New bright spot in Broome

Sipping a glass of wine at a secluded laneway bar in the heart of the city is becoming something of an after-work ritual for the corporate crowd in Perth.

But appreciation for good wine extends far outside the city gates, with popular getaway destinations in the regions now hosting a number of wine bars.

Among them, of course, is the state's premiere wine region, the South West.

Located on the fringes of the Margaret River wine region, Dunsborough has two wine bars - The Cape Wine Bar and Altitude Lounge.

In the heart of the action at Margaret River is the well-known Wino's Margaret River Wine Bar & Restaurant, while Bunkers Beach Café recently applied for an extended trading permit so as to be able to serve alcohol without a meal.

And while it's to be expected that wine bars would proliferate near where the grapes are grown, the state's newest wine bar-cum-restaurant is to be found a bit further north.

A long way north, in fact.

Located in Chinatown, the historic centre of Broome, Lustre Bar & Restaurant opened late April to provide the area, dominated by classic Asian restaurants and pubs, with a different kind of place to unwind.

The venue has a large alfresco area in which to have a glass of wine or devour a gourmet pizza while enjoying the amazing Broome sunsets. There's also a lounge bar for patrons to take refuge in during the wet season.

Lustre, which operates on a tavern licence, is a combination of a café, a restaurant and a bar.

The venue is managed by Michelle Terhoeve, who previously spent five years with Seashells Resort Broome.

"Cable Beach has had a lot happening during the past couple of years but it is nice to keep attractions in the historical centre. I used to work in a self-contained resort and people kept asking me where they could find that type of place, a bar without having to go in a pub," Ms Terhoeve told Business Class.

Although Ms Terhoeve thinks the large alfresco area will enliven the Chinatown nightlife, a lot of work has gone into the bar area.

According to Ms Terhoeve, although Broome's population drops from 60,000 to 15,000 in the wet season, a lot of Europeans are travelling around Australia at that period, with cheaper airfares and hotel packages attracting tourists from Perth, too.

"I have been living in Broome for several years and I think the tropical season is just something else; the rain is just beautiful here," she said.