The menu at Liberté includes nods to owner Amy Hamilton’s French training (comforting steak frites, chicken liver parfait), much of the cooking is notable for its effortless use of Vietnamese flavours.
Vietnam meets France meets Western Australia’s sprawling Great Southern region by way of a Parisian-themed small bar inside one of the state’s first licensed hotels. Liberté might be one of this country’s most singular and idiosyncratic prospects, yet its spirited brand of hospitality is all too easy to fall for. Here’s the plan. Either bag a seat in the bistro-inspired front room (handsome wooden bar, round zinc tables, ephemera galore) or commandeer a sofa in the Belle Époque-era parlour. Kick things off with a round of local beers, wines or well-made cocktails from bar manager and gracious host Keryn Giles, then begin your assault on the menu. Amy Hamilton believes in flavour and cooking without borders, so her Indochine steak tartare is crunched up with fried shallots, jewels of finger lime add pop to jet-black salt and pepper squid, and vegetarian potato and fennel dumplings are showered with crisp matchsticks of pommes pailles. Be it garlic-bread gougères to start, fat profiteroles filled with Vietnamese coffee ice-cream to finish, or a sassy floor team right through, Liberté has no shortage of ambassadors to make its case as a shining regional star.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot at the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 50.
