BITES

THE Brisbane Hotel won the Hotel of the Year award at the Australian Bar Awards competition held last week.

It was the venue's third win in the four years since reopening in 2004, with previous success in the 2005 and 2006 New Hotel of the Year categories.

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The corner of Outram Street and Murray Street in West Perth has come alive on Thursday nights with the recent launch by Table 78 restaurant of its weekly Italian nights, which feature a pasta dish and a glass of wine for under $30.

But the enthusiasm of owners Hayley Rooke and Damien Brown for Italian food doesn't stop here. The couple is putting together an Italian Wine dinner on October 7, hosted by Matt Paul of premium Italian wine importers, Tembrath & Taylor.

The four-course dinner, matched with wine, cost $95 per person.

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Subiaco-based Deluxe Guide Pty Ltd has released two new "guide book" card decks, adding to the existing Eat in, Shop in and Drink in collections for the Perth metro area.

The two new editions of the easy-to-carry cards include one dedicated to the South West region, called Escape in, which includes dining, eating, shopping and accommodation spots in the area.

The other edition, Wine in, is a guide to Western Australian wineries from the Swan Valley to the Great Southern.

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The Perth Royal Extra Virgin Olive Oil competition awarded four gold medals to Western Australian growers this year, including to Redhill Oliva (Boyup Brook), Blackwood River Products (Nannup), Island Point Grove (Mandurah) and Oliver's (Mt Barker).

The other four gold medals, making a total of eight, went to Victoria (three) and New South Wales (one).