Mount Lawley’s food scene is really one street. Beaufort Street carries almost everything worth ordering in the suburb, and you can read it like a book by following the street numbers north from the 500s to the 670s.
That’s exactly how this shortlist runs: south to north, by address, so you can turn it into a walk. Four detours off the strip earn their place at the end.
The 500s: curry, pizza and Perth’s original small bar
Start at Ischia near the 500 mark at the Highgate end, run by a family that grew up in the restaurant business and cooks with the confidence of decades behind the pass. A little further on, 2 Fat Indians at 524 does spice-driven Indian cooking, the kind built on layered blends rather than one-note heat, in a room that balances comfort with a bit of polish and genuinely warm hospitality.
Mack Daddy’s New York Slice at 560 solves the group-feed problem: pizzas come as a big slice, a 16-inch or a 22-inch, and the 22 equals four regular pizzas. Big Tony’s Pepperoni and The Baller, loaded with housemade meatballs, Italian sausage, fresh chilli and onion, are the orders, with mozzarella sticks and buffalo wings on the side and a fully licensed bar since its latest upgrade.
Two doors up at 566 sits the strip’s most storied room. Clarences Company Store opened in 2009 and essentially started Perth’s small-bar trend, then re-opened in January 2021 with a menu by Varnish on King’s chef Daire Fox. The kitchen champions Western Australian produce with an American accent: grilled Leeuwin Coast Akoya oysters, a fried deboned chicken, a 700-gram sirloin on the bone, with Dandaragan organic beef and Linley Valley pork appearing across the menu. The cocktail list takes its cues from New Orleans, so order the Sazerac or work through the martini range. Live jazz has now arrived too, a first for the venue, which was never approved for live music in its earlier life.
Next door at 568, Medellin cooks Colombian food through breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the Picada the plate locals point you toward and outdoor tables for warm evenings.
The 630s to 670s: beer, cake and a bistro with three faces
Caboose Beer at 639 runs 12 taps of constantly rotating craft beer and welcomes both kids and dogs, which makes it the rare beer bar that works for a Sunday family session as well as a proper tasting mission.
The arcade at 669 hides two of the strip’s best sweet stops. Bossman Coffee, in the same arcade as Cantina 663, pairs serious coffee with a huge cabinet of European cakes under lightshades made from cymbals, and it’s an easy place to lose an afternoon. Butter Crumbs, which began as a farmers’ market stall at Mt Claremont before a three-year Inglewood pop-up, now turns out some of Perth’s most awarded cakes and pies under chefs Zie and Bea: fig tarts, truffle cheesecakes, Earl Grey orange tarts and strawberry pies, plus flaky savoury pies filled with mushroom ragout or beef rendang. The menu shifts with the seasons because the kitchen works directly with local growers.
Across the road, Lady Annie at 672 opens from 6.15am on weekdays and 7am on weekends for coffee and toasties, making it the earliest start on this list; it trades until 2pm, so treat it strictly as a morning move. And at 676, Le Rebelle spreads familiar European cooking across three tiers, a bistro, a wine bar and an intimate dining room, with generous plates and a concise wine list where every bottle is chosen for a reason, backed by local and international beer, cider and a handful of classic cocktails. It sits close to The Astor, so it’s the natural bookend to a show.
“This is our house and you’re our guest.” That’s how Le Rebelle describes itself, and it’s a fair summary of how the whole strip treats you.
The far end: Turkish at 62
Down at the other extreme of the street, Antep Mangal at 62 Beaufort St does casual Turkish for families and groups, with falafel and stuffed eggplant for the vegetarians and ayran, the salted yoghurt drink, poured alongside proper Turkish tea. It made the shortlist because nothing else on the strip covers this territory, and the room asks nothing of you beyond an appetite.
Worth stepping off the strip
Four detours justify leaving Beaufort Street. Coode Street Cafe at 24 Coode St is the breakfast room, red wall, pavement seats, a praised vegetable quiche and Fiori coffee, and it fills fast at peak hour. Fat Dragon Asian Diner at 8 Walcott St serves modern Chinese under neon and lanterns, with chef Ken Lee working a flaming wok and proper vegan and gluten-free options.
Also on Walcott, L’Antica Trattoria at number 60 is the value play: BYO, rustic brick walls, pizza and pasta with a tiramisu finish. And on Central Avenue, Bar Vino runs a double life, Willing Coffee brews by day, then the room turns into a wine bar with more than 150 bottles, an Italian list built around Sangiovese, and seasonal Italian cooking from local produce. Chianti Classico and Montalcino are both well represented if you want to go deep.
Keep walking
The strip changes constantly, and this list will too. For the complete picture, browse the full list of food and drink in Mount Lawley, or zoom out with the Mount Lawley local guide.
