Ah Um

Ah Um is a small restaurant on Roe Street in Northbridge that you enter through Astral Weeks, a hi-fi listening bar. The dining room at the back seats around 25 people, and it is dimly lit, with music played through custom-built speakers, so the experience feels closer to a record bar with serious food than to a conventional restaurant. Gourmet Traveller included it in its 2026 list of Perth's best restaurants and describes the mood as dark and loud.

The kitchen, led by chef Branden Scott, offers a short Japanese-inspired menu of no more than about ten dishes, and it combines ingredients in unexpected ways. Dishes highlighted in the West Australian Good Food Guide's listing include sashimi tuna on tomato concasse, asparagus tempura with Meyer lemon, fried sardines with a daikon and carrot namasu salad, and ribeye marinated in shio koji. Because the list is short, it is worth looking at the sample food and drinks menus on the restaurant's website before you go, so you know what to expect.

Drinks lean towards natural wine, with sake also on the list, and the wider Astral Weeks bar makes it easy to arrive early for a drink or stay on afterwards. A separate private dining room has its own sample menu for groups, and gift vouchers are sold online.

The restaurant suits couples and small groups who enjoy music and a lively room, and food lovers looking for something different from Perth's larger restaurants. It is less suited to anyone wanting a quiet conversation. The space is listed as wheelchair friendly and vegetarian friendly, but check the current menu if you have specific dietary needs.

Ah Um is open for dinner, with the restaurant's own website listing Friday and Saturday from 5.30pm until late; other guides have listed additional weeknights, so confirm before you go. Bookings are made online and are recommended given the small number of seats. Gourmet Traveller puts the average spend at the mid level of its scale, well below Perth's top fine dining rooms, and the Astral Weeks bar out front is an easy place to continue the evening.