The Leadlight review: Nicely priced pub grub on track to make inner-city venue a local institution

Spare a thought for the hardworking pub chef. Margins are tight. Owners can be tighter. And if you do get the budget for something fancy, chances are the clientele will turn up their collective noses before plunging them back into their $16 pints. Hats off to George Maxwell, executive chef at The Leadlight and Picabar, who delivers classic brasserie dishes that deserve to be described as “elevated” — a word (over)used by food writers almost as often as kingfish ceviche appears on Perth menus. (Not complaining, just saying.) Maxwell and the Leadlight team are determined to establish this inner-city pub, which reopened in January after misfiring under different owners as Ruinbar, as your local, your favourite hangout, your meeting place . . . hell, your default setting when you can’t be bothered thinking of somewhere to go. Reliable, welcoming, solid. Being there is important, as ScoMo found out and Dutto hopefully soon will. Pubs are like creches for adults. We like the play equipment, and we don’t have to clean up after ourselves. Occasionally, though, we do have to go to timeout. The neighbourhood pub’s greened-up and extended alfresco area is already proving popular, with locals filling long tables and the raised deck on the Wednesday evening my family dropped in for din-din. Who doesn’t love a beer garden? Named due to the fact it occupies a row of shops which once housed Perth’s leadlight manufacturing district, The Leadlight offers very good pub tucker that’s not flashy nor expensive. The local sirloin costs $34 and comes with a tangy bearnaise and curly fries. I’ve paid $50-plus for lesser hunks of charred protein. This was a tasty 250g cut, nicely flame-grilled outside and rare inside. The pub does $20 rump steaks on Tuesday nights. That’s not a typo. Twenty spondoolies. A lobster for a steak. Like I said, margins are tight — or non-existent — but it’s about getting people in and getting them to come back, again and again. Maxwell’s White Rocks veal schnitzel with green bean and rocket salad plus anchovies, $29, is a thing of understated beauty. A thinly pounded topside cut of milk-fed veal was breaded and shallow fried, then covered in a pile of well-dressed greens and a snowfall of grated parmesan. While the veal could be slightly thicker and a little less dry, this is an unimpeachable pub schnitty. The mains list also includes a bucatini pasta and dry-aged cheeseburger, plus eggplant schnitzel and conti rolls. The latter two cost just $16, but are only available up to 4pm. Backtracking to snacks, The Leadlight menu offers fries, wedges and a fava bean dip to pick away at while you sip a tap beer or well-priced wine. We ordered the gin-cured kingfish with creme fraiche and fennel ($23) and, for something completely different, Nashville hot fried chicken tenders with ranch dressing ($18). Seven kingfish sashimi-sized bites had good texture, were almost meaty, and sat in good quality olive oil. Fennel fronds kicked this dish home. The crunchy fried chook was straight out of a Broadway Street honky-tonk and satisfying enough that our kids braved the heat to sample this southern classic. We had hoped a pizza would distract them. Next time, we’ll order two serves of the chicken. The Leadlight’s operators, who also own Percy Flint in South Fremantle, built a commercial kitchen in what was Ruinbar’s adjoining Pretty Good Pizza shop. However, they kept the convection oven which cooks pizzas more evenly than the more popular woodfired ovens. The decent-sized Californian thin-style Margherita ($22) was pretty good, evenly cooked with a good, salty crust. My wife, Myra, and I grabbed some pizza wine to go with our pub feast; specifically, a great value bottle of sangiovese from Abruzzo, Italy, for $50. There are 15 wines by the glass, none over $14. Pinch yourself, it’s still 2025. There are also classic cocktails and a decent bank of beer taps, ranging from Swanny D to some craft brewer’s latest wild fantasy in liquid form. Like me, The Leadlight’s owners have done serious longitudinal research into the humble pub, and it shows. The beer garden is just going to get better as it gets more greenery, and the charming heritage vibes inside make you feel like it’s been this way for a century or more. This isn’t a Michelin-starred destination dining experience, nor a great restaurant — it’s simply one of the best pubs in inner-city Perth. And that’s more than enough. The Leadlight 165 Beaufort Street, Perth OPEN Tuesday-Sunday, midday-late. CONTACT bookings@theleadlight.com.au BOOKINGS Yes THE VERDICT Ideal inner-city pub serving reliable dishes with a good range of beers and surprisingly strong wine list. Locals love it, but it’s worth sending out-of-towners too. Try the veal. 14.5/20