KING SOMM
Play it your way in Bayswater
King Somm, the choose-your-own-adventure multi-purpose venue that has newly opened on King William street in Bayswater, continues the recent Perth trend of bars and restaurants with frankly inscrutable names. When I mentioned to a few colleagues around the watercooler that I was going to a place called King Somm on the weekend, the collective assumption was that it was a Thai restaurant. “No”, I explained, eyes rolling into the back of my head, “it’s obviously short for sommelier”. Or at least, one would assume. Who knows? Not me. If the four co-owners settled on the abbreviation in an attempt not to scare off those patrons who mightn’t know their Beaujolais’ from their Barolos, they have risked scaring off those who have set out to visit with thoughts of green chicken curry in their head. Or any preconceptions at all, perhaps. But maybe this isn’t really an issue for the KS team, given that even on paper, the venue defies common sense. It’s a small bar, but there’s a wine store, so the by-the-bottle list is what’s on the shop shelves, but it’s separate to the main bar, which has its own by-the-glass list. You’d better be prepared to cover some ground in making your wine choices. There’s also a pizzeria - Jane Dough - attached, so that forms the crux of the food offerings, but the pizzeria also does small plates for the restaurant as well as being a standalone joint doing takeaway pizzas for the general public. On the inside, the bar, pizzeria and wine shop are connected yet there’s a separate entrance for each on the street front. There feels like a lot of disparate elements to KS where other venues typically keep their offerings centralized for simplicity, but what it ultimately means is that there is fun to be had here in a variety of different ways.
What does bring a sense of unity to the venue is the gorgeous design of the building’s interiors. Simone Robeson, of Robeson Architects, is one of the previously mentioned co-owners, and along with a young associate, has created a beautiful space which elevates to whatever level of sophistication each guest might desire . Everything is detail-driven and refined, from the elegant walkway into the main bar area past an arch-shaped feature wine rack, to the muted olive green hues of the walls, which alternate with exposed brickwork. Where appropriate, original structural elements have been retained, like a robust bulkhead of exposed brick and steel stretching above the entrance of both the restaurant and the wine store. There’s also courtyard out back, with a custom-made wrought-iron sliding door (think nuclear fallout shelter chic), and a neon King Somm logo in the wine shop. What stood out most, however, was the soundtrack – deep cuts from the Smashing Pumpkins hung with Icecream by Muscles and at one stage, that Missy Elliot song about a milkshake, boys, and a yard. Was it Spotify's endless playlist function on a frolic of its own? Surely no algorithm in existence could group these tunes. Maybe one of the bar staff inadvertently put their entire iTunes library on shuffle. We’ll never know.
Despite it sounding like there was a Hot Dub Time Machine gig going on across the street, the food and wine situation was far less unhinged . The short menu bookends small plates with smallgoods and cold cuts on the lighter side, and the pizza offerings from Jane Dough at the heavier end – so it makes sense to build lunch or dinner around one or two of these thin, crisp-edged pies. The artichoke, gorgonzola, pear, walnuts and rocket pizza ($22), was flavourful – the pear cooked soft, melding with the pungent gorgonzola and citrusy artichoke. It’s something a little different from the San Marzano-based pizzas that are done extremely well at spots like Monsterella and Canteen, and it would appear that Jane Dough can hold its own against its southern rivals. To treat King Somm as just a baroque pizzeria, however, would be to do it an injustice. The small plates section of the menu makes for attractive reading. Moreish lamb ribs ($17) are pimped with a vibrant garlic sauce, za’atar and soft little rings of fried onion. The meat was tender - scrapable off the bone with the back of a fork – and the combination of sauce, herbs and onion lipsmackingly delicious.
A plate of cheesy hushpuppies with smoked mayo ($12), spoke to the more “tavern” side of the King Somm aesthetic. The fried cornmeal balls weren’t quite as cheesy as their description suggested, but this meant that they weren’t stodgy, either, and were snaffled down in quick succession. The puppies were adequately lifted in the flavour stakes by the creamy smoked mayo and a simple salsa of tomato, onion and fresh dill. These would be equally enjoyable with a beer or a glass of something cold and white. Finally, from the coldcuts section, a plate of bresaola ($11) arrived layered and heaped on itself, with caper berries and diminutive pickles. If you’re into your air-dried beef, as we very much are, you'll be pleased with this – it was sliced paper-thin and delivered all of that musky, mouth-coating aged flavor you’d expect from decent bresaola. One presumes the other coldcuts of prosciutto and mortadella are similarly of good quality. Get a plate of all three for $23.
Whilst we were sat in the main dining area enjoying a weekend lunch, we saw various groups come and go – two mature ladies who shared a pizza and each had a glass of something pink, a young couple with a pram put away a bottle of white, and a few larger family groups claimed the raised booth spaces at the back of the dining area. A quick tour of the courtyard revealed similarly diverse patronage; couples, friends, families – with wines, beers, pizzas and snacks. The mood was relaxed yet convivial. Ultimately, I think this venue’s looseness is a strength – you really can make it what you want, even if that means having to get up from your table to peruse the wine store before ordering a bottle. In fact, you’ll be getting up from your table a bit – you order everything at the bar, and the food was dumped at the table sans cutlery, napkins or side plates with barely a second thought – grab it yourself from the nearby trolley, yeah? But it works. This is maybe the most casual wine bar you’ve been to, or the most beautiful tavern – whatever you want. We spent time letting lunch digest in the wine store, which is tiny but abounding with idiosyncratic bottles at a range of price points. I’m not sure what the mark-up is to drink a bottle in the bar, but you’d find options that were comparable with typical Perth prices, and probably more interesting.
King Somm and its associated acts are under one roof but bring a range of different experiences to Bayswater. For those of us not lucky enough to be locals, it’s worth the journey.