Public House, Perth CBD
I had lunch at Public House Perth recently with my work colleagues to celebrate a birthday. It was a Wednesday and dead quiet. Our table was on the alfresco terrace at the front of the restaurant, facing sideways to the street and set back far enough so the traffic noise wasn’t a bother.
Public House has been open for almost two years now; I’ve been meaning to check it out but something’s always thwarted my plans. The menu is South American-inspired and while the ‘small’ section of the menu features a number of single serve items, the majority of dishes are designed to be shared. Most of our group ordered a couple of small items each – the empanadas and soft shell crab sliders were very well received. I can’t get enough ceviche and so my dilemma was in choosing between white fish and salmon. I was impressed with the serving size, larger than I had expected for $14 – cubes of tender raw salmon, ever so thinly sliced red onions, all slightly over-salted but sensational with a decent squeeze of lime that cut through the richness of the coconut. Perhaps a little greedily and in hindsight, unnecessarily, I also ordered the mini chilli dog (AU$8) – a hot dog in a dinner roll, with caramelised onions and roasted red chilli that burned from the first bite – the zingy ceviche was a great way to cool down. I’ve found house made sausage has a tendency to be too meaty, dense and dry and lacking springiness – that was exactly the case here. Not the best $8 I’ve ever spent, but no biggie.
This was a good first meal. I’d like to return on a day off so I can relax over a leisurely lunch and share some of the more substantial dishes. Cola 12-hour wagyu ribs with fried garlic; spit roast pork with apple jam, cachaça and guava; smoked lamb shoulder, chilli peas and scallions with lime – all sound terrific, but I’d love to enjoy them without having to rush back to the office.
Public House Kitchen and Bar
Shop 2, 263 Adelaide Terrace (Ground Floor, Durack Centre)
Perth WA 6000
Lunch and dinner Monday to Friday; dinner only on Saturday; closed on Sundays
When googling, make sure you search for ‘public house perth’, or you may find Melbourne’s Public House instead.
We shared chilli yuca (cassava) fries, salt & vinegar spritz, huancaína (AU$10) and sweet potato fritas and smoked chipotle mayo (AU$10) – not pictured. The yuca fries were crisp, the sweet potato fritas floppy. The smoked chipotle mayo was a winner. 
A few of the group ordered the empanada (AU$6) – the filling of the day was spicy lamb and capsicum. 
The buttermilk bun slider (AU$8) of the day – soft shell crab, which seems to be replacing pulled pork as Perth’s slider filling of choice. This appears to be the way to present a soft shell crab slider these days and while I think it’s clever, I can’t help imagining these little beasties scuttling across the table… 
The house made mini chilli dog (AU$8) – not quite what I’d envisaged as a ‘chilli dog’, and as noted above, a very meaty but dry sausage (even with sauce). 
My ceviche – salmon, young coconut and lime (AU$14). This was great. But it made me it made me long for another raw fish dish – ahi poke, which I ate in Hawaii last year and have been craving ever since. 
From the Rapido menu – feijoada (Brazilian pork and bean stew), 62 degree egg, grilled casa bread. The rapido lunch special menu is available Monday to Friday 11.30am to 3.30pm – $18 per dish or $22 with a glass of house wine, soft drink, or coffee. The lunch specials change fortnightly. 
Public House is at the ground floor of Durack Centre, across the road from the Duxton Hotel, on the corner of Adelaide Terrace and Victoria Avenue.