Having grown up just down the road from Hillarys Marina in the northern suburbs of Perth, I spent a lot of time at the original, Irish themed Breakwater Tavern. Back in the day, it was the local hotspot for a cracking Wednesday night session, terrible Friday night karaoke and a great spot to enjoy the vibe of the relaxed marina. (It is also the place where I met my future husband as we worked the bar together, but that’s another story!)

It’s been quite a few years since the old Irish ‘pub’ with a focus on pub grub transformed into the glamorous, sunset-showcasing venue it is now. Hosting a more casual beer garden downstairs, it also hosts the fine dining restaurant Ishka upstairs, as well as private function room, the Akoya Suite.

Paying homage to its Irish roots, Ishka derives from the Irish Gaelic word “Uisce” (Ish-ka), meaning ‘water’, which is perfectly fitting for its stunning location on the harbour.

Despite having enjoyed numerous afternoons and evenings socialising in the downstairs area of the Breakwater, I had not yet dined at Ishka, but was very keen to give it a long awaited go. The perfect occasion presented itself last week when my bestie Emily and I were on the scout for a close-to-home (for her, she is a new mum venue with a fine-dining spin to celebrate her impending move interstate to Melbourne.

We dined on a Thursday evening and the restaurant itself was relatively quiet – maybe seven tables were occupied, and we were seated at a table just inside the concertina doors with a beautiful view over the marina.

Now, every girl out there knows there is no better way to start a meal, or to celebrate.. anything … than with a glass of the good stuff. And by that, I mean nothing other than a lovely, bubbly, glass of champagne. So we started with a glass of Veuve Clicquot ($20 a glass) each as we perused the menu and made our choices!

Em and I – almost 20 years of friendship right there!

In typical ‘grazing’ style, we decided to order two entrees, a side and two mains, and share them all – the more we could each try, the better! And the menu looked delicious.

Szechuan peppered scallops

Firstly, the szechuan peppered scallops served with roasted red pepper, mango & ginger salsa and sesame crisp bread ($23). The dish came with three scallops, and they were nice, meaty, succulent looking morsels. Lightly seasoned, the scallops were juicy and simple, perfectly completed by the tangy salsa and the peppers. The scallops were cooked perfectly and the balance between the light seafood taste and the zesty accompaniments matched well. This was a great dish … BUT it had nothing on the pork belly!

Vietnamese glazed pork belly

Oh My Word. The vietnamese glazed pork belly with pickled watermelon, radish, shiso and chili ($21) was hands down, the dish of the night. The stickiness, the sweetness, MMMmmm…. the juiciness of the pork belly was positively lip-smacking! My tummy grumbles just thinking about it. It was perfectly cooked, with just the right amount of pickled watermelon to counter the sweetness of the glaze. The meat was tender and melt in your mouth, and I could have eaten another serving of this and been satisfied for the night. HIGHLY recommend.

After clearing our entrees (and licking the pork belly plate clean!) we ordered a 2013 bottle of Rimauresq Petit Rosé from Côtes de Provence in France to go with our mains – YUM! The French version of rosé is a lot lighter than the ones we traditionally drink in Australia, and was perfect for a hot summers night in Perth.

Tender ridge eye fillet

For mains we ordered the 200 gram tender ridge eye fillet served medium rare with stuffed vine ripened tomato, duxelle mushroom, red thumb potato crisps and a salsa verde ($44).  The fillet was lovely and tender, and the salsa verde had a delicious taste, quite salty almost like capers, but complemented the steak wonderfully. The stuffed tomatoes with mushroom duxelle could have been seasoned better, and I don’t think the taste nor texture added that much to be honest, nor did the potato crisps. Having said that, the beans the fillet was served with were just on the crunchy side, and provided a nice contrast to the juicy steak. Not bad. 

Crispy skin barramundi

Our other main choice was the crispy skin barramundi served with a potato & chive tortilla, confit fennel, grape tomatoes and a roquette pesto ($40). I am such a fan of seafood that whenever at a restaurant there is almost a 50% chance i will order fish of some kind for my main and I find its a great way to benchmark restaurants – those who treat a simple fish fillet with respect will almost certainly deliver on the more complex mains. And deliver Ishka did with this barra. The crispy skin crackled and the pesto provided a lovely contrast to the supple flesh of the fish. Unfortunately my dinner companion was slightly overeager when we split this main and she polished off the tortilla before I could taste any! Haha Em! But going by her devouring it, it must have been good! I loved this dish and the fish was really well cooked.

Tossed medley of greens, chili & lemon dressing

When we placed our order, the waitress recommended we order a side as the meals were quite small – I am not sure we really needed a side as well as two entrees and two mains, but the tossed medley of greens including broccolini, asparagus and snow peas was served with a tantalising chilli & lemon dressing. The simple things in life are often the best and I wish I had been hungrier as these were fresh and delicious. I love few things more than simply served veggies – boring but true!

By the end of our mains, we could not fit in any dessert (although I was intrigued by the cheese options – next time!) and our ride was almost there so we quickly settled the bill and headed off.

All in all, I really enjoyed our dining experience at Ishka, and I can not quite understand all the negativity that this venue / bar seems to attract. Our food was well cooked, the service subtle but prompt, and all in all, we had a really lovely experience. Sure, it has a reputation as having some of the highest beer prices in Perth (and our meal didn’t come cheap), but I am sure their rent and top notch produce does not come cheap either. I would definitely go back, and look forward to doing so in the future. And yes, I most certainly will get the pork belly. Maybe as entree AND main.