Gibney, one of WA’s most anticipated new venues, opened its doors over the weekend. The first of two major 2024 openings from George Kailis, Gibney made waves for the appointment of gun head chef James Cole Bowen (The Corner Dairy, Le Rebelle and Restaurant Amuse) as well as its landmark location.

The fine diner is the first new venue to come to Marine Parade in 20 years and, as Kailis told Broadsheet in November 2023, “we’re here for locals, but we want people coming from Tokyo to Perth to go to Gibney… It’s about creating a destination venue like no other.”

The 600-square-metre space marries an al fresco area with curved frontage and panoramic views from South Cottesloe to Rottnest with a luxe interior fit-out from Rezen Studio and soaring three-metre-high ceilings. Kailis described the space as “six-star Parisian hotel lobby meets Californian country club”. The staff are decked out appropriately with waistcoats and push gold-rimmed trolleys for tableside service.

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Head chef Cole Bowen spoke to Broadsheet again in the wake of the venue’s opening and was able to share his exclusive takes on the six must-try dishes at the new venue.

For Cole Bowen, the mussels escabeche with sourdough soldiers, pickled carrot and dill is “one of the most elegant snacks from the seafood bar [and] the perfect start to a Gibney luncheon”. While the mussels in this case are South Australian – which veers away from the venue’s “uniquely West Australian… uniquely Cottesloe” ethos – the dish is emblematic of the seafood-forward menu.

Cole Bowen would follow it up with the Hiramasa kingfish with crème fraîche tartare and tempura eggplant. The dish is “a playful nod to the classic fish’n’chips” that you’d so often see being enjoyed on the sand at Cott. “The cured Hiramasa kingfish is served raw and sliced sashimi-style but it’s elevated with the addition of the tempura eggplant, which is fried and coated in a nori and vinegar powder which acts as the ‘chip’ element,” he tells Broadsheet.

Gibney’s eye-catching and venue-defining parilla-style grill is responsible for Cole Bowen’s next two must-order dishes. “[I] can’t go past our signature steak from the Gibney grill, featuring gold medal award-winning, hand-selected Angus beef, which has been grass fed in WA… then finished on grain at the foothills of Stirling ranges beneath the iconic Bluff Knoll,” he says. The 750-gram dish is perfect for sharing and comes with Gibney’s take on classic diane sauce. His features “barbequed oyster mushrooms instead of the traditional button mushrooms” and is paired perfectly with a serve of fries and tarragon mayonnaise.

“It’s not just our meats that get the parilla grill treatment,” the chef continues, “at Gibney we take our vegetables seriously too. One of the boldest dishes on the menu, [the] sugarloaf cabbage, certainly gives the steaks a run for their money. After being halved, steamed and chilled, it’s finished over the coals giving it a smoky flavour. The addition of XO sauce packs a punch on this vegan masterpiece.”

The two final dishes Cole Bowen has chosen to highlight – spaghetti with Shark Bay clams and Glacier 51 toothfish – spotlight seafood. The spaghetti is house-made on the venue’s extruder. The clams are “cooked and steamed open to order” in a sauce of white wine, chilli, garlic and onion, along with a splash of pasta water. Mixed through is “seaweed spaghetti, [which] is essentially the same pasta dough but with blended roasted nori through to give a dark colour and ocean vibe to it”.

The venue’s final show stopper is a delicate and flaky Glacier 51 toothfish steamed to order and served with cucumber ribbons, which are “salted for 20 minutes, washed, marinated and topped with freshly grated garlic before being dressed and crowned with hand-picked Thai basil and coriander”.

Gibney
40 Marine Parade, Cottesloe

Hours:
Daily midday–late

www.gibneycottesloe.com