Lalla Rookh Bar & Eating House

Set in the heart of the Perth CBD I visited Lalla Rookh on a quiet Wednesday night. The service was speedy with a touch of that too cool for school attitude. The food was quite good. I had the parpadelle which was pretty good and my partner the spinach ravioli which I must say was super fresh. A strong ³⁄₅ and I would go again.

Loved this place for our Christmas lunch. Great food, nice atmosphere, good service. Easy to go here when you work in the CBD. All the pastas we had were amazing! Definitely will come back here.

Service was amazing. 5 star.
Food was good but not great. Portion-​size let you down. Expectations were higher for Italian dining. We had the pizza, and 2 different types of pasta. Pizza was far too small for the price. Prawns should have been the feature in the pasta, not minced.
Atmosphere was good. Lots of space and interesting design. Albeit tough to find.

This place never disappoints! The food is consistently good! You can tell the produce is extremely fresh! I’ve been here three times now and i would go again!
The portion sizes are also very generous! Definitely a place to try out if your heading to the city!

We were a group of 14 for our work Xmas dinner here. We had a set menu (shared tapas style). Delicious food, yummy cocktails and a nice setting. The tables aren’t too close together so you don’t feel like it’s crowded even when it’s busy.

Lalla Rookh is a quality wining and dining option in the CBD. Located downstairs on the corner of St George’s Terrace and Sherwood Court, it has outdoor, lounge bar and seated dining areas.
The food is Italian and they do it very well indeed. I find Lalla Rookh a little pricey, which comes with the real estate, I guess, and the menu is too meat heavy for my liking. However, the food I have eaten there has been absolutely delicious and the wine superb. The service has also been excellent. I really appreciate the kitchen being open a little later, and it’s a good place to pop into after events at the Concert Hall for this reason.
I don’t cope well with noise, so my one beef with Lalla Rookh is that the hard surfaces inside seem to amplify the noise to a level that is uncomfortable for me. I tend to avoid it when busy because going down those stairs on a rowdy night can feel like entering a cacophonous pit. When it’s not noisy though, it’s pretty awesome.

Superb pasta! I am so glad that we found the restaurant through Unilocal.The prawn tagliatelle and gnocchi were well executed. We would definitely recommend lalla rookh!

Craving for some Italian food? Head down to Lalla Rookh and you won’t be sorry! Their pastas are fresh and appetizing, the menu has something for everyone and of course — being a bar as well — you can order a nice cold beer or a cocktail to go with your meal… This place is quite a hub and a lot of people seem to like heading there after work, and it’s no wonder why… With great food, drinks, good atmosphere and friendly staff it sure leaves people coming back for more

Had dinner with my partner and another couple. Had the barramundi — yummy crispy skin. Red wine was awesome (it was a Cabernet Merlot). Can’t remember the name — sorry — got a bit too acquainted with the wine by the end of the night.
The atmosphere is great. We all shared the large cured meats and antipasto — top quality.
We were the last ones to leave the restaurant.
Definitely will be coming back next time.

Seriously impressed with the food. Had dinner with two friends and the three of us all went for the pasta — just different dishes. Firstly, you can tell its homemade, it’s perfect and tasty and misshaped but still uniform. Secondly, loved the complimentary bread which was like savory but also had a honey drizzling through it?! Super tasty!
I had the vegetarian ravioli which was filled with caramelised figs, sage, walnuts and kale I think. For a main course size, I received 6 decent sized ravioli. My girlfriends had a pheasant ragu and pappardelle and the other a tomato-​based ricotta gnocchi. None of us wanted to share — a really good sign. We all are everything but none were hungry.
Brilliant service. Just LOVED it!

I’d watched chef Joel Valvasori’s food on instagram for years before I finally made it to Lalla Rookh to try it. His seasonal creations, made with the spirit of traditional Italian cuisine but with a refined edge were the stuff of late night drooling sessions for me across the other side of the country. Exquisite pasta, plates heaving with meat and bone marrow, charred toast, fresh vegetables… I had an inkling I would enjoy this food before I’d even taken a seat!
Fortunately this was one of those times when the reality perfectly matches the expectation.
We removed choice and went with the il capo menu so we could sit back, relax and chat while enjoying the procession of dishes. I love this approach to dining as it means we got the best dishes from the kitchen and they were paced in a way that balanced flavours and textures. Highlights were the bone marrow and a delicate eel pasta dish. The osso bucco tipped us over the edge in terms of stomach capacity and almost… almost… encroached upon the dessert stomach which meant we had to force feed ourselves the textural delight of the fried custard (think: squishy warm centre, crunchy exterior)
Pro tip: not for small eaters. Skip lunch and wear your stretchy pants.

Went here for the first time for a work team dinner and boy was I impressed! Wow! What an awesome bar/​restaurant :)
Set on St Georges Terrace the lower ground at the Allendale Square building, you enter by stairs, we nearly missed it! Once you get down the stairs you enter a gorgeous little court yard with nice bar tables and stools and you walk in and to one side you have beautiful interior with comfy couches and eclectic chandeliers and art. And to the other side you have a long bar with an assortment of wines and alcoholic beverages. Then walk further in an there is the lovely intimate restaurant.
We enjoyed a few drinks in the bar area I had a delicious red wine. Lalla Rookh have quite an assortment as they have a wine store that is inspired by Italy showcasing Australian and International wines.
Lalla Rouke offer an all-​day menu suitable for long lunches, mid– afternoon grazing and late night dinners at the bar.
We dined in the restaurant, for starters shared an assortment of SALUMI & Co which was the house selection of cured meats, cheese, olives, pickles & grissini wow if this was the starters I was very excited for the main! For main I chose the pappardelle with sugo di carne: organic
beef & free range pork ragu which was absolutely amazing and it didn’t disappoint! The pasta melted in your mouth and the taste was immaculate! So so so amazing!
I had such a wonderful experience at Lalla Rookh and look forward to trying this impressive bar and eating house again :)

I have been to Lalla Rookh three times now, and every time has been absolutely amazing. The service is always great, with staff attentive but not constantly hanging around. The food has been perfect each time. I’ve never eaten rabbit before, but I chose the pappadelle with rabbit and chestnuts for something different, and I’m so glad I did! It was delicious, and such a great serving size. My friend had the osso bucco, and it was perfect.
The most recent time, I had the pan roasted chicken. I was a little concerned because it’s just chicken, how great can it be, but oh it was incredible.
All three times I’ve been have been with large groups, and every time, not one person has walked away disappointed (except maybe about the ravioli, please make it a bigger serving!). There’s a great selection of desserts, and the wine list is huge.
Definitely a winner!!!

I love Lalla Rookh. So much. I have only managed to make it out to the restaurant a couple of times, but each time it’s blown me away and I’ve sworn that I’ll be back sooner next time. Walking downstairs into the hidden yet open ‘atrium’ area, you feel transported off of the busy terrace. The underground restaurant area is intimate and spacious all at once. Being here with both a group of girlfriends and just my husband, it’s perfect for both types of night out. Unlike so many restaurants, the sound here is well-​considered. It’s not hushed, but it’s not loud. There is atmosphere and conviviality — but you can hear your own conversations. It’s brilliant.
There is only one issue with Lalla Rookh — the eternal debate over whether to order al a carte… or get the il Capo menu (a 6 course degustation of the chef’s choice). This truly is a heartbreaking decision. With girlfriends, I tend to go for the order as you go option. Usually starting with a meats and cheese platter (so good!), then having a main or a few smaller dishes to share. With my husband, it’s the il Capo menu. And the promise that next time, we’ll come back and share the roasted hickory smoked beef on the bone and get a few other dishes. It doesn’t help that I Instagram-​stalk the chef, so I see a lot of the amazing dishes that circulate only on the il capo menu.
The staff have always been lovely and helpful. Not overbearing, but right there with an answer or some guidance if we need it.

Rookh is best described as an upscale gastropub. It’s not a quiet place (noise levels are ’ average’ in the restaurant portion, but high in the bar-​area) and seating is comprised of a mix of high tables & stools, booths, and regular tables. Thus, Rookh is not fine dining in the classic sense.
However, the food is totally delicious although a bit more ‘bold’ than the subtle combinations found in a traditional fine-​dining restaurant. Take for example the fig with crunchy bacon and ricotta. Delicious combination of sweet, smoked, and fresh but not exactly subtle.
We opted for the chef’s selection (really good value at $ 65 (or $ 55?) per person) for the table, which is a mini-​degustation consisting of 6 shared courses. In addition to the fig dish above, there was a cod mousse on parsley oil, delicious bone marrow, fantastic lasagnieta (?) pasta with goat, a tasty kielbasa on sauerkraut, and a really delicious desert. Excellent beers on tap too.
I don’t give out 5 stars easily, but this place was just great. I wasn’t too excited about the continuously rotating servers bringing out the various dishes (although one or two remained constant through the evening) and the fact that there was no write-​up of the chef’s selection (which of course means that when in a group you miss some of the descriptions of the courses). But overall this was pretty fantastic. I will be back.

I don’t know why it took me so long to visit this place, because it certainly blew my mind. Lalla Rookh is broken up into three sections: bistro wine bar, outdoor garden area and the main area– the bar/​restaurant section.
The wine store, is an awkward space, however they have converted it into a chic French style wine nook. It’s the nucleus for suits, in particular lawyers and barristers– typical post work CBD hangout.
There is a range of wines to drink and buy, as well as the same menu throughout the restaurant. I shared nonna’s meatballs with soft polenta and parmigiano as well as smoked mushrooms & roasted bacon, mille erbe
salad, pangrattato, aged balsamico — which was very good, however a little too salty for my liking.
Service was fast and efficient and I can’t wait to check out the rest of the sections with friends and indulging in a decadent lunch or dinner.

Great location for pre drinks/​dinner if you have an event to go to at Perth Concert Hall. Until I got there I hadn’t actually realised this has taken the place of Emporio which I frequented regularly when I worked in the CBD, so initially I felt sentimental that it was no longer Emporio, but once I saw the menu I was pretty stoked and positive it was going to be a good experience. The staff were very accommodating and understanding that we wanted to be in and out quickly to make it in time for the opening night of Telstra Perth Fashion Festival, and assisted us with fantastic recommendations.
The smoked mushrooms with roasted maple bacon were a hit — but there can always be more bacon ;-) If I’d had more time I definitely would have made room for the Italian doughnut sandwiches for dessert, but alas, looks like I’ll just have to come back again.

Updated review! Because I was treated to such an amazing meal and such great service from the staff!
Head Chef Joel and Manager Pat made my sister and I feel so welcome and really comfortable, even while seated at a higher table at the centre of the floor.
Loved that beef carpaccio and tried some more of their available wines and they really are quite delectable! Could have easily sat there all night and drank and basked in the great vibe that is Lalla Rookh.
If you’re even contemplating the chef’s menu I would say, stop hesitating and just do it! $ 55 a head and you’re treated to a feast!
All the staff sure know what they’re doing and talking about, which gives them a much deserved mention on the Gourmet Traveller this year! The way they talk about the food and make sure their diners are treated well, is such a great experience I dare you to try fault!
Had no choice to bump this rating up to 5 stars! I could see me coming back here every week! If you go, tell them My sent you!

In the recent months, I’ve certainly not been a stranger to Lalla Rookh — upon arrival, the waitstaff occasionally share my coy smile and I indulge into the lead up to my favourite pasta course, which is always beautifully introduced by the man behind the magic, Chef Joel Valvasori. I’m really fond of Chef’s Menus, Prix Fixes and Degustations — ordering ala carte always makes me feel like I’m missing out on something. The il capo menu at Lalla Rookh offers 6 courses for $ 55 per person, which easily makes it one of the most affordable degustations you’re likely to come across in Perth.
Upon each visit, the menu alters slightly — so far, there’s always been a different pasta and something delightfully generous for the carnivores. No matter what, you leave the table full and immensely satisfied, but not before an espresso or a neat nightcap to conclude a well done meal.
«We offer an all-​day menu suitable for long lunches, mid– afternoon grazing and late night dinners at the bar.» — How they describe their menu, I think, embodies the unique spirit that I feel every time I walk into Lalla Rookh. It’s my restaurant reliable, easily my sole favourite restaurant in Perth — it’s in it’s own way, mysterious, endlessly comforting and definitely fancy; the type of place that you could impress just about anyone in, without getting hot under the collar or cashing in your life savings.
Look out for the Bone Marrow, the Pannacotta Vera and make sure you don’t leave without trying their pasta!

What a find Lalla Rookh is for me. After a little search we found the cavernous eating and drinking establishment tucked away on St George’s terrace. The menu is inviting with a taste of everything Italian to give the fussiest eater a chance. The pickled carrot, olives and Byron bay salami were ordered for starters, with ravioli of spinach and ricotta for main. The pasta was a genuine top 3 contender for best pasta dishes consumed. The sage, butter and fig sauce was a marriage of flavours that didn’t overpower the delicate spinach and ricotta filling, but instead complimented it and produced a proverbial party in the mouth sensation. The service was exactly where it should be, which was attentive without being to overbearing.
All in all a fantastic meal and will bring me back again and again.
Food ⁹⁄₁₀ service 8.5÷10 décor ⁸⁄₁₀