Lady of Ro, Perth: restaurant review

Remember, no printed menu, just a chalkboard? And waiters who didn’t point at your food when they brought it, talking up “chef’s” genius while minutely dissecting each and every element as it went cold?

Remember food that didn’t involve emulsions and froths? And hand-written bills on waiter’s pads? And BYO? (Cue collective sigh.) Remember going out with another couple, two guys clutching bottles, and eating a meal and the whole bill coming in at less than $200 and the corkage charge being $5 per couple (or was that $2.50 per bottle?)

Last question. Remember hospitality? Not the hospitality industry, but warmth and welcome, places that sold food and respite, good times and service?

At this point, you may expect the switch flicked to vaudeville, or at least time warp. Gingham table cloths? Not a bit of it.

A decent kick from Subi oval is a contemporary little restaurant that embraces all sorts of attributes and virtues those of us of a certain age (and younger) remember. Fondly. Dammit, we had a good night at Lady of Ro, and I still have no idea what the name means.

A small place in a strip of food businesses, it has about three marble tables and a high, elegant white marble counter which acts as a communal bar table. Perth’s climate being what it is, even at night, mid-winter, the footpath was overflowing with tables. More West Australian municipalities might like to examine the model.

So, we arrive, hand over bottles, sit down and… What kind of food do they do here anyway? Well. It’s kinda Greek, kinda Spanish, kinda Italian. Mostly, however, it’s simple and char-grilled. Fresh food, coloured with glowing coals and cast iron. And if you start with decent produce, and have systems in place to get food delivered in timely fashion, well garnished and plated… well, what can go wrong?

House-made sourdough with plump, excellent olives (two varieties) and green, pungent oil. Chargrilled, then sliced calamari cowl with a wedge of lemon and lots of black pepper. A fat chargrilled octopus tentacle – something of a Perth thing, Freo octopus, and for good reason – with similar seasoning.

Grilled asparagus served with a romesco sauce. And wonderful cured Albany sardine fillets, all firm to the molar and intensely flavoured, garnished with pickled baby pimentos that explode with hot acidity in your mouth, chopped parsley and a little crushed dry chilli. Meze of the highest order.

Now, there are things like “Greek style fisherman’s soup” and “prawn linguine” on the chalkboard at Ro. I’m sure they’re good. But they seemed less in the sharing, drinking spirit we’d embraced for the evening.

Instead, more (chargrilled) fish, in the form of swordfish skewers with cherry tomatoes, lemon, seasoning and oil, with a braise of giant couscous and peas on the side. A plate of chargrilled red capsicum, zucchini and cauliflower. And a big, glossy, rib-eye of beef, cooked on the you-know-what and sliced to serve with sauteed parsley and a house-made tomato sauce. We shared the bone around like an illicit cigarette from… Oh, you remember.

Pudding is called for; way too early to call it quits. They’re all on the glamorous cake theme, and each is cooked with obvious love: pistachio soufra; Greek apple cake with honey yoghurt; and chocolate cardamom mousse cake with raspberry compote.

We eat, pay, finish the wine… and head next door to a wine bar where the host tells me he doesn’t welcome critics. Just like that. It shines a bright light on the real hospitality we’ve enjoyed next door. Something to remember.

Lady of Ro, 345 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, Western Australia

Phone: 0417 185 671 Web: n/a

Hours: Lunch Tue-Thu; dinner Wed-Sat

Typical prices: Starters $15; mains $35; desserts $12

Summary: Remembrance of (good) things past

Like this? Try… Kepos St Kitchen, Sydney; Peel St, Adelaide

Stars (out of five): 3.5

Source: The Australian, John Lethlean, 26^th September 2015
Originally published as: Lady of Ro, Perth: restaurant review