NOW EXPERIENCING:Busselton Pavilion
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Busselton Pavilion

Thursday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
30 Kent Street, Busselton, WA, 6280
Phone
(08) 9752 6000
Website
busseltonpavilion.com.au
Instagram
@busseltonpavilion

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 28 May 2024

By
Max Veenhuyzen

Outside the Busselton Pavilion in WA

Goodbye regional shopping centre, hello contemporary pub. Busselton Pavilion feels faithful to regional-pub ideals while delivering modern and skilful food and drinks.

Inside the new Busselton Pavilion in WA
Why you goOnce upon a time, the coastal town of Busselton was little more than a stopover on the way to Margaret River. Today, travellers can fly to the city direct from Sydney or Melbourne – all the better for those who want to make the most of all the good things that modern-day Busso has to offer. Things such as Busselton Pavilion, a contemporary pub from the steadily expanding Parker Group. Although Busselton Pavilion is unquestionably big – the 500-person venue resides in a former department store – staff treat the joint like a small bar. Small-scale producers dominate the drinks list, the skilful cocktails are on trend, and the food feels simultaneously old-school and exciting – kind of like Busselton itself.
Why you stayYou’re probably going to run into someone you know. Even if you’re visiting from out of town. And what was just going to be a drink and a snack suddenly becomes something more. Such is the nature of a public bar where people are drawn together. Our recollections of this soaring, warehouse-like space’s past life as a Target Country might be hazy, but its current configuration – a central bar surrounded by high tables, seated dining area, dedicated wine bar to the side and the all-important (free!) pool table – feels faithful to regional-pub ideals. Many key staff are hospitality pros from the big smoke who have permanently or temporarily relocated to the south-west, while outgoing waiters maintain a warm, steady presence on the floor.
Pool is free at Busselton Pavilion in WA
Serving a cocktail at Busselton Pavilion in WA
What drink to orderOf course there’s beer, although it’s poured in three different sizes (middy, schooner, pint) with almost all the tap beers supplied by a West Australian brewery (such as Eagle Bay, Beerfarm and Mash Brewing). Considering Busselton is the gateway to one of Australia’s premier wine regions, it should come as little surprise that the cellar has been filled with care. The by-the-glass selection will please classic and more contemporary tastes, although the range sold by the bottle tends to favour winemakers with a renegade streak. The house cocktails draw plenty of inspiration from poolside drinking, whether you’re talking a playful, blue-fringed Piña Colada homage, or the Yuzu Collins, a citrusy Japanese-leaning remake of everyone’s favourite tall gin drink.
What to pair it withWhat do you get when you put a chef who made his name in one of Margaret River’s finest winery restaurants in charge of a high-volume kitchen and dining room? You get a very deluxe version of prawn toast crunched up with black and white sesame seeds, a chewy potato roll filled with marron, aïoli and dill, and other seafood wonders that call for chardonnay immediately. You get very good roast chicken served with a Japanese-inspired gravy, brilliantly crunchy chips and another excuse to ask the bartender (or to scan the QR code on your table) for another frosty lager. You get terrific, non-ironic sticky date pudding and further proof that Brendan Pratt – formerly of Vasse Felix – understood the modern pub-food brief very, very well.
Regular’s tipDriving? Taking a break from the drink? Just feel like having a breather before your next round of Negronis? Your friends at Busselton Pavilion get it. They also get the changing responsibilities of the modern-day pub, which explains why the drinks list features such a strong non-alcoholic selection. In addition to the (pretty much non-negotiable) non-alc beers, staff will gladly pour guests locally brewed kombucha from Alewife, glasses of Non, and excellent, defanged versions of some of the house cocktails. A bold salted peach shrub syrup that powers the Salted Peach Daiquiri provides similar lift-off in the SPS, an invigorating no-alcohol pick-me-up also made with grapefruit, soda and cardamom bitters.
The horseshoe bar at Busselton Pavilion in WA
Who to takeWhether you’re coming or going between Perth and the Margaret River region, Busso makes an excellent halfway point. Time that leg-stretch for around lunchtime and cling onto that holiday feeling that little bit longer. Like all pubs, casualness and speed underpin the offering here, but there’s enough that’s special on offer to make Busselton Pavilion a fine dinner destination. Sure, the price point might be a little higher than other pubs in town, but you can see where your money goes. And if you arrive between lunch and dinner services, there should be enough on the afternoon snack menu (French onion dip or a cheeseburger, perhaps) to tide you over. If anyone knows how to do a stopover, Busselton Pavilion does.
image credits: Georgia Hanson
Authour image
Max VeenhuyzenMax Veenhuyzen is a Perth food, drink and travel journalist who contributes to key Australian publications.
Tags
Drinks DirectoryBarRecently openedGood for groupsA+ spirits listDate nightWheelchair accessibleTop notch wine listNon-alc OptionsPubAfter work drinksFamily affairMeal and a bevPet friendlyKiller cocktailsOutdoor areaRegional WACasual catch-upRestaurant
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