Welcome to Pony Club Restaurant

have been to this place just after it first opened and it wasn't good. went back there recently to see how it's progressed since. not sure why they just can't seem to make this place work as it's in a good spot, has a glamourous dining room and should be perfect for a first date, intimate get together or special occasion. i guess the biggest failing is the food, billed as tapas. everything i've had from here has been bland and run of the mill. i suspect that certain dishes like the marinated octopus probably came out of a jar, such is the lack of flavour. other dishes are just plain weird and poorly executed.

weird and unpredictable. we had a girl who was attractive looking, but it became very clear after a while that she was on drugs. she was alternately flirty and aloof. flirted shamelessly with my male friend, which i didn't mind. but it was a bit overt and slighly yuck in the end.

i love the ambience in this place. it's plush and glam. nice looking dining room.

save your money and try a real tapas place, such as duende. cantina just down the road is also worth a try for much much better food.

Fantastic. Must try the slow cook SW lamb with cous-cous. The churos and dipping chocolate were also to die for.

Came in at 8.50pm on a Sunday night, and was warmly welcomed. Staff were very good, easy going but attentive to our needs. Very accommodating.

Lovely cosy restaurant, a very nice intimate place to take someone special.

Will definitely back. Great place and fantastic food.

Brilliant!!! The tapas menu has a great selection and each item is so well rounded with lots of flavours & textures. Love the pumpkin crepes!

The service at The Pony Club was refreshing! Too often service industries are lacking that one thing...'Service'. The staff at The Pony Club were flexible and informative. It's nice to see them breathing life back into the industry.

Love the decor...what a cute little place! Stylish and relaxing.

Scott Mason; head Chef is a genius. Food is creative, presented well and full of flavour. We tried four starters, three tapas dishes and three desserts. The marron dish is the best I have ever had anywhere in Australia. Took a break after trying it to fully appreciate the rich sauce and texture. The pheasant with ginger is a great pallet refresher prior to a mix of desserts. Almond ice cream, waffles with an ultra rich chocolate sauce. Big wow factor for flavour here.

How good is the waiter? Ryan is everything the self review promises; friendly, entertaining, sexy and cheeky. At 19, he has a good understanding of the menu and a workable knowledge of the wine list and stickies.

Can't beat a classic white decor. The focus is great food here. Just needs larger print on the menus as it is virtually impossible to read the small print in the soft lighting.

I dine out over 300 times a year and this would be straight into my top ten restaurants of the year. A more complete review will be available publicly from me soon; however, I would urge others to try this place out.

Seeking refuge from a heavy storm last Friday night, we enjoyed a lovely selection of very tasty and stunningly presented tapas at the Pony Club in Mount Lawley.

This place had quite a reputation to live up to and did so effortlessly - the wine list is wonderful, the service personal and friendly, and the food excellent. I can't wait to come back for more!

This was my second visit, and after being blown away by the food last time, I was expecting better. We had a large group and so ordered the banquet menu which involved lots of little tastes, some of which were better than others. Some members of the group also felt that the portions were a little small when all added up.

The sangria and cocktails were delicious.

Excellent given that we had a large and rowdy group!

The lighting is exquisite, the lounge seats near the bar are a fantastic place to wait for the party to start, and the fact that they managed to accommodate our group at the back where we wouldn't disturb other (possibly more sophisticated) diners. Good place for groups or more intimate dinners.

Bit disappointed this time - perhaps would be better off ordering a la carte rather than the set menu. Will give it another chance though.

The Pony Club Restaurant is just fab. The food is absolutely to die for. The Tapas flavors and combination are just incredible; I’ve never tasted any food so delicious! I’ve dined there twice now and tried two different tapas menus. The Figs are delicious, Mmm! Nice friendly service and a funky style to the restaurant. It is an experience to dine at the Pony Club. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Mish Mash

I've been here twice now and neglected to review it, so I thought I would add one now.

We've experienced both set menus ($50/head and $60/head) and we were more than satisfied with each.

The stand out dishes for me were the meatballs, the asparagus, the chorizo and bean stew and the toasted bread with goats cheese, honey and walnuts. The attention to detail from the kitchen staff is evident. All the flavours meld perfectly. The serving sizes and amount of dishes are just right - I'm contented by the last mouthful.

Looking at the wine list, I felt it was a little on the pricey side. We ended up sharing some sangria - far too easy to drink - and then we moved on to a bottle of the house red. I'm always wary when it comes to house wine, but this merlot blend was absolutely spot on.

This is a place that we will continue to go. The food is affordable and outstanding and the service is brilliant.

Fabulous!! Will go there again!! Loved the decor and the huge candles on the table.

We went in a group of 7 and I think we ordered almost everything on the menu to share. It was all fabulous - really different and we loved being able to taste everything.

It felt so indulgent to order almost everything, yet we were surprised at how reasonable the bill was each when we divided it up equally. I can’t wait to go back.

Decided to go for dinner there as my friends have been obsessed with the name since its opening. Had a booking for a sunday dinner and found upon arrival that the restaurant had a fantastic feel to it. We were all greeted by a lovely waiter who directed us to our table and explained the menu and wine list in great detail.

we found the food and service were fabulous, and will definitely be making another appearance there very shortly!!

We went along to the Pony Club last night we did not have a booking but the friendly hostess offered us the option of eating at the bar or in one of the large lounge suites. We sat at the bar initially but the with the stools very low (and not very comfortable) & the bar quite high it was going to make eating very difficult. It was about 7.30 and the restaurant was filling up fast, it was really buzzing.

We were poured some water and offered some drinks before having been given the drinks menu. My wife ordered a glass of the Torres Spanish Rosé, very nice, well chilled dark velvety Rosé. I had the James Squire amber ale.

The menu looks & reads really well, the descriptions of the food are excellent & got the juices really flowing. Being a quasi tappas bar we decided to order from the pinchos and tapas menu, we settled on 4 hot dishes and a salad.

Started with the Haloumi, pan-fried with a harissa dressing. This was good the salty rubbery haloumi set off very nicely against the spiciness of the harissa. There were deep-fried risotto balls with a ginger marmalade that combined really well together. Dukka chicken, billed as pan-fried chicken with homemade dukka, this was the only food disappointment, the spices were still raw and gluggy, the chicken was tender and moist but so was the coating, at $14 a serve not worth it.

We followed with the spiced meatballs in cider and tomato sauce, which was excellent, served with some doughy crusty Italian bread the juicy meatballs were a standout. The salad was rocket, pear, blue-cheese, walnut and date, stock standard yes but a salad like that is always great when they get the balance right and they definitely got the balance right. We decided on the Californian Zinfandel (Sonoma County) at $66 maybe a bit over the top for a school night but worth it. Beautiful rich color, long finish with a bit of aniseed and that kick of spiciness at the end it really complimented the cheeses, the ginger, and the tomato sauce.

The food and wine were great we both really enjoyed everything (even the chicken) the only problem was that everything came all at once; we had not even finished our pre-dinner drinks & there was the first three dishes, the waiter then rushed off to get the wine decanted then rushed back with the salad & meatballs. There we were sitting with our five plates of food in front us, a decanted bottle of wine, half a beer & half a glass of rosé that the waiter then tried to top up with the zinf.

My overall feeling was that I was rushed, even though the food was good, the wine was exceptional, everything was done at speed. Staff were so anxious to get your order and get your food to you they took the order, then forgot it, then reappeared with a pad to write it down, forgot to bring utensils when they did they were so anxious to get them on the table they dropped them, they forgot glasses, everybody that passed us offered us water and then rushed off in a very officious manner like they were marching in the May day parade in Red Square and would be shot and dawn if everything was not done at warp speed.

This is a good restaurant, in what has been a bit a cursed spot for restaurants in the past, the décor is an eclectic mix that really works, great lighting, great music & great atmosphere it should be a welcome addition to Perth dining, but they need to work on their service. Reading an earlier review I see Max had the opposite problem to us. If they can get the service to a nice balance of somewhere between a snails pace and the red army marching band then the Pony Club will have nailed it and should be around for a long time to come.

We had an early booking and initially all went well. We were served water & our drinks & food order taken.

There is a reasonably priced wine list.

The food was sensational. We enjoyed:
- chorizo & feta pinchos
- battered squid: tasty, crispy, not tough or oily
- prawns with mint/yoghurt sauce: delicious
- lemon risotto balls: ok
- honey pumpkin salad: lovely

However, as the restaurant got busier & busier, service declined. It became a mission to place our next dish order. There was at least one trainee who unfortunately had not been trained on the menu and it became a waiting game to get answers to questions or to place a further order.

Hopefully these are just teething problems. I would otherwise recommend Pony Club for the food & funky decor.

It can be nerve racking trying a new restaurant in a large group (i think we had 20 people) and as I walked past and saw the interior, I thought dang i cant afford this! But the menu prices were more than reasonable, and the decor even better once i was inside. Pony memorabilia everywhere is a great start for a pony lover like myself!

We stopped off at the bar for a quick chat with the 2 barmen there, they didnt have cocktail list as such but could create one for you specifically once you gave them a general idea what you were in the mood for. Im not sure what I had but i requested a minty lime type strong tasting cocktail and the gorgeous pink drink that came out was very satisfying!

The menu had lots of interesting tapas of which I will try when i return on a smaller table of diners. I ordered the chilli mussels (only $16.50) which were lovely, great amount of chilli, cooked to perfection - soft and fresh tasting and nice fat fleshy mussels. I also sampled the polenta crusted chicken (around $24) which was served with squareish wedge typed potatoes with a very interesting sauce. The risotto and the 'bangers and mash' were also enjoyed by myself (yes i like to sample everyones meal) and I look forward to ordering upon returning.

The waitress that served us was amazing! She was super friendly and helpful and very attentive to drinks and requests by the whole table.

The only gripe was that the 2 chilli mussels that were ordered came out a fair while after everybody elses meals had been delivered. We told everyone to start and as a result I was still eating when others had finished. The waitress cleared the finished plates away leaving me at the table still going which made me feel very uncomfortable and rushed.

Apart from this mistake, Pony Club is one of my new favourite restaurants and I truly cannot wait to return and sample some more delights from the menu amongst the ponies!

Over the years, Mt Lawley has slowly established itself as the state’s foodie Mecca with the suburb boasting a smorgasbord of eateries ranging from the top shelf to top value. One of the region’s newest gastronomic fixtures, The Pony Club (nee Infusion Noodle Bar) opened its stable doors three weeks ago after a three-ish month renovation period and word quickly got around about the inner city’s latest tapas haunt. Being tapas tragics, Marie and I were quick to experience the restaurant for ourselves.

An early Friday afternoon phone call secured us a 6.30pm (the restaurant’s opening time) booking for two on the proviso we were out of there by eight for another booking. No problemo. After a quick pit stop at that most funky of Mt Lawley haunts, Must Wine Bar, for an exorcising end-of-the-working-week drink and quick chinwag with sommelier Emma, we quickly necked our Perrier Jouet and wandered up the road to ensure we were in time for our booking. Two strokes past half past and we were there, only to be warmly welcomed by a closed gate. To cut a long story short: we thought the restaurant still hadn’t opened and it was only when other people rocked up and let themselves in through the gate that we realised it was open. It’s now about quarter to and we’re approximately 15 minutes into our dining time.


In terms of fit-out, no shortcuts were taken and the interior was nothing but class with chandelier-type light fittings and a minimal, pared-down theme running throughout the venue. In Mt Lawley, venues are labeled either as fringe or funky and The Pony Club undoubtedly belongs to the latter fraternity.

But no matter how good any place looks, to me food is the main measure of any eatery’s worth and The Pony Club’s cuisine is without doubt its forte. I’ll be honest, I was mildly pissed off about the front gate debacle but the campari and raspberry smooched oysters helped take my mind of things. The light and fluffy crispy sumac squid helped improve my mood by the forkful and by the time I got onto the meatballs in the tomato, chilli and apple cider sauce, all had been forgiven – no mean feat for a grudge-carrier like myself. Such is the power of a good, richly-flavoured tomato sauce.

Unfortunately, the meal ended the same way as it started with more clock-bleeding as we waited patiently for the churros we ordered for dessert. Admittedly, the restaurant is only three weeks old so these sorts of hiccups are to be expected in any venue’s infancy and to our waitress’ credit, she didn’t charge us for dessert which finally arrived 25 minutes after we ordered it.

The wine list marries interesting French, Italian and Spanish drops with boutique Australian wines including esteemed names such as Kooyong and Margaret River’s own Pierro. A reserve list is also available with no wine costing more than a hunje, and cocktails, beers and other spirit-based drinks are also on offer.

With the foodie temples of Jackson’s and the aforementioned Must a few minutes down the road, The Pony Club and its owners certainly have their work cut out for them if they are to maintain the steady pour of diners walking through – and getting knocked back from (all the weekend bookings are gobbled up by the middle of the week) – its doors. In my mind, The Pony Club has all the ingredients necessary to attain grand cru status among Mt Lawley’s gastronomic faithful – once some minor teething problems get sorted, you can expect to see the restaurant’s name feature prominently in culinary winners’ circles.