered prawns with avocado puree and yoghurt dressing. Small, neatly formed wine list. The atmosphere is wonderful. www.andaluzbar.com.au

Open: Mon-Thu until midnight, Fri-Sat until 1am. Licensed. Tapas $7-$17.

Source: Qantas The Australian Way October 2010

West Weekend Magazine

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:03:00 GMT

Rob Broadfield - FOOD - 8 August 2009
As far as tapas prices go, Andaluz is the best deal since Real Madrid paid $160 million for Ronaldo. It’s great value.

Tapas is the mongrel cuisine of modern cooking. Pubs, even roadhouses, now have tapas plates. There’s a Turkish tapas restaurant in Melbourne, a North African tapas restaurant in East Perth and a backpacker brew-house tapas bar in Fremantle.

Good tapas doesn’t have to be authentically Spanish but there’s a point at which even the most loose definition of tapas crosses the line. Everyone has a view of where that line is but if it’s made of pig, salt cod, eggs, black pudding, smoked paprika, potato and Spanish ham, it’s probably tapas. If it’s salty and piques the appetite, it’s probably tapas.

Andaluz, a newcomer to Perth, is authentic — not so authentic you want to pronounce Barcelona with a lisp or give your castanets a rattle — but its soul is Spanish.

I’ve been a few times since it opened and it gets better and more sure-footed with each visit. You might have heard “how Melbourne” it is. And, yes, it has a subterranean, edgy, Flinders Lane feel about it, with small rooms, low ceilings, chesterfields, sofas, table lamps, low ceilings and small nooks for banquettes and tables.

I went to lunch with Bubbles (she only ever drinks Champagne) who got all sultry-eyed and Spanish on me.

“You order. I like men who take charge,” she purred, as she kicked her shoes o and stretched out on the chesterfield.

And so I did.

The smoked cod and egg croquettes with lemon zest aioli, $10.50, could have been deeply ordinary. A lot of cafes and pubs are having a go at this dish (croquettes and mayo are very now), most of them badly. Andaluz’s was sublime. A crunchy, perfectly coloured breadcrumb carapace, deep fried over a mousse-like smoked cod fi lling made with bechamel and egg. The aioli was house made and, as promised, very zesty.

The seared scallops, Berkshire pork cheek confi t, sticky alvear PX, $9.50, (bottom right) is perhaps chef Brenton Pyke’s signature dish. It’s small — just two perfect scallops on two perfect “plinths” of slow-cooked pork cheek (shredded, rolled into a sausage shape and then sliced and crisped for service) accompanied by a small smear of ointment-like sherry reduction. It’s one of those rare things: a destination dish, something you’ll cross suburbs to eat. And at $4.75 per piece, cheap when compared to scallop dishes at other so-called tapas places around town.

Spiced albondigas, $8, are meatballs. There were four of them in a small terracotta dish, surrounded by a rich cinnamon tomato sauce. They are made with half beef, half veal mince and breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, sauteed onion and cornfl our (to keep them soft not rubbery). A big fl avour punch comes from the use of dehydrated onions, blitzed to a powder and used as a seasoning: an interesting enhancement that works. They were hot and glossy.

Slow-cooked rabbit with lentils and pearl barley, $9.50, was a cross between a shredded stew and a rich rillettes. The rabbit had been boned and cooked down with a mirepoix (carrot, onion, celery) and then fi nished with wine and butter. The lentils were cooked in a rich stock made from the bones of the bunny and the whole thing was further reduced. Nothing complicated, just simple, rich, generously cooked tapas food with spot-on technique and flavour.

A charcuterie plate was a joy. The various elements — chunky duck rillettes, silky duck liver parfait, poached, skinned and shaved White Rock veal tongue and preserved baby vegetables — were presented in small jars and little tins on a board with fi rst-rate bread: all very modern without being try hard.

I could go on and on about Pyke’s tapas food but I won’t because the puddings deserve more than a passing comment and I’m running out of room.

Milk and Cookies, $9.50, (top right) was a cute idea. A small, old-fashioned glass milk bottle contained a sweet, vanilla-infused creme anglaise. It was served with a straw. The anglaise was “let down” to be thin enough to drink. On the side was an ice-cream cookie — not unlike an Oreo to look at — made with a puck of pistachio ice cream, sandwiched between two biscuits made with a rich, dark chocolate sable pastry that was as bitter as an evening of Joan Rivers’ stand-up. Great cooking and presentation that bring a smile to your face.

A dark chocolate tart, $8, was puckeringly adult, dusted as it was with a fi rst-rate Dutch cocoa over a rich, solid chocolate fi lling and a crumbly chocolate shortcrust. Bubbles was swooning at this point, such is her obeisance to the Great God of Chocolate.

The wine list is small but interesting and thoughtfully curated. The owners will be bringing more exotic Spanish and French titles on board soon.

As far as tapas prices go, Andaluz is the best deal since Real Madrid paid $160 million for Ronaldo. It’s great value. The subterranean space, beneath a heritage law chambers building is a succession of small rooms and — in terms of basement hipness — something not seen in Perth before.

It may not be for everyone because it is first and foremost a bar. Which means you can’t make a booking and on Friday nights it becomes a loud, standing-room only venue, with a DJ pumping out tunes and PYTs hooking up. If you want to eat excellent tapas food, lunch and midweek evenings are a great opportunity to enjoy Pyke’s superb little bites without the bar crush and the manic making-out of Gen Y city workers.

Olé.

Gourmet Traveller

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:16:00 GMT

July 2009 RESTAURANT NEWS | WA
July gourmet news.
The edgy eats and funky European varietals at Howard Street newcomer Andaluz add up to the best small bar food experience in Perth.

Around 18 tapas are on offer, including carpaccio of Black Angus beef with migas, seared scallops with Berkshire pork cheek confit and a small bunch of lovely desserts. The best tables lurk at the back, tucked into nooks and crannies in the building’s old vault room.

Vogue Australia

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:59:00 GMT

Excerpt from June/July 2009 Edition
Once you’ve unpacked, experience Perth’s new lease on life (and rash of small-bar licenses) by cosying up at Andaluz.
This basement-level, wine/cocktail/tapas bar opened early this year to the delight of everyone with a yen for pre-loved leather Chesterfields, vintage Spode ware and good local ingredients.

Manager Ryan Gregory and young chef Brenton Pyke (ex Just Bar) have brought some much-needed laneway style to this part of town. Jut don’t mention Melbourne...

Australian Bar Tender Magazine

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:59:00 GMT

By Simon McGoram
Yes, Perth is well known for being the most remote city in the world but that hasn’t stopped the tapas craze from taking hold. The latest victim of the sometimes faddish ‘Jamón Flu’ is Andaluz Bar & Tapas, but don’t be mistaken, this venture isn’t some flippant punt.

This little laneway joint (one of the city’s first) is already proving to be just the medicine to breathe a little life to Perth’s CDB.

First time operators Ryan Gregory and Carla Arevalo say that they “always hoped to develop an intimate venue which immediately made you feel comfortable and at home.” Looking at photos of chesterfields and cosy little alcoves, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that they’ve done just that. But no, Andaluz isn’t homely, but rather a humming wee business that has immediately captured the imagination of the city’s public.
“Our first Friday night we thought we were ready,” explains Gregory. “We completely under-estimated the effect that opening a new bar in the city would have….We got Slammed! It was a huge eye-opener.”

The team includes chef Brenton Pyke, head bartender Cameron Emerson and Bec Carter who looks after the floor. They are required to attend to the customers that are already piling into cleverly divided, ground floor of a heritage listed building licensed for 120.

“As the building itself was constructed in 1905 we always wanted decor that would fit with the era” begins Gregory. “The main lounge area is setup with leather armchairs, couches, coffee tables, lamps, candles and artwork. As we’re now in 2009 we also wanted each room to have some modern aspects so we’ve also incorporated Ulf Moritz wallpaper from Germany, Bizazza tiles from Italy, polished concrete on the main bar floor and light fittings imported from Spain.”

The feel is certainly that of a Victorian era gentleman’s den juxtaposed with the odd bit of contemporary flair. Take, for example, the detailed cornices sitting side by side to exposed metal beams or dark wood panelling up against the more minimalist grey of the walls.

Gregory and Arevalo worked closely with Perth architect Brandon Cross who assisted in the design and layout of the space. Cross has been involved in bar design in Perth for a number of years and most recently worked on a new Raffles Hotel project.

The entire Andaluz project has taken a couple of years to come to completion even with Gregory putting on the King-Gee’s and steel-caps to help with construction. “Dealing with local government and the Department of Racing, Gaming & Liquor was always going to be interesting,” he explains, “throw in the Heritage Council, as we’re located in a heritage listed building, and you’ll get just a taste of the amount of phone calls, emails and paperwork involved.”

Andaluz received the final approval from the City of Perth and the Department of Racing, Gaming & Liquor on Friday, February 13, 2009. The unlucky day for some was an enormous relief for Gregory and Arevalo.

So far Andaluz appears to be having no trouble enticing punters down the little laneway to fill the space that has been created and filling their stomachs also appears to be working with Andaluz already being the recipient of rave reviews.

“The word ‘Tapas’ has copped a bit of a beating lately and has unfortunately been used to describe a myriad of cuisines and flavours served small and priced high,” comments Gregory; “that’s not what the concept of tapas is about.”

Chef Brendon Pyke’s menu features old favourites like chorizo, olives and Jamón Ibérico, but also has more modern takes on the style like freshly shucked oysters with smoky tomato and Tabasco sorbet.

The owners explain that: “There are plenty of good cocktail and wine bars across Australia, what we have always said is ‘why can’t a high standard of food transfer into a bar environment?’ We will always be a bar first and foremost but we also aim to have an exceptionally high level of food so our guests can drink, graze and interact with their friends.”

Well, true to form the duo have employed ex-Melbourne boy, Cameron Emerson, to lead the drinks program. Sure the venue has the expected selection of sherries, cava, a couple oh-so-trendy Albarinos and the odd Spanish brew, but cocktails and premium spirits are also proving to be in demand.

Martinis and Manhattans are in demand from Andaluz’s clientele and they kick off the cocktail list coming in at inner-city prices ($20 for a 100 proof Rittenhouse Rye Manhattan). Classics are complimented by around a dozen or so contemporary cocktails like the delicious sounding Matso’s Sunset comprised of gin, Campari and Cointreau with Matso’s ginger beer and port. But, if cocktails, really aren’t your thing, premium pours on offer include Belvedere, Chivas, Makers, and Plymouth, all for $9 a nip.

“Why it will work? Perth has been crying out for venues like this for years,” says Gregory, “hopefully ours will not be the last and we can create a different style of drinking culture than Perth is generally known for.”

I’ll raise a sherry to that!

STM Entertainment

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:25:00 GMT

Andrew Bennett, The Sunday Times March 28, 2009
Bloody Victoria
It's become something of a tradition here in the west to declare any legitimately good bar or restaurant “oh so Melbourne”. If a cafe makes its own pasta, suddenly it’s “very Melbourne”. Likewise, a wine bar if it has great international wines. This, of course, is nonsense.

Yes, there are great bars in Victoria, but there are also some distinctly ordinary ones. What’s more important is that Perth is seeing its own bar culture emerge, one independent of east coast attachments. And the CBD’s newest bar, Andaluz, is a fine example of the trend.

City slicker
Opened a few weeks ago in the basement of the heritage-registered Parker & Parker building, Andaluz is a contemporary tapas and wine bar. Its name might be Spanish, but little else is – think dark-hued walls, a secluded stairway and ceilings with intricate cornices and exposed steel beams. The space is rather small, radiating from a central bar that partially covers a kitchen. But a multi-room format cleverly spreads the crowd. Particularly encouraging are the more secluded rooms full of Chesterfield chairs and tables.

Laneway chic

The best part, however, is a small laneway courtyard. There is something innately pleasurable about sipping a martini down the end of a narrowing brick laneway – like Alice falling into Wonderland. Or is that just me?

Stiff drinking
A penchant for hard liquor makes for a good opening to the drinks list, with a medley of excellent spirits ensuring well-executed, sophisticated night-time tipples such as Manhattans and martinis. Other more contemporary cocktails, however, are a little hit-and-miss at the moment. There’s also a small gathering of international wines by the glass and bottle, with excellent wine glasses to match.

Fave rave
Having already charmed the notoriously critical CBD crowd, Andaluz has dutifully been declared a favourite for inner-city social lubrication – a standing it deserves as the pinstripe and stiletto crowd begin to declare it "oh so Perth".

The score: 4/5

21 Howard St, Perth.
9481 0092.
Open Mon-Thur 11am-midnight, Fri 11am-1am, Sat 6pm-1am

Victoria's Travel Blog

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:43:00 GMT

Journey to the West: Perth's best-kept secrets for food and design lovers by Victoria Moxey
It may be known as the most isolated city in the world, but beyond its vast glistening beaches and sunny disposition, Perth is becoming a hotbed of young, innovative retailers, restaurants and bars that are rivalling Australia's east coast neighbours.

From the William Street Collective's art galleries and design outlets in Northbridge and the rejuvenation of the city's laneways and arcades, to the ever-expanding culinary hub of Fremantle, this west-coast capital is becoming a lively scene for food and design lovers.

Here are some suggestions of places to visit where local talent and produce abound, and where you may find it hard to leave without your pockets feeling lighter.

Andaluz
Housed in the basement of a heritage building, Andaluz's interior is a fun, garish twist on old gentleman's club. Shiny Chesterfields are flanked by textured purple wallpaper and vintage bullfighting posters, and a stainless steel bar beams over a chequered tile and mottled polished concrete floor. Mouth-watering dishes of traditional Spanish tapas, occasionally reinvented, can be sampled with wine from 12pm most days.

STM food - The Sunday Times

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:50:00 GMT

Gail Williams - The Sunday Times March 28, 2009
ANDALUZ hits you right in the face but with its east coast feel. I’m not going to mention the M word. Instead I’ll head straight to Spain and talk about sharing superb chorizo sausage over low tables while sipping Segura Vidas sparkling cava.

I’ll focus on freshly shucked oysters while I think about another overworked concept – tapas.

My party slurps from the shell the smoky tomato and Tabasco sorbet before plying our mouths with the smooth balls of brine.

While leaning back in luxurious leather we poke forks into grilled Exmouth tiger prawns and then feel the tastebuds tango to Moorish spices. Fleshy green olives and tiny black ones packed with flavour transport us to a sun-drenched Andalusian olive grove.

We break open crisp empanadas to wafting aromas of steaming shredded braised goat and we mix it with smears of sofrito paste (garlic, parsley, green pepper and onion).

Then there are the fabulous scallops – an orderly line of seared beauties sitting on rounds of confit made from Berkshire pork cheeks, which we mix with Pedro Ximenex just to complete the meal in a mouthful. It all unravels in a seamless segue of Brenton Pyke-prepared dishes (mostly under the $10 mark) as we are guided effortlessly through it all by Bec, the waitress who knows when to suggest the next dish and when to steer clear.

Owners Ryan Gregory and Carla Arevalo call this style of eating tapas – in keeping with Carla’s Spanish heritage. But, while the term has come to encompass any old serve of greasy salt and pepper squid and factory cut chips, here tapas covers inner-city serial grazing at its comfortable best.

Comfort? Barcelona meets Belgravia in leather couches, plush carpet and huge gilt mirrors in the overhauled basement of the old heritage-listed Parker & Parker building. But there’s little stuffiness despite the gentleman’s club look.

It’s dimly lit and has enough quiet nooks to provide romantic tête-à-têtes or business meetings and, in the laneway alfresco area at twilight, people are choosing cocktails or wines by the glass.

We finish with a selection of cheeses – two French and two Spanish – for $25, served attractively with quince paste and honeyed walnuts.

The bill comes to $148.50 for three, not counting a bottle of wine, which curiously didn’t make it to the final tally – a reason to go back.

We come away feeling much lighter than after ploughing through a three-course meal.

Other newcomers in the city are trying hard with this style of dining but just getting things wrong. Here they manage to get it just right.

Barcelona? Melbourne? London? No, it’s Perth – at last.

Love: The smears on the plate, the oysters, the little bliss bomb of flavours in the scallop dish Loathe: It’s taken so long to get here

Food: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Drinks: 4/5
Rating: 16/20

21 Howard St, Perth. 9481 0092. Licensed.
Open Monday to Thursday 11am-midnight, Friday 11am-1am, Saturday, 6pm to 1am.
No bookings taken.

4Bars.com.au

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:54:00 GMT

Posted by Amy Spanton
This small bar in Perth has been on our radar for a few months now but they’ve been so damn busy, it’s taken a while to get them in Openings. Quickly adopted by the starved-for-anything-decent inner city crowd, this cosy bar features an enviable courtyard at the end of a brick laneway.

First-time bar owners Ryan Gregory and Carla Arevalo drew on Ryan’s 15 years in the hospitality industry and Carla’s Spanish heritage to dream up their homely tapas bar (with strong Victorian influences) with the help of Architect and Designer Brandon Cross. Heading up the bar is ex-Melbourne Bartender Cameron Emmerson who worked closely with the owners to develop the carefully conceived drinks selection.

The list features a handful of wines with a strong international focus with over half available by the glass. There is also handy list of classic and contemporary cocktails, international bottled beers and a premium rail of first pour spirits including Belvedere, Chivas, Makers and Plymouth at just $9 a nip. On the food front there is a great mix of contemporary and classic tapas dishes constructed by local Chef Brenton Pyke in conjunction with the owners.

Good Taste - Jane Corne TIMEOUT

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:19:00 GMT

Graze while you drink. Since it was introduced in 2007, Western Australia’s small bar legislation has quietly got on with redefining how we eat out.

Instead of treating wine as an adjunct to food, small bars allow us to consider food as an adjunct to booze.

Without the must-ordera- substantial-meal bogeyman at our shoulder, we find ourselves free to graze a little. To play.

The just-opened Andaluz on the city’s Howard Street is a case in point. In the kitchen is one of Perth’s finest young chefs, Brenton Pyke.

Brenton showed what he could do at his previous gig at Just Wine Bar in Como, where his clean, precise food delivered full-on flavour finished with large dollops of finesse.

Hairy McPool and I test-drive Andaluz on a warm mid-week evening. Set well back from the road and reached by a narrow laneway, it’s only half-full and humming away gently.

This is a relief. I’d visited the previous Friday and could hardly get down the laneway for after-work party animals drinking red wine out of very big glasses. There was even a bouncer.

But tonight the light, airy dining area is a much gentler proposition, its tables small and unbookable. This makes sense given the vibe of the place. Andaluz is altogether more bar then restaurant.

Deeper in, a few wellplaced tables in the back vault and lounge room deliver a more intimate and formal dining experience. These tables can’t be booked either. I think this is a shame.

Hairy and I order two glasses of something unpronounceable and get stuck in – some roasted almonds with paprika and smoked salt ($6) here, a plump sliver of white Ortiz anchovies ($8) there.

Of the dozen tapas on offer, we try five and this feels just about right, quantity-wise.

Carpaccio of black Angus beef ($10.50) is topped with crisp, spiced sourdough breadcrumbs, or migas. Every crispmeets- moist, fatty flesh mouthful is a joy.

Seared scallops with Berkshire pork cheek confit ($9.50) come with a sublimely sticky sweet Pedro Ximenez dressing and plumped-up muscatels.

Black mussels ($8) have been steamed in Manzanilla, which adds a deliciously sweet nuttiness to the rich, fishy juices.

Also on offer is Spain’s famous Jamon Iberico ($25), a range of good cheeses accompanied by quince paste and honeyed walnuts ($7 per cheese) and four lovely puds.

Service wise, our waitress knows her stuff and puts up with Hairy’s shameless flirting with good grace.

For this, and for a young chef with this much passion and this much skill, I give thanks. At a Glance:

Rating
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ambience: 4
Value for money: 5

Style: small bar

Wine: sourced with imagination and style. Could do with a few more Euro-whites by the glass.

Owners: Ryan Gregory and

Carla Arevalo

Chef: Brenton Pyke

Feel: intimate

Wheelchair access: yes

All in all: Edgily-crafted tapas and funky European varietals add up to the best small bar food experience in Perth.

Jane Corne March 21, 2009 – Page 53 POST