I am a bit of a sucker for restaurants with awesome, quirky fitouts. Gazebo in Elizabeth Bay has a taxidermy fox (named Foxy) hanging from the ceiling! It’s these little touches that I love. So, on my latest trip to Perth I was looking forward to visiting Kitsch Bar. Aptly named, the furniture is a mish-mash of weird and wacky items. A giant frangipani tree shelters the outdoor courtyard, and I can’t help but think of how awesome this place would be on sultry summer evenings.

I started with a Kitsch Ginger Beer, which long time readers will know I’m addicted to. It was a decidedly boozy, yet refreshing concoction of 42 Below vodka, ginger syrup and mint. It was also available with chilli vodka if you’d like a spiced up version. There’s also a selection of bottled beers and a pretty cracking wine list.

The menu consists of Asian hawker-style share plates with really big, bold flavours, yet there is still a remarkable amount of skill and sophistication. We loved the Salted Tasmanian ocean trout with tomato tamarind caramel and crispy szechuan hens egg. It was a beautifully balanced and delicious dish.

We couldn’t go past the Steamed pork dumplings with hot chilli sauce and sticky soya. I loved these little parcels of deliciousness, but I only wish it was a bigger serving because they were all kinds of addictive!

We also tried the Spiced corn fritters with coriander and green chilli syrup. While they were tasty, with a burst of sweetness from the corn and a hit of spice from the syrup, these were a little on the heavy side. I think the best corn fritters I’ve had were at Izakaya Den in Melbourne, and I think it had a lot to do with the much lighter batter which gently held the sweetcorn kernels together.

I was pretty excited about the Spiced green papaya salad with peanuts, cherry tomatoes and sweet, salty pork ribs. Our waitress warned us that it was quite spicy, but I didn’t really even notice much spice, and I’m usually a bit of a chicken when it comes to chilli. Nonetheless, I loved the balance of flavours and the awesome pork ribs, but even between the two of us we couldn’t finish the salad.

For dessert, we couldn’t go past the Chocolate sandwich with peanut brittle ice cream. Now, children, no matter how full you may be, this is not a dessert that bodes well with sharing! It looked pretty on the plate and I loved the snickers-like taste, and the texture combination between the sandwich elements and the brittle sprinkled on top.

The atmosphere at Kitsch Bar was great with not a hint of pretentiousness (all too common in Sydney bars.) I totally loved the décor and the quirky touches everywhere you looked – and also might be the coolest restaurant bathrooms ever. The staff were cheerful and really helpful especially when it came to how many dishes to order. Even the music was awesome, it sounded like someone pinched my iPod! It’s great to see places like Kitsch popping up in Perth and I can’t wait to go back on a warm evening, to sip a cocktail at dusk beneath that stunning frangipani tree.

Kitsch Bar – 229 Oxford St, Leederville WA – (08) 9242 1229