Santini Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Perth

Let me start by saying we went here about 4 years ago and I remember it being one of the best restaurants I had been too. Oh how times have changed.. A group of 5 of us went here on Saturday night to celebrate a birthday for my sister in law. To we met at the bar for pre dinner drinks and even though we were the only customers there, the staff managed to incorrectly charge us for 2 rounds of drinks. Second round they actually came to the table when they brought the drinks and told me that my payment had declined, even though I told them the eftpos machine came up as approved with a green tick, but no, they didn't accept that, and charged me again, a total of $ 125, but I checked my credit card transactions straight away and noticed I had been charged $ 112 7 mins earlier and showed them this and they were apologetic and cancelled the second charge, but when I questioned why I was charged $125 the second time, I was told they charged me for an extra gin & tonic which I didn't have. Problem 1. Once we made our way to the restaurant, we knew prices were at the high end of town , but due to our previous experience, were happy to pay for nice food. Entrees were nice, without being outstanding, but the main courses were a huge disappointment, so much so, that the pork chops I ordered were inedible and my wifes rigatoni lamb ragu was not much better. My pork chops were so salty ( this is coming from someone who does like a bit of salt ) that I had to send them back to the kitchen, which I have never done before and we felt so bad that we felt we couldn't send the rigatoni back, so my wife only ate a minimal amount of the rigatoni, same reason due to it being too salty. Terrible mains. The salty food left a bitter taste in my mouth so skipped anything else to eat for the mains and we eventually had to ask for a dessert menu to soften the taste in our mains and decided to order the Tiramisu which on the menu was "served at the table" $ 24. Was wrong of me for thinking that maybe it was prepared like a crepe suzette at your table or that it was layered at your table for a bit of a show, but no, a table was set up with a large bowl of Tiramisu brought out and a large spoon used just to spoon some Tiramisu into a bowl, That's it ! messy, no garnish, just a blob on a plate for $24. we complained about the whole meal and had the 2 mains taken off the bill which we were grateful for, but we vowed never to be back again. We went from an amazing high the first time we went there to a shocking low. Make no mistake this is an expensive restaurant but the food quality lets it down badly. Do not...

We were 2 from a party of 8 and the first to arrive so decided to have a drink first. We waited patiently to be served and ordered a glass of champagne and a gin and tonic. The champagne arrived but the barman started on another order before completing ours. Another 4 of the party arrived and, as we watched my barman walk out into another room, I suggested this was entirely in keeping with comments made on other reviews. Eventually, we got the attention of another barman for, now, 2 gin and tonics plus 3 glasses of champagne. He asked, without making eye contact “What gin would you like?”, which was a fair question but without the offer of a bar menu (or one that was visible) I replied that a Gordon’s would be fine. “We don’t have Gordon’s” he said triumphantly and looked at me defiantly as though this was some sort of challenge to test my gin knowledge. I asked which gins they did stock and he replied with a heavy sigh reeling off a few and gesticulating at the shelf. I squinted in the half light and settled on Four Pillars. I don’t suppose I expected him to say “nice choice” but an acknowledgement would have been nice. And then, after 2 champagnes were poured he, too, did a disappearing act. The experience now turned to farce and, far from being annoyed, the niceties of greeting one another turned to conjecturing on how bad the service was going to get. We managed to collar the one remaining barman, whose untidy stubble was more hangover than designer, and he explained they had run out of champagne flutes so his colleague had gone to fetch some more. There were maybe 8 other people in the bar, none of whom appeared to be drinking champagne so to keep a permanent stock of 3 glasses was eye opening and, I’d suggest, foolhardy. The review for the restaurant and food is 5 star but first impressions for the Basil Fawlty like treatment in the bar definitely marred...

The set menu for the Italian Lover's affair is exceptional. First, they welcomed us with a bread basket (we wish it were a bit warmer as the bread is cold and the butter does not melt on it) and a glass of prosecco. I am not a drinker, so appreciating wine is not something I do. Then they served the oyster. I don't like oysters, but I loved this one. The acidity and the garlicky taste is exquisite. For the entree, they served us the wagin duck, which is nice with the yellow peach. The greens are a bit bitter, so the peach cut through the bitterness. But the prawns are divine! We loved it to the point of asking for the recipe for the sauce. Of course, they did not give it to us. But this dish alone is something I would come back for. I had the sirloin for the mains, which was tender and almost melted in my mouth. My husband had the linguini pasta with mussels and chili. The pasta was cooked to perfection, and the chili sauce was to die for. And lastly, we had our desserts. The QT kisses were my favourite of the two desserts they served. It has hazelnuts and chocolate crumble. and the chocolate covering is crunchy. It is not too sweet, which I loved about it because the pink sherbet offered the sweetness and tanginess that is required. The QT cheesecake was alright, I was not a fan of the champagne jelly as it is too bitter. But then again, being a non-drinker... The ambience is stunning as they decorated the venue to make it romantic. We booked at 5:30 pm, and I worry it might be too bright to have a candlelit dinner. But they have curtains that dimmed the dining area, to my relief. The service is great; our glass of water was always full as the staff are very attentive to the customers' needs.Overall, our experience is top-notch with Santini and will definitely...