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Scarborough bar wins prestigious best cocktail award

Scarborough bar wins prestigious best cocktail award

Perth Now24-06-2025
Four of Perth's top bartenders gathered at Crown Perth to shake until their arms were sore for a panel of industry experts who crowned The Sandbar Scarborough Beach the winner of WA's Best Cocktail Competition.
Bartenders from Lima Cantina in Leederville, Aloft Perth's Lobby Lounge, Print Hall in Perth and The Sandbar Scarborough Beach battled for glory and bragging rights at the annual AHA Hospitality Expo mix-off on Tuesday.
The Matcha Made in Heaven cocktail from The Sandbar Scarborough Beach is only the second drink to be crowned the AHA and Don Julio WA's Cocktail of the Year after the Père Julio from L'Chaim at The Old Synagogue in Fremantle took the top spot at the inaugural event last year.
Cocktail creator Marina Vidal told The West Australian she was on top of the world after winning.
'I did not think that was going to happen,' she said.
'I am so proud of me.'
The quartet of cocktails, ranging from Lima Cantina's classic Pisco Sour to The Sandbar's Matcha Made In Heaven, were selected via public votes and mystery judge visits.
Voters were encouraged to consider taste, appearance, creativity, price and the story behind the drink.
The other finalists were Print Hall's theatrical spin on an espresso martini, The Nocturne, and Aloft Perth's fluorescent blue, tropical-tasting Coco Loco.
Each cocktail shaker had eight minutes to make four faultless drinks for the judges who each held a plethora of industry experience to rate.
About a hundred people gathered around the stage salivating as the mixologists spent the last of their seconds placing dry fruits and edible flowers on top of their highly regarded recipes. Marina Vidal from The Sandbar Scarborough Beach. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian
AHA WA boss Bradley Woods said the contest celebrated the art of cocktail making and gives venues a chance to shine.
The winning venue received box tickets to see One Republic at RAC Arena in February valued at $4000.
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Scarborough bar wins prestigious best cocktail award
Scarborough bar wins prestigious best cocktail award

Perth Now

time24-06-2025

  • Perth Now

Scarborough bar wins prestigious best cocktail award

Four of Perth's top bartenders gathered at Crown Perth to shake until their arms were sore for a panel of industry experts who crowned The Sandbar Scarborough Beach the winner of WA's Best Cocktail Competition. Bartenders from Lima Cantina in Leederville, Aloft Perth's Lobby Lounge, Print Hall in Perth and The Sandbar Scarborough Beach battled for glory and bragging rights at the annual AHA Hospitality Expo mix-off on Tuesday. The Matcha Made in Heaven cocktail from The Sandbar Scarborough Beach is only the second drink to be crowned the AHA and Don Julio WA's Cocktail of the Year after the Père Julio from L'Chaim at The Old Synagogue in Fremantle took the top spot at the inaugural event last year. Cocktail creator Marina Vidal told The West Australian she was on top of the world after winning. 'I did not think that was going to happen,' she said. 'I am so proud of me.' The quartet of cocktails, ranging from Lima Cantina's classic Pisco Sour to The Sandbar's Matcha Made In Heaven, were selected via public votes and mystery judge visits. Voters were encouraged to consider taste, appearance, creativity, price and the story behind the drink. The other finalists were Print Hall's theatrical spin on an espresso martini, The Nocturne, and Aloft Perth's fluorescent blue, tropical-tasting Coco Loco. Each cocktail shaker had eight minutes to make four faultless drinks for the judges who each held a plethora of industry experience to rate. About a hundred people gathered around the stage salivating as the mixologists spent the last of their seconds placing dry fruits and edible flowers on top of their highly regarded recipes. Marina Vidal from The Sandbar Scarborough Beach. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian AHA WA boss Bradley Woods said the contest celebrated the art of cocktail making and gives venues a chance to shine. The winning venue received box tickets to see One Republic at RAC Arena in February valued at $4000.

Could this be the best steak sandwich in Perth?
Could this be the best steak sandwich in Perth?

Perth Now

time18-06-2025

  • Perth Now

Could this be the best steak sandwich in Perth?

Print Hall will compete in a cook-off to reveal the best steak sandwich in Perth in June. Run by the Australian Hotels Association (WA) and Little Creatures, nominees were picked by public vote and the winner will be decided in a live cook-off at the AHA Hospitality Expo at Crown Perth, where the winner will be announced live on stage. Print Hall in the old West Australian print building is a multi-level drinking, dining and dancing venue. Your local paper, whenever you want it. Interior of Print Hall, Perth. Credit: Ian Munro / The West Australian Its steak sandwich features Knead Scarborough sourdough, 150g of sirloin, porcini mushrooms, triple cream brie, tomatoes, rocket, house-made salsa verde served with roasted chat potatoes and a house salad. Print Hall food and beverage manager Cristiano Frualini said the steak sandwich stood out from the rest due to the commitment to fresh ingredients. 'We make everything in-house; for example, the salsa verde is made here in us from scratch, same with the porcini mushroom sauce,' he said. Cristiano Fraulini with the steak sandwich at Print Hall, Perth. Credit: Ian Munro / The West Australian 'The bread is amazing. We did a little bit of a research and we are sourcing the bread from Knead Baker in Scarborough and we are using the Scarborough sour, which I think is really one of the best sourdough that is made in WA.' Mr Frualini said the recipe was developed collaboratively by executive chef Paolo Del Monte, Print Hall general manager John Hutton, himself and other senior staff across entertainment group Night Owl and Print Hall. 'We gathered our our brains together and we spent quite a bit of time on it,' he said. 'We did at least five different tastings to tweak it and to make it better every time — it was really a team effort.' The steak sandwich at Print Hall, Perth. Ian Munro Credit: Ian Munro / The West Australian The competition was a welcome addition to the Print Hall resume, with Mr Frualini saying preparing for it had been a lot of fun. 'It felt a little bit of pressure at the beginning, but it gave us an opportunity to measure ourselves on something that is not fine dining or hot cuisine that we do a little bit more often,' he said. 'It's amazing to put together something amazing which is a bit more simple and more for the general public. And we loved it.' Print Hall will be competing against other metro finalists Carrington's Bar & Grill in Hamilton Hill, The Central in Butler and The Last Local in Canning Vale. The judging criteria includes the tenderness of the meat, the presentation, the originality/creativity, chips, sauces, overall flavour and value for money. Carrington's Bar & Grill will be looking to defend their title after taking out the award last year. Carrington's Bar & Grill chef Jaspreet (Jass) Singh with his winning belt and trophy. Credit: AHA The AHA & Little Creatures WA's Best Steak Sandwich competition will be held on June 25. Print Hall has also been selected to compete in AHA's best cocktail competition. Out of 70 venues across WA, Print Hall has landed in the top four for both categories.

Pinjarra's Exchange Hotel sizzles into steak sanga finals
Pinjarra's Exchange Hotel sizzles into steak sanga finals

Perth Now

time04-06-2025

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Pinjarra's Exchange Hotel sizzles into steak sanga finals

A Pinjarra pub is raising the stakes with a unique steak sanga offering that's become a juicy contender in WA's premier steak sandwich competition. The organisers of the Australian Hotels Association (WA) and Little Creatures WA's Best Steak Sandwich contest named The Exchange Hotel as one of the four country WA finalists in this year's event. The three others were Margaret River's Settlers Tavern, The Miners Rest, and Australind's Treendale Farm Hotel — with Treendale winning last year. The Exchange Hotel's offering is packed with chargrilled local lamb, a quirky twist on the expected beef cut. The mouthwatering lamb is then topped by cooked tomato, a capsicum and pomegranate molasses, red onion, sumac and house-made feta mint yoghurt, all served on a garlic butter Turkish roll. Exchange head chef Chef Dave Brown said the lamb comes from Midway Farm stall down the road and is 'especially nice'. 'It's Middle Eastern style, which I think is what helped us along, because it's a bit different,' he added. '99 per cent of people love it and all of the feedback I got was about how different and exciting it is compared to normal. 'We're in a position out here where we can get away from a lot of the basic pub stuff, but I don't get too far away from it. ' The Exchange is currently selling more than 100 of the unique lamb sandwiches a week, on top of selling about 250 of the classic beef steak sandwiches. Four Perth metropolitan finalists were also named — Carrington's Bar & Grill in Hamilton Hill, Print Hall in Perth, The Central in Butler, and The Last Local in Canning Vale. Carrington's Bar & Grill is the defending metro champion. The finalists will compete for the titles of country WA champion on June 24 and Perth metro champion on June 25 at the 2025 AHA Hospitality Expo at Crown Perth. They will present their steak sandwiches to a panel of judges who will assess tenderness, presentation, originality, flavour, chips, sauces and value. AHA(WA) chief executive Bradley Woods said the standard of entries continued to impress, with more than 70 venues entering and showcasing exceptional levels of flavour, creativity and presentation. 'WA's Best Steak Sandwich is more than just a competition — it's a sizzling showcase of foodie passion and the incredible talent we have in our pubs and hotels across the State,' he said. 'The energy this year has been fantastic. Venues have thrown themselves into it, especially on social media — rallying their communities and bringing some serious steak sandwich spirit to the competition. 'We're looking forward to seeing what the finalists bring to the stage during the live cook-off to determine the winners.'

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