A suburban bar in Perth’s east has been named the best in the State.
Bertie, which only opened on Old Perth Road in Bassendean in May this year, has made a quick impression, taking out the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) award for WA’s best small bar in 2023.
Owner and Basso local James Connolly said the win was a “nice surprise” and thanked the community for their support.
“I like to think we do the basics well; we focus on our service as well as the food and drinks,” the veteran bartender said.
“We get it right more than we get it wrong, and our customers can see our attention to detail shining through.
“We’ve had a huge amount of support from the local community … they love Bertie.
“I live in the area but it’s the type of place that if I didn’t work at, I’d come anyway.”
The menu, courtesy of chef Anthony Yuill, is British-leaning and perfect bar fodder — think scotch eggs, steak tartare, and mussels.
The wine list features mostly Aussie wines with a small selection of beers and cider on tap.
Connolly believes Bassendean is an area with a lot of “potential” and a destination suburb for Perth foodies.
“We are getting people coming in from surrounding areas,” he said.
“People like to go for a night out and not have to head into the city … we have people coming the other way now, instead of going to Mt Lawley or Mt Hawthorn they are coming here.”
The Bassendean Hotel, also on Old Perth Road, reopened with much fanfare in late 2022 after a $7 million renovation.
Bertie was a joint winner of the best small bar award with Caballitos — a Mexican cantina slinging some of Perth’s best cocktails.
Also part of the AHA Awards was the Civic Hotel in Inglewood, which took home the best live entertainment venue in the State.
Another Beaufort Street favourite, the Inglewood Hotel, won the Gold Plate award for WA’s best restaurant in a pub for the third year running.