PERTH | When you first set foot inside Le Rebelle, there’s no doubt that it’s a proper bistro. A whole lot of old world Paris with a little bit of New York City. Black bentwood bistro chairs, leather banquettes, and whole lot of timber and copper. It’s a narrow space, split into a casual drinking space at the front, a dining room at the back, and a bar space with a ten seat table in the middle.
It’s owned by wife and husband team Sarah and Liam Atkinson. The duo worked at places like Print Hall, Star Anise, Lalla Rookh, Miss Kitty’s Saloon, Kitsch Bar, and Ku De Ta, before opening their own space.
There’s a focus on quality, local produce. Liam, who is also the head chef, prepares French bistro classics, with his own flair to keep things interesting. Glazed Wagin duck is a must order, served with frites and bearnaise. The crab toast, a decadent indulgence worth investing in. Escargots with Rebelle garlic butter is a classic done right, as is the 500 day grain fed bavette steak with grilled mushroom, and black cabbage. Even something as simple as the stone baked bread, with cultured butter, is outstanding.
Of course, there’s cheese too. A selection of international and locally produced cheeses are offered. What’s particularly impressive, is the Le Rebelle run their very own dairy program. They collect their cow’s milk weekly from a single herd of Guernsey cows in Serpentine, and goat’s milk direct from Bookara in Dongara. The dairy products are used to make not just some of the cheeses, but also ingredients used in the kitchen like yoghurt and butter.
You’d expect a venue like this would have a great wine list, and it Le Rebelle delivers on that front too. The list leans old world and French, but there’s no shortage of local and interesting drops on the list too. A concise list of around 50 wines, fruit forward and drinkable, with some limited “fancy” bottles too.
Great food and wine, and a space with looks to match go a long way towards making a venue successful, but of course without great service and atmosphere, it means nothing. Thankfully, Le Rebelle gets this right too. The atmosphere is lively and fun, look around and everyone’s clearly having a great time. Service is attentive and knowledgeable, with staff genuinely wanting to ensure that patrons have a great experience.
For example, I visited with my three siblings, one of whom had a headache all day. Throughout the night my brother’s headache got worse, and when his steak came, he had no appetite. Our waiter put the steak in a takeaway container for him, and didn’t charge us for it. The reasoning was that while the steak would taste great reheated the next day, they wanted him to come back when he was feeling better and enjoy it properly. They didn’t have to do that, but they did. And of course, my siblings returned (I was back in Melbourne), and enjoyed a fantastic meal.
Le Rebelle
676 Beaufort Street
Perth
Victoria 6050
Australia
Telephone: (08) 6161 3100
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Wed – Thu: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Fri – Sat: 12:00pm to 10:00pm