Besk — Restaurant in West Leederville

To begin with, I think in the last month. I’ve been to Besk at least 5 times. That should say enough, however, I like writing reviews so I’m going to be writing another.

Let’s start with the overall location and atmosphere. If you’re catching a train here, then it is quite literally at your doorstep, or if it be an Uber, chances of it costing no more than $20 is highly likely (depending on how central you live) and even if you’re driving, there is parking down every side street. The atmosphere as well is welcoming and usually can be extremely busy, and for good reason which I’m about to discuss.

The service. Top. Tier. I like to play a fun game called “choose my drink”. I drink almost everything, and I like to tell the bar tender what my likes and dislikes are and allow them to choose for me, which has never ever failed me at besk. Two people that deserve a rightful mention, 1. Ladsy (if I’ve gotten this wrong I am so sorry, but I believe this is her nickname, which I was told) she is so kind, and will remember your face, and is incredibly sincere. 2. Michael. One very funny and again, also so kind. He knows his beverages and all the elements, like air bender. I complimented him one evening I was out for dinner with a friend, and I left making another.

Though I no longer live in Perth anymore, as of yesterday, it will forever be the place I come back to because of the people.

Let’s talk food. Just, go. Go and sit down, get yourself a burger, get yourself gnocchi, have the steak tartare paired with fries on the side with a cold crisp beer or a wine of your choice. Then say thank you.

Also compliment people more often, it is not hard, and it...

It seems Besk are quite understaffed. We tried to make a reservation and were told reservations were only taken for certain areas of the restaurant, and that as we weren’t a big party and as they just take walk-ins we couldn’t make one. When we arrived we asked if we should just sit anywhere, and were told we could as long as there wasn’t a ‘reserved’ sign on the table. We finally found a table that was available, however it was covered in someone else’s dirty plates (pic provided) and leftovers. If we wanted to have somewhere to eat we had to sit there and smell the previous diners’ fish sauce until someone made it over to clean it for us about five minutes later. When we did finally have someone clean our table, we asked about why the other tables were reserved since we couldn’t make a booking, and were told that the person that had booked the table next to us had called that morning to book it. Of course that made no sense - do you take reservations if they’re made the same day, and we couldn’t make one because we called a couple of days earlier? We didn’t bother to seek further clarification from the staff as they all seemed to be too busy to be caring much. The food was okay, and the cocktails weren’t bad. I also think it’s helpful for people to know that the furnishings and high ceilings mean that it’s one of those places where you have to shout at the people you’re sitting with in order...

Personally I think this place is overrated. The food is very good, but it doesn't make up for a lack of service and atmosphere. There is zero service. We had to get up find wine in the shop, and then ask for wine glasses, the food was served without side plates (we were sharing), there was no cutlery or napkins on the table, we had to continually get up and stand at the bar and wait to ask for these things. On top of that, you pick a bottle of wine from the wine shop, and they add $20 onto it to take it to your table. Again, no table service, so what is the corkage charge for? It's very loud inside on a Friday/Saturday night and its very difficult to hear or have a conversation. You can only book a table for 1.5 hours hours, then you get moved on. And the wine is VERY expensive. I ordered 2 glasses of house red over the bar, that was $36. Not really an enjoyable time, I would recommend avoiding it if you are after a nice sit down meal with good service...