Perth’s Best New Cafes and Casual Spots of 2023

A white tablecloth, crystal glassware and heavy silverware absolutely has its place, but there’s something pure and precious about hoeing into a flaky pastry on a milk crate, or biting into a sandwich sitting in a car park with gravy dripping onto your shirt, or ice-cream dripping down your wrist as you grab a cone on a summer’s day.

Our list sees four Italian spots serving everything from pizza (by the slab or in a beautifully blistered pie) to porchetta and gelato, two coffee windows, a casual curry spot in a suburban skate park, a permanent location for a popular Middle Eastern pop-up, a family-friendly chicken joint and a bakery serving beautifully buttery baked goods.

Here in alphabetical order are the cafes, bakeries and casual eateries that turned our heads in 2023 – plus two honourable mentions.

## Al Trancio Slabs of Pizza, Belmont## Homey Italian cooking is the name of the game and, thanks to Marco di Ciano’s keenly priced menu, it’s hard to lose. While Roman-style pizza (sold by the slice, slab or half slab) is the house specialty, the porchetta panini is what you’re really here for: a hefty sandwich starring rosemary-spiked roast pork, cradled between two golden plinths of house-baked flatbread.

## Casa Pizza Wine, Mount Hawthorn## What’s better than pizza and wine? Pizza and wine at home in your pyjamas. Enter Casa Pizza Wine, a takeaway spot with serious pedigree. It’s a spin-off of Casa (just next door) and it’s helmed by Alex Cuccovia (now-closed Ace Pizza), Paul Bentley (Si Paradiso) and Cale Mason. These beautifully blistered pizzas are hardy and designed to survive even the bumpiest drive home. Their pizza dough is given a 72-hour ferment and fired in a twin-deck Moretti Forni oven. Favourites include a twist on the Hawaiian with a zingy habanero and pineapple salsa; and a carbonara-inspired pizza with scamorza, guanciale, onions, black pepper and egg yolk. @casa _ pizza _ wine

## Coffee Heads, Vasse## Coffee Heads is set to turn all your expectations of drive-though coffee on, well, their head. The roadside kiosk from three local hospo heavyweights – chef Brendan Pratt (ex- Vasse Felix), and James Tischhauser and Isaac Kara (both Margaret River Roasting Company) – is proving a godsend for weary motorists. The knockout is a roast chicken roll, a potato bun packed with garlic and lemony roast chicken, dashed in house-made gravy and seasoned with lemon zest and smoked paprika. Coffee is a custom blend with smooth buttery notes which work both hot and cold. There’s also a miso-caramel milkshake for the young and young-at-heart. @wearecoffeeheads 

## Dahl Daddys, Margaret River## Trading out of an after-hours cafe at the Margaret River Skate Park, ex-boilermaker Corey Rozario is serving singular, deeply satisfying curries and dal that celebrate his family’s Burmese roots as well as South Asian food culture at large. The dal – as the name suggests – is made according to his dad’s recipe, kangaroo is turned into bunny chow and a potato and meatball curry, and the balachan, laphet (Burmese tea leaf salad), brinjal (eggplant pickle) and other condiments are house-made.
@dahldaddys

## Goldbird, Fremantle## Short Order Burger Co supremo Simon Kony knows a thing or two about deliciousness betwixt bread. So it comes as no surprise that his expansion into the realm of fried chicken sandwiches has been good news for eaters. The chicken tenders come in a range of spice levels, the limited chicken-skin sandwiches have all the hallmarks of signature dish status, and everything is tied together by a fun retro bent. @goldbirdhotchicken

## Yalla Bala, Leederville Ben Kotkis wouldn’t say he’s a great cook. We’d disagree. Since 2020, the humble Kotkis has taken Middle Eastern pop-up Yalla Bala all around Perth, where diners have made quick work of his juicy spiced chicken shawarma, grilled mushrooms, and golden and verdant falafels. In October he found a permanent home for the pop-up in the former Servo Kebab space. The menu is anchored in Levantine classics and packed with little details that help Yalla Bala stand out from the crowd: the falafels are packed with herbs and zucchini, the amba sauce is attractively sour and the tahini is gorgeously garlicky. @yalla.bala

##Honourable mentions##

Grain Bakery, Shenton Park: Grain Bakery’s newest location sells treats such as a Reuben-inspired pain Suisse, pastries filled pecorino and ’nduja paste, and danishes freighting mushrooms, XO sauce and pine nuts. There are also classics like a ham and cheese croissant, doughnuts and loaves, all made in an open kitchen.

Hoodburger, Duncraig: It might not get more retro than this! Duncraig is the fifth location for the family restaurant with a warm-hued ’80s design. It’s serving modern takes on a menu that wouldn’t feel out of place in an Archie comic. Think smash burgers, chicken tenders, fries and (liquor-spiked) milkshakes.

Additional reporting by Holly Bodeker-Smith, Martin Eade and Clare Ryan.