Opened in 2021, Will St in Leederville is the brainchild of renowned Bali restaurateur Will Meyrick. With two very popular restaurants in Bali under his belt – Mama San and Sarong, Meyrick has brought his sustainable ethos and Asian flavours, showcasing WA ingredients, to Perth.
My husband and I have been keen to try out Will St for a few years and finally got there.
Will St is in Carr Place, and just in case that is not familiar, just drive along Newcastle Street from Oxford Street, and the road forking off to the left is Carr Place. The restaurant is next to Leederville mainstay, The Garden.
Will St has an impressive street frontage with huge, statement wooden doors. There is outside seating, but it doesn’t look suitable for dining – more of a place to enjoy cocktails or bog standard drinks.
Inside, the décor exudes natural materials – from limestone walls to an abundance of wood. Tables and chairs are also made from wood, but the chairs have comfortable padding. Lamps enhance the ambience of the intimate space. The only jarring note was the low winter sun, which can be blinding if customers are facing the large front windows.
Will St has a well-stocked bar and an interesting drinks list, including speciality cocktails such as Will St Olive and truffle martini ($22) and Mama San Coconut ginger Mojito ($20). Gin and tonic variations are a highlight, and my husband enjoyed a glass of the Will St rice lager, brewed in Fremantle ($12).
We had booked for 12 noon and were the only customers for about 20 minutes, but the restaurant rapidly filled up.
Our server, Daniella, was very friendly and happy to discuss the menu with us. Most dishes at Will St are made for sharing, apart from the oysters ($6/7) and house-smoked ocean trout ($11), which are single serves.
Daniella warned us that if we didn’t like really spicy food, then we shouldn’t choose the chilli caramelised beef brisket – Dendeng Balado ($45) –or the Sumatran fish curry ($45). My husband loves spicy foods but as I don’t, those two dishes were given a body swerve!
We decided on an entrée of Chilli salt soft-shell crab with Vietnamese soft herbs, egg onsen, and a peanut fish sauce dressing ($29). This dish consisted of three portions, so we ordered an extra portion ($9) to save us fighting! We also ordered Potato, cauliflower and corn samosas which came with a tamarind and date chutney and mint yoghurt ($17). This dish is also served with three portions.
The soft shell crab was really crispy and delicious. It was served in lettuce leaves. The egg onsen, which is usually a traditionally slow-cooked boiled egg, did not deliver the silky egg whites that we have enjoyed in Japan. However, it did mix well with the dipping sauce.
The samosas were quite heavy and filling but delivered a flavour kick.
After two entrees, we decided on just one main and debated whether to go for the Tandoori roasted butter chicken ($30), the Slow-cooked beef rendang ($45), or even the Char Sui pork hock ($68); we finally landed on the Grilled pork bun cha ($32).
A speciality from Hanoi, Bun cha is a very dense caramelised grilled pork patty. The dish comes with a few noodles, peanuts, nuoc cham (Vietnamese fish sauce) and a lot of herbs. We had four patties on our order. As a side, we ordered Charred pumpkin korma with crispy curry-spiced chickpeas, curry leaf and mint ($26).
The pork was very well caramelised but lacked the flavour punch typical of this dish. The pumpkin was expertly charred and complemented our main dish well. All dishes were very well seasoned.
There is a dessert menu, and we swithered about sharing the Yuzo curd and granita with mascarpone ice cream and sesame shortcake ($18), but decided we had already eaten too much.
The restaurant was almost full by the time we left, and this could be a problem as the acoustics are not great, and it was noisy.
We enjoyed our meal at Will St, but I do think that it was disingenuous of the restaurant to offer three portions of their entrees, as most people do not dine alone – it is usually in even-numbered groups.
All in all, Will St is a pleasant lunch place with good service, but over-priced for portion sizes.
Address: 228 Carr Place, Leederville
Reservations: Yes – online.
Opening hours: Monday – Thursday: 17:30-21:15, Friday and Saturday: 12:00-14:00, 17:30-21:15. Closed on Sundays.
Gluten-free options: On request
Vegetarian options: Yes
Restrooms: Restrooms are shared with the building but are well signposted, clean and accessible.
Parking: On-street parking is available but only for an hour at a time. My advice is to leave early as finding a car parking space in the busy Leederville precinct can sometimes feel like looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
Website: www.willstperth.com
