Bar Lafayette

Wow… What a cool, chilled little bar! It’s a cheeky Thursday night and the bar tenders are working hard. From flaming orange and cinnamon Blazers to giant frozen plums in a cherry and plum sour, these guys have got you covered. Lots of comfy corners to drink expensive but tasty cocktails. A new favourite in the ever-​cool Brookfield place.

My wife and I were checking out the bars around Brookfield Place, Choo Choo’s, Print Hall and of course for the first time, Bar Lafayette.
Emma greeted us both and sat us down in what has to be one of the most stylish bars in Perth. I’m in love totally!
If you are just looking for a drink and a small bite to eat, I highly recommend the cocktail menu and the cheese board.
Emma went through both menu’s with us and was just a pleasure to have. This is what customer service is all about! A real personalised service from someone so genuine!
Bat Lafayette is certainly at the top of my Top 5 bars to visit when in Perth!
We will be back very soon for dinner and another Negroni!

I attended a Unilocal UYE event here with some fellow Unilocalers. I caught up with some familiar faces and met some new people do it was nice.
I really wanted to love this bar but I didn’t. It can be a little hard to find if you’re not familiar with the area. I used google maps and still had trouble lol.
First impressions gave off a cozy/​intimate feel for me. Comfortable seating and mood lighting. A little too much of mood lighting though as it was hard to read the menus. You either needed to shine a light on the menus or go to one of the few lamps around the place to read the menu.
There’s a small food menu. Not really enough variety for a full on meal but for snacks or to share or for something light it’s ok.
I tried the toasted cheese sandwich which actually has the French name on the menu. It was tasty.
I didn’t feel like drinking alcohol so had a non alcoholic cocktail and a Coke. Was a little disappointed with the ice/​drink ratio in both. Plenty of ice but not a lot of drink. That being said the non alcoholic cocktail tasted nice.
Found the staff to be hit and miss. One waitress was nice at first when there was only 3 of us there but later on found to be a bit on the rude side.
Overall I had an enjoyable night but that was due more to the fellow Unilocalers as opposed to the venue and the staff.

Love this place! Great service from the lovely staff, huge cocktail list and if you still can’t find something you like, they’ll make one to order. Lots of seating options with an outdoor area too. Winner!

Had quite a disappointing experience this week at Lafayette.
I booked a space for 10 people, arrived to see a couple of my guests had arrived and were sitting in the area, but there didn’t seem to be enough space for ten people. I wasn’t too worried as I thought some people might not show up, or we could add some chairs.
Our female server seemed to be quite angry from the get go. You know when it’s not so much what the person says, but she seemed to be seething the whole time she served us and extremely abrupt. It was really strange, it started when she seemed really put out that I wanted to pay for my drink and food and not start a tab. We had to keep asking for glasses of water and she even took our water glasses away while we were mid cocktail. Her attitude was noticed by everyone at the table and put a bit of a dampener on the whole night.
When two more guests arrived one of the guests started to move a chair from 1 metre away so he could sit with our table, the staff member said very rudely «What are you doing?! We leave all of our furniture where it is!» and gave him a filthy look.
Their cocktail list is still incredibly awesome and ever so long and the food is good, but I probably wouldn’t every visit again after last night’s experience.

Bar Lafayette has two seating areas — near the bar and a separate room in the back.
The venue has a fancy feel with dark wooden tables and chairs (and stools).
The venue has table service where you can start a tab at your table. Hence really convenient for an event or work drinks.
The cocktails list is expansive with the inclusion of mocktails too. However the cocktails are pricey and range from $ 19 to $ 36.
I got a green lady which sort of tastes like a mojito and has gin in it. I also had one of their signature recommended cocktails called the dulce De vita which has cacao liquor. Do not be fooled — it is not sweet. Far from it. Tastes like a negroni.
Also the bar staff are diligent with putting coasters down on your table. So don’t even dare drink your drink without a coaster. Every new drink requires a new coaster apparently.
We also shared the charcuterie board between us that comes with two kinds of crackers, fruit toast, the freshest honey I’ve ever laid eyes upon, quince jam and 4 kinds of cheese (goats cheese blue cheese cheddar and a few others that only my french colleague understood).
We also had the beef something which is literally sweet potato chips and leaves on a raw beef sauce. Thank heavens it was dark and I had far too much to drink to worry about ingesting raw meat.
We also had the pulled beef sliders and the goats cheese bruschetta which were delicious.
There is nothing substantial on the menu so you can always head to grill’d nearby.
For those who get intoxicated Brookfield place has a taxi rank just outside.

Food and drinks are nice. Service is neatly presented. The décor is beautiful. The payment options offered have confused me twice now. The waiter walked away with my credit card and didn’t return for more than 10min.

I have been to this bar many times and it never disappoints. It’s styling, funky and has some of the best service around (not to mention awesome cocktails!). I once spilled a drink all over myself and within seconds the staff were there with a tea towel, soda water to get the drink out and clothes to clean the table. They even got me a new drink! This is pride and service at it’s very best. Try everything I say! But if I have to pick two things, try the Green Lady and Nuts and Berries. You won’t regret it!

This is a really sexy little bar in the Brookfield Complex. It consists mainly of corridors, as the with tables for two spread out amongst the walls. Decked out with a lot of wood and leather. There is one larger couch area for groups, and standing room at the bar is your best bet if you’re more than a couple. The drinks list is strongly swayed towards whisky, whiskey and bourbon. The cocktail list is fairly long and very impressive, with classic styled cocktails making up a large portion of these. The cocktails are well-​constructed and use top-​shelf ingredients, but this also makes them very expensive. The average price is around $ 22-​$ 24 for a cocktail, and it does go up from there.
The tables have table service, with the option of paying as you go, or starting a tab — which is great for dates. The drinks can take a really long time to be delivered. A really long time. Last time, we waited almost half an hour for a cocktail each, and the previous visit was about the same wait. The staff are friendly and apologetic about the wait, but it is a little frustrating. There is a small menu of what looks mainly like fancy bar snacks, and seeing small cheese platters and such go around, it looks good — but I haven’t tried it to comment.
For me, due to expense and set up, this bar is best suited for a sexy post-​dinner-​date cocktail. Foregoing dessert for one of the cocktails on their «decadent» page is always a good option.

Oh lafayette how I wanted to like you, unfortunately you gave me a wannabe hipster waiter who wrote nothing down when our table of 8 ordered drinks but gave plenty of attitude. Then 15mins later you came back and told me I could order at the bar; to which I waited 10mins before I was served, very disappointing.

The cocktails were amazingly presented. My partner had a pearfectioned and I had a gorgeous watermelon cocktail, sorry I can’t remember the name! We also had duck baus. At first we sat outside because the guy who was performing had an outstanding voice but during his break we moved inside because of smokers. The service was very bizarre! We moved things on the table (menus, candle, flower, our drinks etc) to give us enough room and 3 different waiters /​waitresses moved things so the menu was facing out and the candle & vase were on the right side of the table… Clearly they had been trained to do this, but couldn’t they wait until we leave?! When the artist started his second set, his music was partially downed out by the inside music — it all became noise which wasn’t enjoyable, especially when a talented artist was performing! Over all, amazing food, drinks & live music but kinda weird atmosphere and peculiar service!

Our last stop on our mojito adventure night. The staff are delightfully interactive.
I had pulled up for the night on alcoholic beverages and my mojito searching partner had decided to change it up on our last stop.
We ordered a cinnamon sour and a cappuccino. I put the challenge to people at the end of a big night and all you want is a decent coffee… where do you go? I often ask for a coffee, because the bar has a fairly large coffee making monster sitting in the corner, and get some pithy bar tender look at me as if I’m an alien. But not here!
I was cheerfully served a lovely coffee and my wing woman’s cinnamon sour was perfect.
I love this bar. It does Perth proud.

‘Quality over quantity’ is how I would sum up Bar Lafayette. The food menu is relatively small in comparison to the extensive drinks menu, but the food they do — boy do they do it well! I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the lemon, chilli and ginger braised duck bao. Two buns for $ 20 may appear overpriced for some but I’m more than happy with that price for something so delicious, and it did end up being enough to fill me up for dinner. My friend had the pork sliders, which she loved.
The service was prompt and friendly, and I love the different seating areas you can choose from — for something more casual with a small group there were low bench type couches, or for 1:1 catch ups you could grab a side tables with 2x one-​seater couches to relax back in, two seater couches suitable for a date if you’re after something relaxed without being too intimate, or two seater tables with stools by the bar. I felt like I was in a lounge, as though someone had opened their house to the public with the perks of good food and drinks being served.

I don’t hand out 5 stars to just any old establishment. More important than the drinks, or the food is the experience. Went on a date here last night and had a fantastic experience. The staff were on the ball, knowledgeable but most of all seemed to genuinely enjoy what they do. We got a small high table that was very intimate away from the business types around the corner and I think the staff made it for me. I’ve been here before and their cocktails are great but I’ll keep coming back for the experience. Well done guys, keep up the good work!

Considering how bad my bar experience has been, I gotta say Lafayette has won my heart. The first night I laid eyes on them, I just happened to be walking pass the new area and thought this would be good — yes I judge book by its cover and their simple logo amused me somehow.
I got in and looked at the menu. After flipping through the pages for about 15 mins, I have come to a decision and got myself a recommendation instead. The waiter who I assumed was also the bar owner told me I looked like someone who’d prefer strawberry than chocolates (he thought wrong) but I gave his strawberry & nuts cocktail anyway. The first sip, I could barely taste the alcohol and that’s why it’s really really really really good.
The staff are professional and hands down to those who can memorise 6 people’s orders without writing it down! Their playlists are always fun to listen to and that is one important aspect for us, don’t lie…
Don’t think twice when you wander around Brookfield Place cos you already know where to go ;)

My first experience at Bar Lafayette was definitely memorable. I obviously heard on several occasions that it was a nice place. It was described to me as being very comfy and cozy, a nice pub to just chill and enjoy some amazing drinks and food with your mates. Thanks mum for the recommendation, I owe you, for contributing to the intoxication and delinquency of your youngest son: D Your recommendation was spot on.
The place is very welcoming and the staff was incredibly polite and friendly, very attentive. I’ve had some recent experiences at some pubs we went to, where the staff doesn’t even acknowledge your presence (maybe they were just as drunk as we were?) however, at Bar Lafayette, they certainly went out of their way to make our experience memorable. Came in on a Saturday evening with several of me mates, just looking to catch a few drinks, before heading to a birthday party. The drink selection on the menu was adequate, definitely enough to quench your thirst. If it’s not on the menu, no big deal, the bartender will still accommodate your order. It seems the more you drink, the bigger the menu gets, but that’s definitely a good thing.
The interior of Bar Lafayette is quite rustic, but definitely fits the building. We just tucked ourselves in a corner and enjoyed the atmosphere. We didn’t order food, since we were going to be eating later that night, but the food looked amazing. Out of curiosity, I ask the two girls that were seated near us, if the food they ordered was any good? It was obvious by their expressions, it was epic. They both raved about their tapas. I’m definitely going to have to come back and sample their food menu. This was definitely a very nice relaxed place, with amazing drinks, but most importantly, fabulous service. Thanks mom! I owe you.

Dark, sexy, classy, and oh-​so-​elegant Bar Lafayette was the place to start off our night. Secrets and gossip can be whispered and shared amongst their many hidden corners, we sunk yourself into the leather seats and admire their gorgeous staircase centerpiece that can take us to anywhere (or nowhere?). They serve cocktails and spirits for those with serious palates (and so delicious!). If Tiffany’s was a place where Audrey had her breakfast, then LaFayette would have been her local bar where she caught up with her girls for some drinks (and where her bartenders knew her favourite drinks!),
Andre (one of the owners) welcomed and ushered us in and found us a lovely knook to start off the night. Before long we were greeted and served by a gorgeous bartender (I have rudely forgotten his name). He was so lovely, friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and was able to recommend me a few cocktails to my liking (something on the citrus side, refreshing and light). He recommended me The Green Lady, with Hendrick’s Gin and cointreau served up with hints of lime, fresh mint and a slice of cucumber with a dash of sugar I absolutely loved it. It was delicious, fresh and a great way to start the night. M got herself a Lafayette Collins (another winner in my books!).
Our drinks were accompanied by our entrees for the night.
Garlic and Chilli Prawns with lime salad and this beautiful coconutty sauce (which I wished was just a tad bit more creamy — personal preference) was lovely to eat. Beautifully cooked and marinated garlic prawns balanced the sweetness of the coconut sauce well.
The seafood dish was paired with the wagyu beef skewers which was tender juicy enclosed in a beautiful sticky marinade. Couldn’t have enough of it.
They also have a rather lovely mixed charcuterie with quality cured meats, pickles, bread, lavosh and a yummy cheese board. After the food, it was round two of the drinks, which saw me have the Adam and Eve, which unfortunately had tequila in it, and as I have consumed too many a tequila sunrises and sunsets in my youth the hint of tequila was a little too strong for me, although M rather liked it.
I have to applaud and give Bar Lafayette my love. The décor inside is warm and friendly, very practical and uses the very limited space they have to great affect. But really the thing that stands out the most about Lafayette is the staffs attentiveness, friendly and welcoming nature, which is something that is lacking in many of Perth’s precinct. It’s also great that they have lovely cocktails (with people who make them with love) and a pretty decent small bar menu.

You wooed me Lafayette, you wooed me good.
I have been wanting to try this bar on for size ever since Unilocal’s Perth power couple (aka Claire. F and Nathan. F) had sung its sweet praises. Visiting on a chilly Friday night, it was wonderful to feel the warmth inside Bar Lafayette.
The crowd is a bit older, and the drinks are sublime whether you’re after a cocktail or wine. The labyrinth of corridors and small rooms reveal bits of nineteenth-​century furniture. A cuddled up and secretive setting for a pre-​dinner tipple with your lover or a sophisticated drink with friends. Not exactly a scene for meeting people but you could play a tricky game of Hide ‘n’ Seek in here.
What really makes you want to regular this place are the fantastic staff. Mind readers they are! I merely had to glance in the direction of the bar before the smiling French bartender whipped out a menu for me. I took three short strides in search of the bathroom and another dapperly dressed barman said; «second door on the right». Every time you walk around, the staff clear a path. Greetings on entry and farewells on exit. Drinks are rested on white napkins and glasses are continually topped. You sort of feel like a V.I.P. This level of customer service makes you forget where you are. It has been the first time in a while that I’ve felt an strong cause to tip.

I continue to enjoy this bar. The duck char Sui is delicious and to end the night (after some sparkling) I had the bloody Mary. The bar tender remembered exactly how I like it (spicy). It was fantastic. This is now my fav spot in perth for a relaxing drink.

My first experience here was after a particularly bad day at work, so when the bar manager heard me gripping to my partner he was very quick to offer a ‘special’ cocktail to brighten my mood… Next he quizzed me on some of my favorite drinks and after letting me smell some newly arrived rye whiskey he blended a most wonderful mixture.
During the night we sampled some of the bar food, which whilst somewhat prepared was a much nice experience than the typical fried affair, with dumplings (including visible prawns) and casadias to chose from.
The relaxed atmosphere, feelingly bar service and rather tasty bar food would put this very high on my recommendation list for anyone looking for a CBD bar, a must try!