Sonny's Bar

Sonny’s by name, sunny by nature.

Even on overcast days, this Mount Hawthorn wine bar exudes sunshine and warmth. Granted, the latter could be the wood-burning kitchen at the back of the room. But still, there’s something undoubtedly inviting about the look and feel of Sonny’s. The wall feature near the front door is straight out of a mid-century look-book, ditto the handsome blue bar. While a sunken dining area beautified by a diptych of framed prints gives the room a cool ’70s edge.

But Sonny’s brightest feature might be the crowd that packs the room and, when the weather cooperates, populate the outdoor tables that offer sightlines to Scarborough Beach Road and Axford Park.

Enjoy the view with a drop from their diverse drinks list. That includes edgy cocktails, with past hits such as the Habanero Paloma, a Mexican classic hacked with grapefruit soda and some habanero spice in the tequila. There’s also a suite of leftfield wines – chalkboards around the room detail the day’s by-the-glass selections, and a handful of local beers round out the drinks package.

In the kitchen is Sofika Boulton, with the former Bar Rogue head chef swapping Mount Lawley for Mount Hawthorn. She signalled her arrival with a menu of wine-friendly snacks: think flatbread, chicken liver parfait enriched with toasted wattleseed, plus whole Manjimup rainbow trout, reverse-butterflied and grilled whole over the kitchen’s roaring firepit. For afters, it might be chocolate tart spiked with amaretto.