As new openings go, Gibney has been in the spotlight from day one. The restaurant site described by owner George Kailis as “a dining unicorn,” is impressive on paper but even more so in real life.
On Cottesloe’s Marine Parade its 45-metre ocean facing frontage is the definition of impressive, with a view that takes in Fremantle to the south and Cottesloe to the north. Within the 650-square-metre restaurant site a team is at work that whispers talent (screaming would be too gauche for such surroundings). In head chef James Cole Bowen, the restaurant manages to use French cookery as an anchor point, while still being eclectic in its ideation. There are elements of a classic brasserie-grill whilst maintaining an essential element of being West Australian.
Under the stewardship of group sommelier Nina Throsby, diners have access to a Champagne list of extraordinary depth. A signature cocktail offering, The Gibney Gibson, is served tableside with three different options garnish options – smoked onion, pickled onion, pickled cherry tomato – as well as a drop of Islay whisky as you wish. It’s details like this, pastry chef Richard Dormer’s shaved ice strawberries and cream dessert, and the white jacketed front of house brigade, that prove that formality and tradition can still be compelling.
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