33 Best Restaurants in Western Australia, Australia

Tucked away on the fringes of the Busselton central business district, this popular family-owned Mediterranean-inspired eatery is much loved for its rich pasta dishes, thin-crust pizzas, and soul-comforting, slow-cooked favorites like beef bourguignon and coq au vin. Before you get overexcited and order everything on the menu, remember to leave room for dessert—like dream-worthy chocolate mousse and tiramisu.

In the heart of the settlement is the island's only pizzeria and cocktail bar. Sit on the deck surrounded by fig trees and munch on hand-stretched pizza, yummy pasta, and healthy salads. Frankie's on Rotto is family-owned (and named after the owners' son) and family-friendly with a kids' menu from 11 am. They also do breakfast in summer 8--11 am. Delivery is available on weekends. Tip: Watch the crows, they will try to steal your meal.

It begins as temptation as your senses are teased by the smells wafting from the open kitchen. Rosemary, chili, oregano, olive oil, and tomato scents will drive you crazy until your own meal lands in front of you. And then, bliss. This modern Italian eatery rivals any classic, and there are plenty in Fremantle. Italians have been ruling the roost for decades, so much that there's been a push to dub the port city, Little Italy. La Sosta offers a buzzy atmosphere while serving creative pasta dishes that will leave you wanting more. Start with the focaccia and leave room for dessert---the tiramisu is calling your name.

Bunbury's dining scene is charging forward, and leading the way is Market Eating House. Head chef and owner, Brenton creates a menu jam-packed with delicious shareable foods cooked on the custom-made charcoal grill and wood-fired oven all within open view. Think Turkish lamb dumplings, goat cheese churros, and crayfish sliders. The industrial decor, busy, but joyful vibe, tantalizing smells wafting in the air, and attentive service may just inspire you to go back a second night. Definitely start with the market hummus and flatbread.

An all-day dining menu and a killer location overlooking Pinky Beach and Bathurst Lighthouse make this restaurant and bar at Discovery Rottnest Island a surefire way to fuel your body and take in the scenery. The contemporary menu changes with the seasons but you can expect tasty seafood, juicy burgers, and creative vegetarian options. There's ample outdoor seating with plenty of room for the kids to play and there's even a kids' menu. 

For the most refined food in town, head to Print Hall, a classy, perennially packed restaurant in a city-center heritage building. It wows with dishes like snow crab with kaffir lime, camel tartare with wattle seed and wild sorrel, and pan-roasted ocean trout with octopus and white anchovy, all served with house-baked bread. The latter comes from Small Print, a separate, casual café downstairs. The A$110 degustation is popular, or there's a bar section with a more casual and moderately priced menu. Service is polished, the wine list is smashing and satisfaction is all but guaranteed. Many come solely for the sexy bar with high ceilings, backed by a vertical fern garden.

Located in Parmelia Hilton Perth, this elegant restaurant and bar serves top-quality seasonal fare from their State-to-Plate tapas menu. With sharing in mind, plates come in small, medium, and large portions and range from ciabatta with smoked butter and saltbush to Fremantle octopus to roasted pumpkin with fermented black garlic. Breakfast includes an à la carte menu or go for the all-you-can-eat buffet featuring a selection of hot and cold favorites like eggs made-to-order, bacon, sausages, Swiss muesli, pastries and a make-your-own pancake maker.

This boutique bar in the heart of Busselton is a favorite spot among locals for its stylish reinvention of the town's former fire station, and, of course, its eclectic menu and flowing taps and wine barrels. Dine in beside the buzzing bar, under the low-hanging mood lighting, or outside in the garden courtyard where you'll be closer to the sounds of the solo singers and small bands who perform regularly.

Few eateries have a backstory that includes a brick-by-brick relocation of its Heritage-listed Federation-style building, but The Island has just such a story and honors it with framed photos of the 1920s building throughout the restaurant. This ideally located Perth icon has character, charm, and a contemporary menu, as well as several dining options, including a 110-seat dockside alfresco bar selling wood-fired pizza. 

Tucked away in Globe Lane is this casual eatery serving delicious Chinese fare in a modern communal dining setting. On provided iPads, scroll through the menu, order, pay at the counter and wait for your lunch to be served. This place is perfect when you don't have a lot of time or just want a quick bite to keep you going as you explore Perth's downtown.

When you visit a sleepy seaside village like Augusta, you'd expect a decent feed of fresh, local fish and seafood, and that's exactly what you'll get at Blue Ocean Fish and Chips. The small haunt serves dhufish, bronze whaler, and yellowfin whiting, and is decorated in a nautical theme, complete with fish decals and mini seagulls, deck chairs, shells, and sand. Expect long lines and wait times during peak season.

This industrial-chic bakery-cum-restaurant wins the award for hottest interior in town, with dozens of vintage-style globes streaming from the warehouse ceiling or looping in red electrical cord over suspended beams. Herb boxes line the 1890s heritage facade, while out back the wood-fired ovens, affectionately named Hansel and Gretel, pump out organic bread. An open kitchen creates modern Australian meals that go well with, you guessed it, bread.

Bustling with locals, BWG Steakhouse serves modern Australian cuisine with an emphasis on top-quality meats cooked to perfection and local seafood. Just 7 km (4 miles) from Perth CBD, in the affluent suburb of Applecross—once home to actor Heath Ledger—the heritage restaurant commands a skyline view across a marina full of palatial leisure boats.

The Pizzale family has owned and run this Freo restaurant for more than 50 years and it's here where you'll be treated to an old-style Italian meal. Don't expect flashy decor or fancy lighting—the focus is on the food. It's strictly BYO so bring a bottle of wine or beer (a small corkage fee applies) as the restaurant is not licensed to serve alcohol.

Waterfront Fremantle is renowned for its seafood restaurants, so going to a harborside venue for steak seems almost irreverent, but meat lovers revel in the juicy steak selection at Char Char. They dropped the "bull" from their name but you'll still get a fine piece of meat, cooked to perfection, here. This lively restaurant, with full table service, specializes in chargrilled prime beef selected from year-old, grass-fed Murray Grey cattle.

No visit to Fremantle is complete without a stop at this locally famous fish-and-chippery that was once featured on a postage stamp. Housed in a boathouse-style building fronting Fremantle's lovely Fishing Boat Harbour, this joint serves the real thing: fresh oysters, mussels, crabs, fish, lobsters, and crispy chips. No wonder they're experts—they've been doing it since 1903. 

Appealing to the glitzy, moneyed, cosmetically conscious crowd in Perth, this is the "it spot" on Friday when rollicking long lunches can extend well past sunset, making it challenging to get a table—unless you book in advance. The views are as good as the people-watching, and though the classic food is expensive, it's beautifully executed.

A location change, a name change, a menu update, and an award-winning head chef have put Dusit Dheva Thai cusine on the map as Perth's best Thai restaurant. Come to this delightful, contemporary, Asian-inspired dining room by the sea for authentic Thai food, creatively prepared by chef Mhee and his team. 

The large outdoor area at this Kings Park restaurant fills with people eyeing views of the city and Swan River (spectacular in the evening) while enjoying chef favorites such as slow-cooked lamb shoulder, chargrilled octopus, and hand-cut chips with aioli. The ever-changing menu of share plates or larger dishes highlight fresh Western Australian produce.

The original owner, the late Gino Saccone, was so passionate about coffee that he closed his tailor shop to open this cappuccino-strip property with a busy alfresco terrace. Now, the iconic café insists it serves the best coffee in Perth, and let's face it, it's pretty good---plus you can get a bowl of soul-comforting pasta or authentic cannoli.

This blindingly white, fortlike property was once the official summer residence for the governors of Western Australia but today it's decked out in Astroturf and bench seats as the island's social hub. Since the addition of the Samphire Rottnest resort, Hotel Rottnest no longer offers guest rooms. But it will live on as everyone's favourite pub and restaurant with epic views of Thomson Bay. The popular main bar is open all day and serves bistro-style meals along with craft beers, cocktails, and wine. 

This whitewashed and yellow canteen scores with simple, seasonal food delivered with finesse plus window seats overlooking iconic Cottesloe Beach. The convivial alfresco area looks out to a coastal conga line of walkers, joggers, and cyclists, while at night, candles deliver a romantic feel. Reservations are recommended but don't expect to reserve a table on the deck—these highly sought spots are reserved for first-come-best-dressed walk-ins. 

The British celebrity chef and good food crusader Jamie Oliver has a long-established relationship with Australia, so it's no wonder he opened a restaurant in Perth. Fun, fresh, and fabulous, Jamie’s Italian serves fantastic value with every dish.

This Fremantle restaurant looks like everyone's vision of a run-down, weather-beaten Maine diner. With uninterrupted harbor views, authentic nautical bric-a-brac, and great food, you can't go wrong. Recommendations include the salt-and-pepper squid, stuffed tiger prawns, and chili mussels. An outdoor section with umbrella-covered tables serves "Joe's to Go" takeaway food from a smaller, fish-and-chip-style menu.

Any place that takes its name from a Kalgoorlie showgirl has got to have spunk, and Lalla Rookh has it in spades. The below-street-level venue on Perth's business strip is a real find and combines a slick restaurant with dishes inspired by Italy with a tiny wine bar that introduces quaffers to local and "untampered with grape" varieties. Although wine is king here, they also serve cocktails and craft beer. 

Just off Smiths Beach is the chic eatery-cum-delicatessan-cum–cellar door, Lamont's. It does a fantastic breakfast—think cured salmon with scrambled eggs—and is popular for "sundowners," which is the local description for a glass of wine at sunset, often with tapas. Café lunches are lovely and simple, but more refined options are available in the restaurant. From noon till late, dine on sage and prosciutto-wrapped chicken breast with whipped feta; confit duck leg drizzled with vino cotto jus; or grilled local snapper with a side of organic quinoa salad. Executive chef Kate Lamont is CEO and ambassador for Lamont's (check out her cookbooks). You're welcome to pop in for wine tasting at the adjoined wine store and deli without eating at the restaurant.

A large, open space, exposed brick, timber beams, high ceilings, and funky booth seating give way to a warehouse feel at this plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, vegetarian, and vegan eatery. If you commonly say yes to meals like pumpkin mash, ramen noodles, and coconut curry and no to bottled water, plastic straws, and excess waste, then you'll surely love this bohemian-vibe restaurant.

Since 1986, chef and owner Giuseppe Pagliaricci has taken an imaginative yet simple approach to the cuisine of his native Umbria, serving elegant, homemade Italian dishes to his loyal customers. Popular in old-school business and political circles, the restaurant has prix-fixe lunches, and a fine-dining atmosphere.

Sometimes you don’t need to dab foams or spread purees across a plate to impress; sometimes you just have to serve up consistently good, hearty fare that fills the belly and doesn’t burn a hole in the pocket. The crowds at this pub are testament to the fact that Settler's got the formula right, be it a thick scotch fillet cooked to perfection or a vegan plate of joy featuring a lentil patty, ratatouille, and brown rice. The awards keep piling in, too. They've been commended for their wine, beer, and hospitality.  The kitchen often closes at 8:30 pm so get there earlier

Take shelter from the warm sea breeze, winter winds, or just a busy day at this award-winning mammoth brewery restaurant situated on the Busselton foreshore. With views for miles that include the town's famous jetty and the Indian Ocean, popping in for a beer or two will certainly turn into ordering wood-fired pizza and plans to return in the morning for coffee and bagels.