Gibney has been the talk of the town since opening on May 6, and rightly so. It’s the first luxury restaurant to grace Marine Parade in 20 years, shaking up Perth’s upscale dining scene with a French brasserie-inspired menu.
“We are not fine dining. Fine dining is smaller portions, a 10-course degustation. Gibney’s menu has steaks and pasta… you’re not leaving here hungry,” Kailis Hospitality Group managing director George Kailis tells Broadsheet.
As you approach Gibney, strains of classical music offer a glimpse of the upscale dining experience that awaits. While the ocean views and impeccably dressed staff in white waistcoats is impressive, the fit-out by Rezen Studio holds its own, particularly after sunset.
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SUBSCRIBE NOWAt the helm of Gibney’s culinary team is head chef James Cole Bowen (previously of The Corner Dairy, Le Rebelle and Restaurant Amuse), whose enthusiasm for classic French-style cooking is in every dish.
“This style of cooking is my domain… it’s where my heart is. I was inspired by old-world flavours and wanted to do something classic and modern,” Cole Bowen tells Broadsheet.
The chef’s menu, curated over six months, highlights the region’s finest produce. Local produce from The Mushroom Guys and Amelia Park are served alongside Stirling Ranges beef, Great Southern Groves olives, Nannup’s Cambray Cheese, and seafood from Endeavour Foods and Fins Seafood.
The seafood bar offers Pacific oyster kilpatrick with preserved chilli and smoked lardo, while the grill boasts western rock lobster with curried buckwheat and vadouvan butter. The standout of the pasta selection is the Shark Bay clam spaghetti. As for mains, the Gibney caesar (served tableside) and Fremantle swordfish (300 grams) are knockouts.
Cole Bowen has honoured the classics while adding a modern twist. Notably, the Waldorf salad replaces traditional ingredient apples with in-season nashi pears.
“I think the Waldorf salad is one of those dishes that surprised me. I think it’s the best, it doesn’t look like much, but flavour-wise, it’s my favourite thing,” he says.
His inventive approach stands out in dishes like the beef tartare with charcoal-infused mayonnaise and the Hiramasa kingfish with crispy, salty tempura eggplant, a modern take on the classic fish’n’chips and one of Cole Bowen’s favourite dishes.
“The tartare was definitely one dish I knew would go on the menu from the start. The only thing we’ve done differently is the charcoal mayonnaise. Essentially we take the hot charcoal wood from our oven, plunge the hot charcoal into oil, steep overnight and use that oil to make mayonnaise,” explains Cole Bowen.
Pastry chef Richard Dormer and Cole Bowen worked together on the dessert menu to ensure all bases were covered. The result? Three desserts: Gibney chocolate cake with olive oil gelato; coconut sago with passionfruit gelato; and strawberries and cream, which is dished up tableside, with shaved red berry ice and strawberry consommé.
The vast drinks menu features everything from whisky to gin, cognac and wine, including Perth’s largest champagne selection. Yet it’s the tableside cocktails, particularly the smoked Negroni, that steal the show. Made with gin, honeycomb vermouth, and coffee-stained Campari, it’s not just a drink, it’s a spectacle.
Gibney
40 Marine Parade, Cottesloe
(08) 9468 1540
Hours:
Daily midday–late
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