Sentinel Bar & Grill

We came here during the week for team lunch, we were greeted by several staff on our way through which was nice.
We had 3 people order eye fillet including myself, best eye fillet I’ve had in Perth! The others were very happy with their meals also.
Others had the Wagyu burger and said it was also good. It looked small but it was filling.
We didn’t order dessert this time round, my team mates were disappointed with the dessert menu as it had changed to what they advertised on the website. They were looking forward to having the chocolate brownie!
Will definitely come back here especially if I was craving an eye fillet.
This would have been 5 stars if the brownie was available ;)

When my mates say we should go eat steak, this is my go-​to spot.
The menu is simple bistro food done well. Entrées are mostly charcuterie (excellent parfait), while the mains are typical bistro: pasta, risotto, one fish dish, steaks and a great Wagyu burger — extra points for a delicious brioche bun. The wine list is well-​curated, too.
If you love steak then the eye fillet is perfect for you. Just know that if you order medium, the very centre will have a line of rare meat — which because of the quality of the meat is how it should be. Your mileage may vary: if you don’t eat rare meat, don’t order the steak. Then again, maybe do order it and just trust the chef! It’s delicious!!!
The lighting is the one thing that’s a little iffy. It’s pretty dark. That can be nice an intimate, or just frustrating depending on how good your night vision is.

A few years back, my hubby’s company organized a sundowner at Sentinel. I thoroughly enjoyed the vibe & the food that was served was amazing! I swore I’ll return but after the last visit, I wished I never did!!!
I had high expectations of this place. How could you disappoint me like this? Service was awful. No smiles. Sentinel is well known for their steak hence the 2 stars. The «hand cut» chips was cold, flavorless. On our table, we ordered 3 steaks. All steaks came with their own chips but only 2 bowls of leafy salads came. When asked why there’s only 2, the explanation was «to share» amongst 3. But what’s 1 more? Why not bring a huge bowl of salad if it’s «to share». It’s like, stingy to the max!!! Not happy! Overall food is just mediocre! Wine is expensive. Service is bad!
Lastly, never going back!

Uh oh, it looks like the Sentinel’s guard has been caught napping.
A small group of Unilocalers (6 of us) arriveded at the Sentinel on a mid-​week evening to enjoy what we’d heard was an all-​round decent dining experience. Sadly, it appears we had all set our expectations too high.
Whilst my commentary might seems like a diatribe of first world problems, each a small issue in itself, when compounded in to what is supposed to be a fine dining experience, it leaves a lot to be desired.
As others have noted, we had the displeasure to endure the snooty waitress, who, when it was evident we did not highly rate our dining experience, even had the audacity to sneer to us on the way out «see you again soon». Note to waitress: snootiness is never an endearing quality for someone in the service industry. Change jobs.
After waiting one hour for our meals to arrive, we were ready to eat our left arms. So when the quality fell short, we just ate up, rather than wait another length of time for replacements. Our issues were (in no particular order): our steaks were tepid in temperature, our fries were cold (more on the fries later), three steaks meals advertised as «[steak], hand cut fries and a side salad of greens» arrived with only two salads. When we asked for the third, we were told to share. It’s salad, Sentinel. Probably the cheapest portion of the meal. Give us a third bowl, for heaven’s sake. I want what I ordered, please.
When our plates were cleared, Miss Snooty asked us «how were your meals?» but then she looked away, like she didn’t really want to hear any sort of response. So I told her, in a polite manner, we were displeased, particularly with the steak and fries temperature and the lack of salad. «Oh» she said, «I’ll go and tell the Chef straight away».
Give Sentinel their due, the Maitre D’ came to speak to us. Sadly, that conversation didn’t go so well. He claimed the steaks needed to be rested 10 – 15 minutes. While I agree on the resting process, common literature supports just 5 minutes for a 220g steak. The tepid temperature of the steak supported it was ‘rested’ for longer, but that just equates to letting it go cold. 10 minutes is excessive. 15 is outrageous.
The fries. Well, purported to be «hand cut» they looked incredibly like they were tipped out of a plastic bag in to a pot of oil. We had a discussion about that. Maitre D’ was insisting «hand cut means they are real potato». No mate, hand cut means you peel and cut and individual potato *by hand*. You don’t push it through a gadget that slices your potato in to skinny pieces and then chuck in the dreggy little edge bits. When I showed him what I meant he thought it would be funny to tell me to get to work in the kitchen. It wasn’t. And your own seasoning, a bit of Rosemary or something extra as that would go a long way to convince me there was some effort put in to the creation of a sorry collection of chips with an awful lot of dreggy bits, served cold next to my tepid steak that you ask $ 39 for. And pardon me, but show me a steak chip that isn’t made from potato, that is not advertised as anything except a chip (or fries, as the case may be).
There was more disagreement in this conversation, but the exchange remained polite from both sides. It was clearly evident we were displeased so we politely refused the offer to peruse the dessert menu. Instead, I requested the bill. That in itself should be the end of the matter. Maitre D’ tried to make up for it by then insisting we have dessert, complimentary. Nice gesture, but at this point we all just wanted to end our sorry experience. We politely declined, only to be offered again. I had to say «We just want to leave» which is not a nice position to be in. If you want to offer recompense, then remove something from the bill that exists. (They didn’t).
There was also an issue with Miss Snooty and the wine list, but I’ll just suggest to the readers to check the glass price versus the bottle price. Certainly for the single Shiraz on the menu, there was no benefit in purchasing the bottle she tried to insist we have over the two glasses we actually ordered.
Further disappointments were:
*An interesting selection of wines, but only one Shiraz (for a place renowned for steak) and about ¹⁄₃ Australian versus ²⁄₃ International. By all means have a diverse selection, but showcase the local product.
*No salt on the table. Plenty of pepper, but no salt. Was that arrogance or an oversight?
*If there are only two off-​menu specials, then have your wait staff memorise them, not produce a ratty piece of paper and read off it, then not declare all the ingredients that are present.
*Ladies toilet plumbing needs attention — buttons missing from the toilet, sink hole covers missing
I’m not paying top dollar for poor service, property disrepair and cold food.
Let’s finish on the good:
The décor is low-​lit and sexy; the steak itself was quality, just cold. That’s it.

The steaks are still amazing, but they’ve changed the look of the dishes since the first time we were here. The last 2 times we have been here the chips were served on the side on a plate instead of standing up in a smaller bowl, although there are more chips they aren’t as good being mass cooked.
I ordered my steak medium but it came out rarer, it was fine because it tasted delicious still. The café de Paris usually is whole and sitting on top of a well rested steak, my recent steak unfortunately was not either but still tasted fantastic, it just didn’t look as amazing as before.
We enjoyed a bottle of Forrest Hill which was lovely and reminded me of the Great Southern.
For dessert we had the valrhona chocolate tart with mint sorbet. The chocolate was thick, dense and bitter and the sorbet was fresh and the taste was spot on; not the sweet artificial taste.
Service was great in the restaurant despite the confusion on the phone when trying to book. I guess Esmeralda is difficult to understand!

I’ve been here for brekky a couple of times and really enjoyed it. This time I went for a Christmas dinner with a group of 20. The food was excellent and the service really prompt and professional. The only issue I have with the St Georges Terrace strip restaurants is the vibe when it’s not a Friday after work. It felt flat. But don’t let that deter you. This joint is schmick.

Met up with a friend for an impromptu lunch date and decided to try the well renowned Sentinel bar and grill. I rang up at 1pm to see if they could fit us in, knowing full well how busy they get on a Friday and to my amazement was able to get a reservation for 1.30pm. The person on the phone had an excellent phone manner and assured me that he would be happy to accommodate us either in the alfresco area or inside.
When we arrived we were enthusiastically greeted by Steve, the owner of this fine establishment and whisked off to our table. Drink orders were taken and napkins were placed on our laps with a flourish. It is the attention to detail that defines the Sentinel and makes it a tall poppy in the myriad of restaurants that are on offer in Perth.
We started our meal off with the red braised pork ribs with the chilli caramel and they were so succulent and flavoursome we almost licked the platter clean! We were encouraged to use our fingers and were assured a finger bowl would be provided, and it was! Next visit I will be having two servings of the ribs, try them and you will know what I am talking about! For our main course, we ordered the angel hair pasta with the fresh crab and the tomato sugo. The pasta was cooked to perfection, the crab was lovely and fresh and the tomato sugo was nice and light. We rounded the meal off beautifully with coffee and the scrumptious quince tart which was served warm with a wonderful almond icecream. It was the first time I tried fresh quince, so it was a real treat.
Mention has to made about the excellent service we received throughout, from the first point of contact to the time we left. The waitstaff are amazing, so kudos to the manager who trained them. It was extremely busy and yet the staff managed to deliver friendly, efficient service with a smile. It was without a doubt a truly enjoyable dining experience!

High on the list of hipster bars, sentinel is a welcome respite from the overbearing arrogance of some nearby watering holes.
The staff was pleasant enough, the prices in keeping with other CBD bars…
Not the worst place for an after dinner drink…

The food is the stand out here. On a Friday night, the noise from the bar can make it a noisy meal, and hard to hear, but the meals are enjoyable.
Try the angel hair pasta, it is a Scaffidi specialty.
All in all a good place to go for good proper done food.

My fiancé brought me here for my birthday. … she, like myself, love to explore all Perth’s offerings…
Having never been here, and knowing nothing of the place was exceptionally happy with the partners choice…
We arrived early for our booking, and the team were quick to get is to our table and start the drinks!!!

Ok so my partner said the fried chicken entrée tasted like chicken kickers from Domino’s … not a great start, but the ribs were done in a honey asian style and were… amazing!!!
I had the black taglliatelle with crab which was DELICIOUS!!! My partner had the wagyu burger, a little salty but still nice.
Both desserts we had were lovely, brownie… not your traditional sort, more soft and mousse like, and the fig tart … didn’t know I liked fig till I tried this, with a pastry bottom, and some honey syrupy sauce… very nice, perfect way to finish the meal.
Absolutely stuffed by the time we walked out … food was great and so was service, would definitely go back!!!

Nice ambience, particularly outside. Friendly service who are attentive from the moment you walk in.
Breakfaat is lovely, with a range of options from light healthy muesli with yoghurt to the classic breakfast favourite bacon and eggs.
I would definitely return. Interested to see what their lunch and dinner menu is like!

There are only 7 words you need to know before going to the Sentinel, «I will have the Waygu Burger thanks». It is one of the best restaurant burgers I have had. The beef patty is thick, meaty, juicy and absolutely melts in your mouth.
As a bar and grill, the Sentinel definitely meets the standard. The separate bar and restaurant areas make it easier to have a conversation while seated at the tables. Something many similar establishments fail at. As expected for the location, the drink prices are a bit higher than average but nothing extraordinary in Perth.

I enjoyed this restaurant, but oddly, the waiter down sold us on water from sparkling to tap … maybe they’d run out of sparkling?
The wine list for wine by glass was not great compared to Print Hall nearby.
I thought most of the wait staff were patronising and spoke like bogans, particularly when compared to nearby Print Hall.
We had steak and salmon — both were cooked perfectly, presented well, and we were very happy with the flavours.
Lastly, when we went to pay, I asked for the bill a couple of times … I ended up going to the counter and pointing to my table to pay.
Would I go again if in Perth? Probably not.

This café/​bar is ideal for the (unarmed) city sniper, someone who wants to be in the middle of something big but remain relatively unnoticed.
The décor is chic and classy with a touch or urban camouflage. Slatted wooden beams and metal poles combined with some tasteful plant allocations result in the illusion of privacy in a very central and otherwise exposed venue.
Occasionally when I’m passing by and peer in to see what’s happening, from the outside it emits a snooty– exclusive vibe but once inside I found it to be more mellow. The service is friendly and sharp and the scene is «corporate casual» (a good place for a quiet knock off or business lunch– but I wouldn’t plan to end a Friday or Saturday night here.)

Sentinel is both a bar and restaurant. This place looks like it will easily fit in downtown in NYC. This place has contemporary and sophisticated. There is the polished wood benches and bar, the parquetry floors and the huge windows that let you watch the people walk by. After work this place is filled with overworked and stressed executives in their fancy suits. Later on in the night, the suits all go home and the atmosphere improves. In summer it can get loud and hot in here. They have airconditioning, but it doesn’t seem to do much. The drinks and food is not cheap. The food did not live up to the hype or the expense, my fish was dry and blah. The serving portions were on the small side and was quite average. The wait staff were rude and patronising. Not somewhere I will be spending a lot of time in the future.