The Adnate Perth – Art Series
Level 1/900 Hay Street, Perth
Ph: (08) 6371 1001
www.bahaperth.com
A Caribbean Paradise in the heart of Perth
Sitting near the pool in a bright sunny room with cheerful blue and yellow decor, you can almost imagine you are in the Bahamas rather than the Perth CBD.
The name of the restaurant is Baha (pronounced like Bahamas). Chef Santiago Ortiz and his team are on display in the open kitchen where they put together awesome food for your dining pleasure. After four years in Brisbane, Chef Santiago, who hails from Colombia, moved to Perth 12 years ago. He enjoys the challenge of working in an open kitchen where you need the discipline of looking happy even if you are having a bad day. He said it was great to get positive feedback from the customers who often come up for a chat about the food. The cuisine is full of Caribbean flavours; lime, chilli, garlic and coriander – everything fresh, tasty and healthy.
We started with a selection of share plates from the lunch menu. The Baha Bowl was our favourite – a stunningly colourful combination of crispy corn chips, spiced cauliflower, black beans, lime and coriander rice, chunks of avocado, sofrito and shredded lettuce salad, with a delicious Cuban Ranch dressing that kept us going back for more.
This was followed by Quesadillas – small tortillas filled with cheese and sofrito (a Dominican or Puerto Rican style sofrito, where nothing gets cooked. It is a combination of vinegar, parsley, onion, garlic and oil). Sofrito, which means ‘to lightly fry’, forms the aromatic flavour base for a range of Spanish recipes. Then there was a tangy ceviche of kingfish and scallop, Havana style, with avocado and lime on tostadas.
Baha’s Soft Tacos are offered with a choice of different fillings. We tried the Grilled Halloumi ones, with pumpkin seed salsa, soft herbs, marinated kumatos and garlic honey, which went surprisingly well with a shot of Baha Rum, bringing out the sweetness of the sugarcane in the rum. We also tried the Cuban Style Fish Tacos with coconut, lemon and coriander rice.
On to the mains, we really enjoyed the Baha Signature Roasted Jerk Chicken with seared chunks of fresh pineapple, pomegranate seeds and coconut salad. This was a standout dish. The tender pieces of chicken on the bone were full of flavour from the jerk sauce, which teamed nicely with a glass of 2021 Snake & Herring ‘Dirty Boots’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River, Western Australia).
Our final dish was Jamaican Style Steak; 300g of Rose Mallee striploin served with blistered cherry tomatoes, salad leaves and more of that scrumptious jerk sauce. The juicy steak was cooked perfectly, tasty and tender, pairing beautifully with the smooth, fragrant berry flavours of a glass of 2022 Willow Bridge Dragonfly Shiraz (Geographe, Western Australia).
Baha Poolside Bar & Kitchen is part of the Adnate Hotel in Perth city. The restaurant was forced to close during the COVID-19 lockdowns and has only recently re-opened. As well as being a great place to go for lunch, dinner or after work drinks and nibbles, it is a terrific venue for small functions and corporate events where the relaxed vibe and atmosphere transports you from the hustle and bustle of the city.
By Georgina Goss
