The Boulevard

"Wow" is the one word that comes to mind after stepping into The Boulevard in Floreat Forum. I cannot think of any other word that would do it justice, after recently undergoing a $4 million renovation from the tired, cramped, old Floreat Hotel into the new and improved Boulevard, with an abundance of open space and decor that looks like it belongs in the lobby of a trendy 5 star European hotel.

This was the first time either of us had been there since the renovation took place and man is it different to the old Floreat. We headed down for an early Saturday afternoon lunch and a beer or two. The service right off the bat was amazing, we were shown to a table by one of the wait staff who took our drink orders and gave us a couple of menus. All staff were genuinely friendly and very efficient at their jobs. If any pub managers are thinking of ways to train their bar/wait staff, they'd be doing themselves a favour by sending their staff to the Boulevard for a day. The other great thing about the service is that it felt like we were being served by a team of people and not just one waiter/ waitress that happened to be assigned to your particular table. Full table service is provided which again is a definite plus in my book.

We ordered a few beers as well as a meal. The food took less than 20 minutes to come out which was a bonus after I had skipped breakfast that morning, so I was starving. I ordered the slow cooked lamb pizza with baba ganoush (similar to hummus but made with eggplant instead of chickpeas) and tomato. The pizza was delicious, although it could have been a touch hotter. Nevertheless the lamb was amazing, it had a good amount of seasoning and the baba ganoush complimented it beautifully. Matt had the steak sandwich, which was great too. The tomato chutney had a spicy tang to it and the steak was cooked to perfection. All up the food was great and fairly decent value too (less than $50 for both meals).

The drinks range is impressive, especially on the wine side, with a solid range of both reds and whites from around Australia and throughout Europe. We stuck to beers though as they had one of my favourites on tap, Kirin, a great tasting Japanese lager that's perfect for a summers afternoon in Perth. Overall value was pretty good, considering the service and quality of both food and drinks.

We had a few more beers inside before taking a quick walk around to check out the rest of the place. You are spoilt for choice in terms of seating options with; an outdoor 'beer garden' style terrace, indoor tables and chairs and even a little lounge area near the entrance to sit back, relax and have a drink. The crowd seemed to be mostly locals and quite young too, although it does look to be family friendly.

We really enjoyed our time at The Boulevard and we'll definitely be back soon!