Kailis Bros Fish Café, Leederville

"greek octopus" "Octopus a la grec" ""red wine" "grilled" "braised leeks" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"

People come and go in your life; sometimes through your own choosing and sometimes due to circumstances out of your control. Their departure can often be filled with all sorts of mixed emotions but when you know that their decision is a good one for them personally it makes saying goodbye so much easier.  We recently bade goodbye to a dear friend and colleague who is entering a new chapter in their life; one that I’m certain will give them the security and happiness they deserve. To bid him farewell, we dined at the Kailis Bros Fish Café, Leederville for a simple, fresh seafood meal.

I had spent the earlier part of the day at Feral Brewery for lunch for a friend’s baby shower and was grateful there were many light options on the menu.  I was informed that many of the dishes could be adapted to be gluten free as they only involved simple ingredients while relying on the freshness of the seafood to take centre stage.

"scallops" "Herb & garlic crusted scallops" "fresh chilli" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Herb & garlic crusted scallops with fresh chilli

For entrée I started with the herb and garlic crusted scallops with fresh chill. Kailis’s Bros support sourcing local produce and their scallops are West Australian, from either up North in Carnarvon or from the icy water of Esperance depending on the time of year. Each lightly browned scallop was a delicate, tender pillow of flavour and my notion that I was too full from my  lunch passed from my consciousness as I plopped each morsel into my mouth in quick succession. The Boy made a little underhanded comment at my speed of eating which I can only presume meant he wished that I saved him one! His consolation prize was getting to mop up the remaining garlic juices on my plate with his garlic bread instead.

"greek octopus" "Octopus a la grec" ""red wine" "grilled" "braised leeks" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Octopus a la grec

The Boy couldn’t see any vegetarian meals on the menu and so he reluctantly ordered the octopus “a la grec”. For this dish the octopus is carefully simmered in red wine and then grilled.  Having recently been very spoilt with some mind blowing “pulpo” in Barcelona I was interested to see how Kailis’s version matched up.  After just one mouthful I was left wishing I had ordered this dish instead of my scallops. There was no chewiness or rubbery texture; each piece was as soft and as tender as I recall it being in Spain.

"whole grilled fish" "new zealand flounder" "Whole Grilled" "Flounder" "latho lemano dressing" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Whole Grilled NZ Flounder with ‘latho lemano’ dressing

Our guest of honour ordered the grilled New Zealand flounder which he explained was a common dish he ate during his childhood.  Having not eaten it in decades he took a bit of a gamble trying to rehash an old school favourite but thankfully he was not disappointed. The fish was served whole with a “latho lemano” dressing which is a traditional Greek baste made with lemon juice, olive oil, wild Greek oregano and a dash of fresh ground black pepper. The meat flaked away off the bone easily and despite this fish’s huge size our friend managed to slowly but deliberately work his way through the lot.

"Pan Seared Tasmanian Salmon" "sweet & sour" "tamarind" "sautéed baby corn" "bok choy" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Pan Seared Tasmanian Salmon with sweet & sour tamarind glaze

For my main I both ordered the pan seared Tasmanian salmon with a sweet & sour tamarind glaze, sautéed baby corn and bok choy. I was impressed to see the kitchen staff take gluten contamination seriously and ensured my fish was grilled on a separate fresh grill. Not all eating establishments have this level of understanding for what is needed to ensure there is no gluten in their food. The salmon skin was super crispy whilst the steak was just past the point of being rare making it lusciously soft. The tamarind sauce was a touch too sweet for my liking and needed a tiny bit more balance with its other key elements of sourness and spiciness.

"Roasted royal blue potatoes" "wild oregano" "sea salt" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Roasted royal blue potatoes

We also ordered a few sides to fill in the gaps including crunchy roasted Royal Blue potatoes with wild oregano and sea salt, a green leaf salad with shaved Reggiano parmesan and cracked black pepper and some sautéed seasonal vegetables with tarragon butter. The potatoes were crisp on the outside with a lovely soft centre and were one of the first things to be finished at our table.

"sticky date" "tiramisu" "desserts" "dessert" "sweets" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Dessert display

Just when we thought we had no room left for sweets, our waitress came over to our table with their daily selection of desserts. She advised us that all their desserts are made in house fresh each day by their dedicated pastry chef.

"desserts" "dessert" "sweets" "crème brûlée" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "seafood" "seafood restaurants perth" "kailis bros" "Kailis Bros Fish Café" "Leederville" "Oxford street" "fish cafe" "kailis brothers" "gluten free seafood"
Crème brûlée

Once again bursting at the seams I wondered to myself if I would ever gain the ability to exhibit self-control at this point of the evening. I dismissed such a crazy idea and chose the lemon and lime crème brûlée to share with the Boy. Other options included a tiramisu, sticky date pudding and a couple of other more creative looking options. Our choice was a hit all around the table with each couple sharing one brûlée between each other. A well rounded night out indeed.

I have always found Kailis Brothers Fish Café to reliably satisfy me at every visit. They maintain their reputation by staying true to themselves serving the freshest of seafood with minimal fuss.  They promote West Australian produce in particular and remain in my humble opinion one of the best providers of fresh seafood in Perth to the public.

Kailis Brothers Fish Café
101 Oxford Street, Leederville WA 6007 | (08) 9443 6300 | www.kailisbrosleederville.com.au
Price:                     $$$$ (Entrée $12.50-26.50, Mains $27-48)
Food:                    4/5 (exceedingly fresh seafood needs minimal additional work)
Service:                3.5/5 (friendly and welcoming but a bit slow on the drinks service)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (busy, loud and non-pretentious)
Drinks:                  4/5 (a proudly WA heavy wine list with a good selection by the glass)
Total:                     15/20

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5 thoughts on “Kailis Bros Fish Café, Leederville”

    1. I only discovered buttery octopus recently; I always thought it was meant to be chewy!

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