Amanda Keenan: Old favourite in North Perth still dishing an impressive menu in a jazzier reimagined space

Huddled around a table at Euro-star Bar Rogue last weekend, we took stock of the three years since COVID-19 (yep, that’s short for 2019) became the ultimate party pooper. Though we had all lived through it, there was a sense of wonder and disbelief as we recalled the panic and the palpable fear of the unknown. It seemed so quaint and hysterical that we once had hazmat suit-clad cleaners disinfecting somewhere an infected person had briefly been. That distilleries changed tack to start filling the dire shortage of hand sanitiser. That restaurants shut down overnight. Such was (about to be) the case last time we reviewed The Old Laundry. No sooner had we left our seats in the leafy courtyard than virtually the entire city’s hospo scene was brought to a screaming halt. Oscar Boyne’s crisp Laundry was one of the places to pivot almost immediately to takeaway and, after the pandemic petered out, to find a way back to some semblance of normalcy and viability. The Laundry is a classic neighbourhood local, where the menu and surroundings are familiar. Yet, suddenly not so. Boyne has carried out a gentle reinvention of his popular haunt, jazzing up the dining room with new furniture and the kind of decor one might find in the reading room of an English country house or maybe that room, as Gordon Lightfoot sang about, where you do what you don’t confess. The menu is same-same, but different. Ever-popular Korean Fried Chicken remains, alongside some of the more elegant offerings from a kitchen determined to elevate this bistro experience. Surprisingly busy on a weekday lunchtime, the one front-of-house staffer struggled to keep up with tables — particularly when a couple of old ducks were ordering complicated cocktails that had the colour and consistency of Omo. So we were a tad impatient as we waited a little too long for a glass of wine — there’s a short and sharp by-the-glass list boasting the likes of a Voyager sem sauv, a reasonable $13. And a glass of Thompson Estate chardonnay (also $13) was a fine foil to a $36 plate of red spot emperor nesting on smashed potatoes and creme fraiche. Purslane, that salty succulent ground cover, brought a gentle squish and tang while dill added dimension. Bottarga is an audacious way to finish a dish but the luxurious slices of salty tuna brought it all together. Blecs is a pasta we had not met before. It’s triangular or square, and from the Friuli region. Here it was also well in the region of al dente, folded through a moreish duck ragu ($36). Another upmarket dish, this one was topped with grated horseradish and a golden egg yolk. In its determination to survive the COVID wring cycle and general economic malaise, Old Laundry also operates a successful catering business. And though not necessarily in keeping with its more refined stylings these days, they also run ridiculously successful trivia nights. The Old Laundry Bar + Kitchen 22 Angove Street, North Perth 6162 1105 theoldlaundry.net Monday-Sunday, 7am-late Bookings YES The Old Laundry is new again, with a gentle makeover to match its increasingly impressive menu. 16/20