Fast fine dining for lunch at Print Hall

Colonial Leisure Group is continuing to evolve its Print Hall offering to keep pace with Perth’s rapidly maturing restaurant scene, launching a new concept to make fine dining accessible during city workers’ lunch breaks.

The offering is called 50:50, and gives patrons the opportunity to enjoy a two-course fine dining meal in 50 minutes, for $50.

Print Hall general manager Sebastien Lepoittevin said the concept was designed to attract the many office workers in the surrounding Brookfield Place precinct and along St Georges Terrace.

“Everyone doesn’t have two hours as a lunch break to experience a fine dining restaurant for lunch,” he said.

“It was also a matter of keeping it accessible and affordable for everyone.”

Mr Lepoittevin said Perth’s restaurant scene was becoming increasingly sophisticated and mature, with the change occurring at a rapid pace.

He arrived in Perth in November last year, having managed three venues in Melbourne for CLG, and described Print Hall as the highlight of CLG’s portfolio.

“We’ve seen in Perth the hospitality industry develop in the past two years and it’s booming,” Mr Lepoittevin said.

“There is more competition, people have different expectations and Perth is growing.

“That’s creating new demands; it’s creating new expectations and it’s great for business because it’s challenging everyone and keeping everyone on their toes.

“It’s a healthy pressure, I would call it.”

Another change at Print Hall is the appointment of new executive chef Dan Fisher, with incumbent Shane Watson opting for a sea change – moving his young family to Fiji’s Likuliku Lagoon Resort.

And despite Print Hall having been named Western Australia’s hospitality venue of the year for the past two years by the Australian Hotels Association, among a host of other awards, Mr Lepoittevin said he and his staff were continually looking for new ways to improve.

“We’re always evolving,” he said. “Bob’s Bar is very beer focused so we’re always rotating the latest beer, the latest upcoming brewery; we try to be pioneers within our offering.

“Same with Apple Daily; we rotate the menu to keep it appealing.”