Broadbrush: Gin grows on trees in the city; getting your oysters on in Broome and Vasse Felix comes to town

New Broome If you’re heading to Broome for the 2022 season, good news. The celebrated Sydney Cove Oyster Bar will open on March 24, and, we’re told, bookings are going fast. It’s our favourite in Broome, so no doubt we’ll see you there. They have a tweaked menu for 2022, although owner Phil Thompson told Broadbrush “we are, as always, a seafood-focused restaurant specialising in oysters.” Staffing issues are plaguing the restaurant sector, especially in regional areas, so for the time being SCOB will open only for dinners with lunches expected to start in May, once transient hospo workers and backpackers come north for the winter. Vasse vino at TOMA Vasse Felix and TOMA restaurant at the Pirate Life pub brewery in Perth’s CBD have teamed up for a new “Long Lunch Cellar Series” on March 31. It will be hosted by Vasse’s national wholesale manager — and all-round good bloke — Tony Liversage. TOMA tell us it “will be a truly memorable afternoon with a specially curated Experience Menu, paired with iconic wines.” Good company at Clarences Clarences Company Store bar has a new deal. The team call it their seated service set menu and at $49 for three courses, it’s a total barg. Clarences has a good kitchen, so expect great bites. It’s only on for Fridays and Saturdays until the COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed. We like their 300g hanger steak with salsa verde butter and charred eggplant with harissa, mint and fennel. Pogo schtick Speaking of great deals, Pogo bar and restaurant in Mt Hawthorn has bowed to the demands of customers and announced its popular, but occasional bottomless brunch is now a full-time fixture on Saturdays and Sundays. For $65 a person, you get a three-course menu with a drinks package, which includes your choice of bottomless cocktails. It’s like a buffet for booze hounds. Drink responsibly. Gin grows on trees at Flour Factory Innovation seems to be in the blood of the cocktail commandos at The Flour Factory. They have just announced a pre-order special, the Gin Tree. They tell us it’s gincredible (Laugh! Nearly had an infarct) and good “for those special occasion dinners or a girls’ night out.” It’s an amazing-looking thing. See the pics on the digital version of Broadbrush at thewest.com.au. Pan Pac goes Spanish Pan Pacific Perth’s vegan restaurant, Ten Acre Block, will close down after last service on April 9. A spokesperson for the East Perth hotel told us the closure of the “richly awarded” restaurant will allow Pan Pac management to trial “a unique Spanish dining concept in Perth. This move to explore a different cuisine signals a shift in our food and beverage offering strategy.” The hotel confirmed that Ten Acre Block may make another appearance, perhaps at the end of 2022.