We did the "surprise me" tasting menu for dinner and were frankly underwhelmed and a bit disappointed, except for the fantastic second course of zucchini flowers. My suggestion -- if you visit Petition, avoid the tasting menu and order a la carte.

FOOD: Overall the menu was uninspired, and I was left wondering whether we were served certain items really because the chef wanted to surprise us with an interesting experience or whether it more about serving items that others weren't ordering. First and third courses were incredibly similar and neither very interesting -- one was a terrine and one was a pate, both meat on bread, the same thing in different forms, both slightly too large and neither particularly interesting. The second course, the zucchini, was absolutely fantastic however. Fourth course of asparagus was good though a over-sauced. The meat course was a pork chop that seemed a bit tough and overcooked, while the chips that came with it seemed undercooked and underwhelming in comparison to the chips I saw at the next table. The dessert was also a bit of a disappointment, some sort of mini cheesecake tart with a single blueberry cut in half -- the tart was not particularly interesting or memorable but I felt that it tasted like something that might have come out of a Starbucks fridge.

SERVICE: Service was disappointing. When we arrived we were greeted by a hostess who noted that I had mentioned on my reservation that we were in town from Singapore for my birthday, visiting Perth for the first time. I thought they might do something for my birthday, but no, nothing came out of that and the service was downhill from there. Each time a dish arrived, the wait staff explained it in only a couple of words, such as "this is a pork terrine" or "this is a pork chop" rather than saying anything interesting about the dish. I expect much more from a tasting menu -- I want to know why certain items are being served and I want to know more about what it is, especially because I am entrusting the chef to give me an interesting and valuable experience. When we ordered glasses of wine midway into the meal I asked for some surprises that would go with the dishes, but the waitress brought European wines, rather than local wines that would actually go with the dish, even though it should have been clear that we were looking for a local experience. Moreover, to clear each course it took a long time, and we had finished plates sitting on the table often for 15 or 20 minutes in between courses. Wait staff was disinterested and inattentive. By the end of the meal I wished we had ordered a la carte.

ATMOSPHERE: The ambiance was fine. I would have preferred a view of the open kitchen but I was seated with my back to it. I appreciated that we were permitted to order draft beer from the pub next door (wish the server had let me know about that earlier!) and thought that next time I will surely go straight there and skip Petition.