Will St. review: Leederville eatery by storied chef Will Meyrick still a holiday-at-home destination

It’s been more than two and a half years since Will St. wafted into Leederville on a cloud of makrut lime, navigating the tailwinds of COVID. It was just a few months after the fifth and final stage of the easing of pandemic-related restrictions, when all venues could resume operation at 100 per cent capacity. The glory days when nobody could come within 2sqm of you indoors seem like an actual fever dream. But borders were still closed, which meant restaurants — particularly those that allowed us to pretend we were somewhere somewhat more exotic — were the alternative to actually being there. Will St. and its heady offering of dishes that perhaps reminded one of happier times in Canggu, became one of those holiday-at-home destinations. It immediately lived up to the enormous hype associated with storied, gifted chef Will Meyrick. It continues to. On our recent visit, our genial server James became a hot topic of conversation early on, thanks to what we surmised was some sort of subdermal implant on his neck which turned out not to be body modification but the fascinating permanent effect of a childhood snake bite. James was good to us, very gently breaking the news after overhearing our conversation about urgently ordering the Calcutta goat Nihari that they were no longer with goat. So we made it our business to order pretty much everything else, lest James run out of those dishes too. An absolute high note of a parade of faultless plates was the egg noodles with hunks of snapper, black fungi and shimeji bound with XO sauce, $42. Wildly confident cooking, huge flavours and perfect freshness. Scallops come on the half shell with a elegantly explosive pop of finger lime pearls and trout roe, bathed in a coconut and yuzu dressing, $10. Pretty to look at and sublime to slurp. Potato, cauliflower and corn samosas, $17 for three, eggplant katsu, $17, Brussels sprout Idli Chat with pomegranate, $22, grilled broccolini, $18, and a definitely not-your-average dahl with saltbush and warrigal greens, $18, were all brilliantly executed veg dishes that make this an equal opportunity eatery. There’s also a jackfruit curry, which is about the only thing we didn’t try. Golden nuggets of chicken and truffle karaage, $28, came with a luxe addition of salted egg yolk, while we ordered two of the outrageously sticky Dendeng Balado chilli caramelised brisket, $45. I wanted to swoon over a truffle martini, $22, with spiked Running With Thieves vodka. I mean, it sounds heavenly. But the finishing spritz of truffle oil meant it was, as The Clash would say, overpowered by funk. James was also able to inform us that they had sold out of an exceedingly crowd-pleasing Antonella Corda vermentino di Sardegna, $85. But that’s because we ordered the last three bottles. The verdict: 18/20 Will St. endures as a magical escape to a lovelier place. Will St. 228 Carr Place, Leederville Open Thursday-Saturday 12pm-2pm, Tuesday-Saturday 5.30pm-9.15pm Contact willstreetperth.com Bookings Yes