Welcome to Royal Bar & Brasserie

I have eaten here a couple of times and usually find it 'adequate' - to be honest I dont come here for the food - I come for the location and the 'buzz'. My work had its Xmas lunch here Dec 09 and on that occasion I found my food to be very very bad. It was so bad I left most of it. I ordered the Cajun Chicken salad ($24) and it was disgusting - gristly small bits of chicken, overdressed salad and an excess of onion (more than half the salad was onion). Other people on the table seemed satisfied with their meals so maybe this was just a poor choice on my part. Due to the extreme busy-ness of the place that day, I didnt bother to go line up to tell the service person of my disatisfaction but I would certainly never ever order this again.

The day we went it was supremely busy - the line to order was literally snaking out of the door. There was no table service other than to deliver the meals - we ordered at the register and were told to get our own drinks from the bar. May have been due to Xmas but it felt like we were in the way.

We were seated inside which is never ideal at this place - it has all the ambience of the local RSL - outside on the water is where you want to be! I did notice however that they had replaced the carpet which was nice and it seemed like it had had a needed refresh inside.

Would not go here if it was my choice. I would only ever go here for drinks if you can sit outside.

The food was lovely. We started with the turkish bread and olive oil which was nice and warm. Most of us had the Harvey Beef fillet which was cooked to perfection. My friend had the salad which was massive. Another friend had the salmon which looked great and she said was worth it.

The wait staff were lovely and friendly. However the big downfall was that we had to wait an hour and a half for our mains. The kitchen was running behind (we asked our waitress). Also the wait staff werent very quick at offering drinks and mine was missed completely. We also didnt get our coffee.

Lovely place with a beautiful view and location. We sat inside and it was very busy. It would be nice to sit outside in the summer time.

We enjoyed ourselves and the food was pretty good, tasty and filling. The location was great but the downfall was the time it took to bring out the mains. But in saying that it was a busy night with quite a few large tables like ours. I would come back but maybe not on a saturday night.

The food's pretty good here. It's not excellent, but it is satisfying and adequate. I had the fettucini marinara and it was pretty yummy, and they weren't stingy with the amount of seafood in it. The squid caesar salad looked good too.

Service is good. The staff were happy to help out by letting the birthday girl plug in her mobile to charge it up, and having her flowers put in the fridge for the duration of the meal. Had to ask for the cracked pepper though.

The setting on the waterfront is really lovely, it's just a bit of a shame that the Bar itself is so bland. Inside is set out a bit like a dining hall, and outside is a little lacking also - maybe some plants would help.

It's a nice cruisy place to go for a decent meal at a reasonable price, and lovely to be right on the water. If you're lucky you might spot some dolphins like we did!

My partner and I were in a sharing mood and chose the 'Tasting plate for two' as entre and the 'Seafood platter for two' as mains. The tasting plate would have been plenty it was so big! It was very abundant in choice and I loved the pate (which they said they had run out of initially). The seafood platter was the same, abundant in choice, but I always dislike having to peel my own banana prawns without at least a finger bowl to clean my paws with! Our friends had the 'ocean catch special' and were a little dissapointed with the rice (too greasy as it had been fried with too many ingredients) but the fish was reported as up to scratch (red emporer).

Service was efficient & helpful on a busy sat night. We sat outside which normally does not usually have table service, but this was fixed after we gave them our credit card details upfront. Our friends arrived late & as a result had to ask for water glasses. Half a star goes towards the cute waiter

The restaurant is in a great location on the waterfront of east perth. Guests are kept warm outside with standing gas heaters in winter. The place had a great vibe.

A great place to share a meal with friends. Well worth the money. Would come again.

I've eaten here lots, and every time I've been a little disappointed. This time I had a prawn and cacciatore linguine - the prawns tasted a little muddy (?not de-veined) and the sauce was very oily. My friend was very happy with his cheese-burger though. The range of cakes is good and these are always pretty good - so maybe better for cake and coffee than a meal.

Often pretty bad. Normally takes a long time to get any attention, waitstaff generally of the student / backpacker ilk, so probably a frequent change over.

This is why I keep going back - situated on beautiful Claisebrook cove it's one of the very few places in Perth with a genuine water view, and this time there were 2 dolphins cavorting for our entertainment. Can't beat it on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Great place for a few drinks (but the cocktails tend to be disappointing) and a good sit in the sun! Food is ok but could be so much better.

After hearing from friends who had been there on a week night i decided it would be a lovely spot to go with friends for my birthday. Sunday lunch for 12 people. Not a good idea. The service was very slow, just over an hour to get our food - although we thought it would be worth the wait. I decided on the Fettucine Marinara, expecting a nice taste of seafood. It was a pasta and tomato sauce dish I wouldnt even serve up as a quick meal at home after a busy day at work! It consisted of 3 mussels, two bites of fish and a couple of bits of squid. Not a prawn in sight - most disappointing. One friend had an extremely large and very brown lettuce leaf that our chef friend said was rotten.

One friends coffee came out with lipstick on the cup. The staff werent rude, but certainly not a lot of smiles, maybe they just had too many people to serve.

Of course the setting is lovely.

Disappointing - such a lovely setting, such ordinary food. Generally my friends are easy to please but we all came away saying, wouldnt rush back - and it was much better last time !

As I work at a large govt dept nearby the Royal is the usual friday lunch spot so off I went with some of the boys today. When we arrived we observed that it had undergone refurb in the past 3 weeks since we were last here. After receiving the menus it appeared that the patrons are now paying for the reno's. My mate & I decided to split the tasting plate $28 as we usually couldnt finish it-not today there were only two of everything and they were all very small and not as tasty as previously after we finished we were both still hungry and considered getting chips! Our friend who ordered the steak which has gone up $6 and steak shrunk in size was also very disappointed. The only person who was happy was the Nacho eater as they had not shrunk

This was probably the high point apart from when they forgot our turkish bread for the tasting plate, they were quite well staffed for a change and the staff even asked before just removing your glass.

It was a busy and packed with government and other staff as it usually is on a friday, the renovations havent really improved anything that I could see but I guess I could be wrong.

Pretty disappointed as this used to be our regular Friday lunch haunt, the increase in prices and the down sizing on portions not just on ours but on the other meals we observed coming out was somewhat disappointing. We all agreed we will come back but probably only for a drink not for the food anymore.

Went on Saturday for lunch with a group of about 30, we had three tables of 10 booked. The location is fabulous. We were seated inside but I would love to one night go for dinner and sit outside. It's situated just on the river.

So as it was lunch there was the usual lunch menu such as steak sandwich, salads, pasta, fish and chips - like any other pub really as far as menu goes for lunch. I chose the tasting plate at $28 and it was huge and I didn't finish it all, there were about 10 items on it, rice balls, chicken kebabs, dips, sausage, etc - it was nice and filling.

Service was great, especially with such a large party but orders were taken and food brought out in good time. You go up to the bar to get drinks and I had two glasses of NZ wine at $8.20 a glass which was a little steep but given the location I guess that's what you get.

All in all it was very pleasant and I would go back for dinner.

P.S. - some people had desserts and they looked delicious, nice big servings for around $8 each.

The location is what drew us to The Royal, perched on the river with its Mediterranean style. The staff were very friendly but run off their feet. Entree of salt & pepper squid was the highlight with the Bruschetta a disappointing second. The Beef and Reef was served luke warm with a whole cooked Yabbie perched atop of the steak - very unappetizing, as we had witnessed one being thrown at a waitress by kitchen staff while waiting for our table. Also, aren't Yabbies freshwater dwellers?

My husband and I have eaten at the Royal about 5 times, every time has been a mostly enjoyable experience. The food is always delicious and the servings are LARGE. We have tried many restaurants in the metro area and cannot say that about more than a couple of them. The only thing that lets this restaurant down is the service. Staff are extremely slow to respond to customer requests. The service of Guinness also keeps us coming back.

We called into the Royal to catch up with some friends about 5.00 on Sunday. Being so cold and wet, we took a seat at one of the tables inside and gave up on any chance of a nice view. We were a bit peckish so decided on a late lunch / early dinner snack and ordered from the entrée section of the menu. A plate of nachos and the Salt and Pepper Squid salad sounded like the way to go, easy, tasty and filling. I probably wouldn’t normally write a review for two entrée dishes but I just had to comment on what we received. The nachos arrived first and I was dumbfounded. Sure, it was a huge serve for an entrée but it looked like something that a five year old has thrown together. It was nothing more than a bowl full of corn chips and a pile of melted cheese, served with a small dollop of salsa and a huge slather of commercial guacamole. I know nachos are never a gourmet meal but this was awful, barely any salsa for flavour and the bottom was full of what we could only make out to be some sort of runny cheesy dressing, any of us could have made better at home, it really was awful both in looks and taste.

The squid salad looked a lot more appealing, pieces of squid in a light batter surrounding a mound of Japanese noodles with grilled chorizo on top. This at least looked like something we should be paying for. The squid was the best out of everything, very fresh and tender. The chorizo was not one of the best brands and the taste was not very appealing and the noodles did nothing to help either.

We definitely expected better quality, it was almost as if the chef takes Sunday’s off and they just let the staff throw the meals together. Although we did see some “serious” meals coming out and they didn’t look so bad.

although the weather was threatening any day is a good day to have breakfast on the canal....decided to risk it outside even if we were the only ones....we've been there before for breakfast and whilst it has been ok it has been nothing to write home about...

however things seemed to have improved and the morning turned out to be very pleasant indeed...all servings were of ample size, i had the omelette which was cooked exactly as i like it, not overcooked to be almost rubbery but still slightly moist in the middle...

no complaints about the service as we only had to wait about 10 minutes for our meals...being as hungry as we were this was much appreciated...unlimited percolated coffee was included in the cost which was either a new innovation or i haven't paid attention on previous visits... regardless, it helped to reverse the dehydration from the night before...

overall it was one of the best visits we've had to the Royal... we went with a first timer couple who were extremely impressed and i'm sure it's only a matter of time before they are back again...a restaurant is like a footballer, they're only as good as your last experience with them and i have rated them accordingly....

by the time we left the sun was shining and the usual sunday morning breakfast/lunch crowd was in attendance....a most enjoyable morning was had by all only spoiled by the afternoon performance of the Eagles

I have to disagree with reviewer Vortex. I went to the Royal Saturday just gone (25/6/07) and i was highly impressed with the changed of management style.

I had already booked a table and we were seated very quickly. We were asked if we would like any drinks. The menu has a great variety and we decided to have the Chilli Crabs (to share) as an entree. Although very messy to eat, the crabs were to die for. For mains we both had prawns which were nice and hot and sizzling in garlic.

The Entree was very quick to come out, and as soon as we had finished, they took away our plates and gave us new napkins and cutlery. Within 5 mins we had our mains.

All night the waiters kept passing the table taking empty plates and glasses and asked us how was our meal, which believe me as a regular restaurant eater, not many ask you that.

The only downside of the night was we wanted to order coffee and cake. It seemed that the waiters were only passing through the right hand side of the restaurant and i had to flag a waiter down to order. We were told you just have to go up to the counter and order coffee and cake. Would have been nice if someone told us that when taking our mains away.

All the tables which were reserved were all filled up by 7:30pm and the place was buzzing with chit chat and drinks.

I wouldnt hesitate to go back here for dinner.

I booked at the Royal for a party of 23 just before Christmas and as it was a special event I was concerned about how things would be on the night at such a busy time of the year... I need not have worried we were exceptionally well looked after from start to finish... the pre-ordered platters were delicious and plentiful they arrived with the cool drinks as soon as we were settled. We had had the opportunity earlier to taste the wine before choosing and that was delightful and well chilled. Our main courses were all turned out beautifully.. The children were well catered for.. Just about everyone was satisfied with their choice of main... Not many of us had room for a pudding but those that did were reluctant to share! All in all we were very happy with the level of service and quality of food. It was not a 'gourmet' dining experience...but it was just what we wanted!

Those of you who read my earlier post (see below) will see that as a regular (East Perth) local I 'was' a big fan of the Royal. Alas since the new management has taken over i'm disappointed to report that things have taken a dive for the worse.

Firstly there is the situation with table availability. In the past you could pretty much rock up (without a booking) and be guaranteed a table by sitting where ever you liked (provided the table wasn't reserved). Now it seems that since the new management have taken it upon themselves to pre-reserve most of the tables (including the causal drinking ones) regardless of whether they have bookings. I have on a number of occasions watched as walk-in guests are shunted inside (or told the restaurant was full) when the 'reserved' tables went patron-less for a few hours. It was laughable.

The menu is now bland, unadventurous and severely culled (in terms of item selection) from when the previous management were running the show.

Whilst some might not complain about fast food service, one gets the feeling we are being rushed out the door by the speed of the meal service. Patrons (in most cases) like to have a bit of a break between meal courses, but no sooner had our entrée plates been cleared when our mains were rushed out. This is not a one off occurrence, as it appears to be standard practice.

The wait staff are no longer attentive, courteous and friendly. We now regularly have to wait significant periods before being initially served for food or drinks (in a lot of case having to venture inside to get our own drinks from the bar). During the course of the meal we constantly have to wave/flag-down staff who seem too intent on clearing and resetting tables rather than attending to the patrons.

IMHO the new management have spent way too much money installing CCTV camera's and wireless POS kits, and done little to improve the level of service, menu selection and staff.

C'mon guys, you've got a great location why not leverage this (like the previous management did) and lift your game by improving the service and the menu.

Hey, what is wrong with all you people? The wife & I visited the restaurant last Sunday & were extremely impressed. The service was great; the staff couldn't do enough for us. No, we weren't the only ones there on the day. The restaurant would have been approx 75% capacity. We hardly had to wait for our meals & drinks which were of a fairly decent size. This place will definitely be seeing us again plus many of our friends & family. Prices were reasonable as well. Don't be put off by some of the negative comments as it is a great place to relax, people watch & let the world go by.

With the warm weather teasing us lately, my husband and I decided to flirt back and ventured to the Royal for some sun and something to eat.

It was reasonably busy outside as you would expect, but given that it was 2pm there were still some bigger tables available and people were slowly starting to leave so you'd think we wouldn't have had any issues finding somewhere to sit.

Well, firstly, as we were about to plonk ourselves down at a table (admittedly it was a table big enough for 6 people, we were quickly told we couldn't (despite no "reserved" signs on these big empty tables). We were ushered to a table situated right by the doorway and sat down somewhat disgruntled, particularly as we noted other people just settling themselves down at these tables and not getting berated for it).

We ended up going to the bar to order our drinks ourselves as our waiter decided to have a "chat" with another waiter.

We eventually managed to catch the attention of yet another waiter so that we could order food. We decided upon a shared platter of enticing little delicacies we were keen to sample.

The platter arrived and we were somewhat dismayed to discover that half the things described in the menu were substituted with something else. The food was fine (your typical dips/bread, olives, fetta, chorizo)but we were particularly keen to taste the sushi and the stuffed mushrooms that the menu promised, which did not appear.

What we had was nice enough but it would have been greatly appreciated to have been notified of menu alteration.

And whilst I'm a dog lover, it is off putting (to say the least) to have to endure a dog at your neighbouring table licking its nether-regions whilst you are trying to enjoy your food.

I'm an East Perth local and I would have eaten at the Royal at least a dozen times over the last 6 months (lunch and dinner).

I have yet to have a bad meal there. The portion sizes are great (large). The menu is wide and varied (seafood, steaks and pastas). The prices are very reasonable: $18-$35 for mains. One of the highlights is that they have over 100 beers (about 18 on tap).

The clincher is the aspect (outlook) over Eastbrook Cove. There's nothing better than kicking back at the end of a day for a few Little Creatures Pale Ales (on tap), a great meal and watching the kaleidoscope of contrasting of colours melting over the cove as the sun sets.

36 hours after the eatingWA launch we went to the Royal to have a birthday brunch for yours truly. Having had the scrambled eggs there before, this time i went for the omelette and to be honest it was as good as i make myself, well almost anyway. Plenty of ham, cheese and parsley and this combined with the fact that it actually was hot as well made for a very enjoyable meal.

People have bagged the service at the Royal in other reviews, but we had no complaints at all and will have no hesitation in going back again. Fortunately the rain held off so we were able to enjoy the fresh air and ambience of the canal area, which must be the best around Perth.

I celebrated my 40th birthday there last year and it was fantastic. My friends thoroughly enjoyed the food and so did I.

I have revisited the Royal Brasserie just for drinks and it's a great little spot on a summers day.

Do yourself a favour & check it out.

The food was great! We started with the royal brushetta - roma tomato, bocconcini cheese, olive tapanade and roquet salad. It was on the most wonderful thick slightly garlicy toasted soft bread yum! I had heard that the steak was good so i ordered the lunch steak with salad and fries and wasnt very impressed, but since found out that the lunch steak isnt the 'special' one...

HARVEY SIRLOIN STEAK - char grilled served on herbed baby potatoes, topped with grilled scallops roasted capsicum, spinach red wine jus $31.00

CHAR GRILLED BEEF FILLET served with herbed baby potatoes, wild mushrooms ragout sauce and buttered spinach $32.50
All steaks can be served with:
Mushroom sauce $ 3.00
Pepper Sauce $ 3.00
Topped in creamy garlic prawns $ 6.50

looks like the plan for next time, if I dont order what my cousin had
- CHICKEN AND COINTREAU FLORENTINE - sautéed chicken spinach and bacon flamed in cointreau finished with cream tossed with farfella.

I ate half of it and it was so light and sweet, the chicken was beautifully flavoured and it was so well balanced and not too creamy and heavy at all!


The drinks were reasonably priced as is the food, but the pub meal way of ordering and the system they have in place for the staff to serve doesnt work well. For such wonderful food in such a great location, with the amount of friendly competent staff that were on - table service wouldnt be that hard i dont think?

I will be back though, LOTS!

With the location as it is, it is a fantastic place for a lazy, sunny afternoon and you can't fault the attentiveness of the staff. However, one staff member per table, at least for the purpose of food orders would be adequate. As such, we were asked for our food orders on 4 different occasions by 4 different staff members - attention is great, but it bordered on intrusive.

As for the food; the menu was a classic pub menu at best, with the occasional oddity, like prawns in bacon with jasmine rice. This I had to try but was disappointed - not the match made in heaven for which I had hoped but you can't fault the 'chef' for experimentation.

The serves for the other attendees were good but for what the meals were, it was not 5 star dining (and the wine list served only to reinforce this sentiment!). Consequently, I have some issue with the prices on the menu. However, $30+ for a main course in any Perth restaurant is no longer at the fine dining end of the continuum.

And finally, the paying of the bill. As mentioned above, the sheer volume of wait staff that attended to us, appeared to have confused the final tallying of the bill; but for our honesty, we could have easily left after paying for nothing more than a handful of coffees. Upon raising the oversight, the subsequent reissue of the bill was little better ...

Anyhow, one might think that this particular experience would warrant return for a 'cheap' pub meal. However, I will not opt to take that chances any time soon.

went there for lunch during the xmas rush...place was packed to overflowing, despite this service was pleasant and food was first class...venue on the canal is outstanding and there are few more attractive places to eat in Perth...becomes even better as the sun goes down...the lamb was fantastic and presentation was A1...prices are at the higher end of the market but you get a lot for the dollar and the value is there...very Mediterranean around the canal and you can understand why it is always packed