The Trustee

Perth is changing at an amazing rate, it feels like only a few months ago that the CBD would turn into a ghost town just after 6pm, with every restaurant and bar shutting its doors and closing their kitchens by 9pm, if you were lucky. Things have definitely changed over the years, with one of the more obvious changes being the alteration to Perth’s skyline with the addition of the new Brookfield Place skyscraper (New BHP Building). Not only does this mammoth building give rise to over 84,000 square meters of new office space, there is also a decent food court, a multitude of shops and most importantly, two of Perth’s newest bars; The Heritage and The Trustee. Deciding on which one to visit first was a pretty tough choice.

I finally settled on The Trustee for dinner and a few “beginning-of-the-week” drinks with a mate. The fact that you can book a table online is an absolute plus, welcome to the future Perth. Entering from the terrace you walk straight into the main bar. They’ve spared no expense on the fit out, the bar looks like it could be the set of a 1980’s Wall St film, it’s absolutely great. I had booked a table in the bistro area (down stairs) for 6pm and as I was running a bit late I didn't have time to stay in the main bar too long. The waitress that greeted me at the door and served our table was very friendly and all staff in general were helpful, efficient and more than happy to recommend items on the menu.

The food menu was quite small, however I get the feeling that it’ll be changed on a fairly regular basis and it was more than compensated for by the massive 38 page wine list. I know it may be a cardinal sin at a place like this, but we decided to forgo the wine and both had a beer, being the start of the week meant it was just one of those ‘beer days’. Everything on the menu looked quite tempting but I had heard from more than one person that the steak was definite must. Both my mate and I ordered the rump cap which came with an onion soubise and fried onion rings, we also got a side of thick cut chips with aioli to round things off.

The food came out within 25 minutes, which is fairly quick considering the bistro was almost full. The steak was really good, quality meat and obviously cooked by a professional. I have had quite a few recent experiences at restaurants where my steak has been cooked completely wrong. I think the bar/restaurant industry should form a steak cooking accreditation of sorts, similar to the responsible service of alcohol. It could be dubbed the responsible service of steak, with a few simple guiding principles; high quality beef, a good amount of seasoning (sea salt), cooked on a high heat, turning the meat as few times as possible, resting it in a warm place and cooking it no further than ‘medium’. Just one of many ideas of mine, however, The Trustee’s steak was great, good quality beef which required very little sauce as the flavour of the meat was incredible and the side of chips helped make the meal a perfect size.

Just walking through the front door, you wouldn’t need to look at a menu to know that a meal and a few drinks at The Trustee is not going to be the cheapest night out. The prices are on the higher side of the spectrum with the steak costing $40 and pints just a smidge over $10, but as always it comes down to value not just cost. In my opinion the value is there, the food, service and overall atmosphere is worth the bit extra you’ll pay and when you compare the cost to Perth’s average pub, the difference is immaterial. The Trustee is truly a great addition to the Perth CBD’s ever growing list of bars and restaurants and I’m already looking forward to my next visit.