Review Shy John Brewery & Yum Cha

Hospitality Insider

This place has to be one of the best tasting Chinese restaurants in Perth. Been coming back here countless times and each time it has been the same great tasting and consistent food. They now do crab 🦀 as well here but it was around $125 per kg. So quite pricey for mud crab so declined and ordered our little feast. Gave us a complimentary fried ice cream as well as it is somebody’s birthday 🥳 on Valentine’s Day ❤️

Jasmine Italiano

Really disappointed with our recent experience at this restaurant. We ordered several hot dishes which came out cold - including the pork belly. We requested a replacement pork belly dish because it was so cold that it was unpleasant to eat. The staff microwaved the original dish and brought it back out to us (pictured below). We had previously eaten at this restaurant when it first opened but I think it may have changed hands since then as the quality has unfortunately declined greatly.

DAVE

Off for a night in the Fringe festival my wife booked this place for a dinner. From having a $5 beer, spirit of wine down stairs to the awesome food up stairs in the restaurant it was a great experience. Has a $5 rum which i loved so bought a bottle the next day, The Dead mans fingers spiced rum. We had the Duck san choy bao, Gyoza, Sui Mai and spring rolls. Mains where the Kong Po Chicken with great chilly flavors that got my friends hiccups going . This tells us the chili is good. Sweet and sour pork and saltfish/Chicken rice which tasted so good. So many times we have walked passed but not stopped here but we will be back for sure . Staff extremely friendly and helpful . Thanks for making the start of the night a good one.

Cora Potgieter

The Shy John looked good. Thought we would try some place new. Started off not to badly, with the starters. But order the main and well that was a completely different story. We ordered the Honey Chicken not to bad/ the tea room chicken which oh my god bland as bland can be, the barramundi was well cooked but seasoning was lacking on all the food ordered. The vermimtino wine was / opened to long it tasted like vinegar.

Trungers Nguyen

Good food and service with no wait compared to other Dimsum in Northbridge. Limited in dimsum menu is most likely why but can not complain. Nice view and ambience. Quiet enough so you can chat and catch up over some food and drinks.

Taryn Darroch

Fantastic service. Everyone smiling and happy to greet you and say hello. We went for dinner with two kids and five adults. Our toddler was given her “own” special plastic bowl and cutlery. We ordered lots of dumplings, squid, duck was amazing, satay Skewers, san Chou bao and fried rices. All very tasty and fresh and didn’t take long at all to be served. We tried Summer ale and a grape beer. Not bad at all. Very impressed and definitely recommend you give it a visit. Great location in Yagan Square with grass and water near by for kids to muck around.

Joseph Gozinsky

I’ve walked past here many times and always wanted to try it but usually end up elsewhere purely by chance. Unfortunately this was to be my first and only visit. I don’t really know how else to put it but the food was just terrible. An incredible amount of money for honey chicken, an incredibly simple dish of which you’ll find significantly better quality at most food court establishments for less than half the price. Everything tasted greasy and flavourless bar the taste of old oil, under seasoned and just... wrong. I rarely, if ever, give one star reviews purely for food quality (or at all, maybe I’ve been blessed in this regard) and it’s a shame because it seems like it could be a lovely restaurant, they certainly had some great music playing, the waitress was lovely and it has a nice atmosphere but we both (myself and dinner guest) walked away having barely touched our food and feeling quite worse for wear as well as royally ripped off.

Archie Cone

Rated this place 4 out of 5; 5 for the beer and 3 for the food. The beer is very unique and well done. Mixing western and Asian flavors to come up with new styles and they are delicious. The food on the other hand is nothing special. The duck rolls had minuscule pieces of duck and the dumplings were average.

Salmon Avocado

Lunch special with $5 beers is good value. Dumplings really yummy and freshly made- had the truffle mushroom and Shanghai ones. Laksa was a very large bowl. Chicken satays absolutely delicious. Staff friendly and attentive.

William

everything is usually delicious but was very disappointed with the salt & pepper squid very greasy had to send it back. Oil wasn’t hot enough to make it crispy. Below average

KARLIE

This place is modern, but after COVID prices have gone up, food is of low quality. It’s dirty. After been a repeat customer even during my lunch hours. I will not go back again! $35 ribs, that were hard and old, and just so chewy!!! BIN quality not serving standard.

LoveToEat?

Very average with large price tag. We ordered the satay chicken skewers (highlight of the night) & Squid for starters- the squid was disgusting, tasted of nothing and smelt like dust, complained and got ‘oh so sorry’. My partner ordered the honeycomb chicken for main, which was okay but WAY to expensive for what it is, it’s glorified honey chicken. I had the curry, which I honestly should’ve sent back but didn’t, it was way to acidic to the point I could barely eat it. The roti it was served with was yummy. The bill came to just over $100, which is way too much for what we received. Wouldn’t hurry back and won’t be telling others to bother.

DforDee

I'm here on a Saturday. It's quite quiet for a dim sum place and it was still quite a bit of wait for food. There wasn't much variety of dim sum on the menu. We had the siu mai, and dimsum platter (prawn &chives, pork& chives and lobster prawn dumplings). All tasted good.

Julia

Visiting from Melbs for the weekend Mr and I fancied some beers and snacks. The bar was closed at 12.30 (opened at 3)so we were directed upstairs which was more of a restaurant feel than we were looking for. Nevertheless we ordered drinks and 3 dishes from the dimsum menu. The exclusive house beers we ordered, and the first 2 dishes were really good but the 3rd dish had still not arrived 35 mins later - we weren’t in a rush so didn’t mind too much but neither were we offered anymore drinks in that time (and we would have ordered more if we had been!). After a prompt the last dish arrived - and it was really delicious, so that almost made up for the delay.... We popped back in to the bar at 6pm for beers - as we had really enjoyed them - but again the sign was up directing guests upstairs. We declined and moved on.

Nicole Reeley

Shy Johns craft beer is amazing! We got the tasting paddle and there wasn’t a bad beer in the lot. Food wise the dumplings were delicious and unique, great sweet and sour black vinegar pork, fabulous black tofu with mushrooms (highly recommended!) but the fried squid could have been crispier. the mango prawns were also over sauced. Although delicious, the sweetness overpowered the subtlety of the prawn meat. We will go back

Mokie

Good food but got fleeced an extra $20 paying my bill.. I should have doubled checked.. they presented me with a second bill which was higher than the one on the table.. I thought it was the extra drinks.. after I got home added up what we had and I realised I paid too much.. looking back now I know why the lady put her hand over the bill so quickly acting all sheepish..

Saurav Jha

Yumm dumplings (especially loved the truffle and scallop one) and squid ink infused noodles with prawns! With a good choice of beers on tap, a very good option for lunch/dinner in the CBD. Just a bit on the pricier side, so does not make a 5 star rating :)

GameOfThrones

Took my folks here to celebrate my dad’s birthday. The steamed food was acceptable but the fried food was terrible. The squid was unpleasant, chewy and tasted as if it was leftovers heated up from the night before. The duck pate prawn toast was a weird flavour combination that just didn’t work. I told the waitress what I thought about the squid and she condescendingly asked if I knew squid was supposed to be chewy. I politely then informed her I have eaten dim sum all around Perth and Asia and without a doubt this was the worst squid I had ever tasted in my life. She was unapologetic. This is yum cha/ dim sum for people who have never had it before and hence have low standards. Would not recommend to anyone. Across the road more authentic flavours can be found.

Foodie In Paradise

We came here for yum cha for the first time, the selection of dumplings are a bit limited compare to some other Chinese restaurant I have been. We had the lunch set 2 which consist of the fried rice, soup, Kung po chicken and xiao long bao. We also had the bo lo bao and the black sesame bao. Personally, we think the lunch set was good value, food was quite tasty. I like the sesame bao but the bo lo bao didn’t taste that great. Service was friendly but a bit slow.

Food Mania

We ordered fried seafood squid ink noodle, sweet and sour park, chicken and some dim sum. The food are not bad. The price is quite pricey as Chinese foods. Maybe due to in the city. Service is good. Staff are friendly.

Bugalugz

Been here several times now and its consistently good. Even when busy the food is top notch and service is good.Last time I went the squid ink noodles weren't on the menu and it appeared that the menu had been refreshed so hopefully they come back lol as they are the best thing they served!!! But the food is fantastic what ever you order!

Lakmonsta

All the hype is real. Fabulous service, friendly and fast. Delicious food and just enough options. Lovely drink choices. Squid ink noodles madre my day. There was nothing left on our plates. Who ever thought cucumbers could be so interesting?

Karina Shah

Nice cocktails. Might have gotten a few more out of us if the food wasn't so quick! Not sure if that's a plus or minus. Dumplings were good. Peking duck pockets seemed like they were a staple but very bready, not much meat and just the taste of the sauce really. Had Ox tail, and I've never had it before so maybe this is how it's supposed to be but even though the meat was really nicely cooked the sauce seemed to have no taste. Sweet and sour pork strips were AMAZING. It goes so well with the pear but they only gave us 3 chunks which was a bit disappointing. Bit of a letdown.

LittleAsianGirl

Delicious food and great company. We had Vintage Hong Kong egg noodles- hand made egg noodles with ginger spring onion and beansprouts; Mongolian Lamb Cutlet- Slow roasted lamb cutlet sautéed mix veggies, Mongolian sauce and cumin; Shy John signature fried rice; Slow roasted oriental spare rib with mixed herbs; Shy John signature black tofu- black soy bean tofu, blended spinach, assorted mushroom and pumpkin sauce; Golden soft shell crab- deep fried soft shell crab and salted egg yolk; and Shy John Peking duck pocket- roast duck, leek,cucumber, sesame, pastry and hoisin sauce. Cocktail: Oriental orchard. Everything was pretty good! The Shy John signature fried rice was such a simple tasty dish. Love the open air area. We had good weather. Definitely coming back, next time to try the dimsum menu.

Yummymummy

Our first visit to Yagan square and we can highly recommend Shy Johns, the staff are happy, relaxed, helpful and well trained in good customer service. They sell great craft beer and yum cha, what a fabulous combination. Everything we ate was delicious and we will be back. Hopefully the red beer I think it was called will be back in stock. Well done Shy John.

Finleyhimawan

Food presentation is excellent I have to say! Their beer is pretty good too. However their yum cha is quite average, I had quite a high expectations as their menu and the looks of the yum cha seemed to be a little different. The food flow was rather slow as we were choosing from the trolley but every time the trolley came to our area, the food varieties seemed to decrease by quite a bit. We ended up ordering them instead. Interesting concept but there are rooms for improvements.

Timmy Richards

Two levels of amazing dining and cuisine. Every dish is very photogenic for you happy snappers out there. Staff great just like the rest of Yagan Squares offerings. Also, they have the best beer tasting board that I’ve had in Perth for a longtime. Ian the owner, is a master of zen and great boss also :)

Adrian Jameson

Interesting beers, delicious food, good service with an easy way to order which is a self filled order sheet to mark off your selections. It works well. A different Asian food experience to anything else around.

Perth Foodie

Went to this place for dim sum on a Saturday. Quite good. Service was attentive and friendly. Staff appeared to be fluent in both English and mandarin. It’s a great place to catch with friends and unwind - a very relaxing vibe. Food was quite good too. It’s not as traditional as you could expect, but still made to a good standard, fresh and tasty. A welcomed addition to Perth.

Ella Herring

Slow service and average food. Dishes came out inconsistently and were below what we expected. We wouldn't bother going back or recommending.

Spudsburgeradventures

We visited just after they opened and they were super busy yet the service was still great and efficient. We tried a few items, the beer paddle was delicious with a nice variety of beers. I’m a huge fan of their dumplings, packed full of seafood and perfectly cooked, but maybe a touch on the expensive side. Keen to go back and try more of their menu.

The City Lane

Shy John Brewery & Yum Cha is, as the name suggests, a spot that focuses on yum cha, and house brewed beers. The space is unmissable as you approach from Northbridge, with the 500 capacity, two storey venue activating much of the north part of Yagan Square’s food and drink section.

Stephanie

When my friend and I arrived at Shy John on a Saturday for lunch, the restaurant was packed. Despite this we were seated pretty quickly. All the waitstaff were friendly and fast, and though the restaurant felt hectic, none of the waiters seemed stressed. We were somewhat confused about whether to order food from the menu and how to order it, or if we should just accept the dim sum offerings that came to our table. We decided on the latter. We’d been sitting down for barely a minute before the first waiter came to our table with plates of yummy looking dumplings and we knew from then on we would never have to go hungry. We tried so many different dumplings and meats and buns that it’s hard to remember all of them, but those that stick out in my mind are the cheese and pork dumplings (so cheesy!), tempura dumplings, and fluffy pork buns. Some were not as good as the others but with so many different dim sum options it’s hard to know what will be good. My advice - just choose the ones that look nice, and don’t worry too much about the bill (which will rack up!!).

Bron Molewyk

Last Saturday night on the spur of the moment we decided to try Shy John's. We had a small wait to get a table but it sure was worth the wait. The menu and presentation was really modern and funky and all the food we ordered tasted delicious. There was a bit of a wait for food to be presented but the staff was friendly happy and attentive. It was very busy, but we thoroughly enjoyed our meal...will go there again❤

Christine

Heard all the fuss about this place so was excited to give this place a go. Beautifully designed restaurant, very friendly and attentive staff every single time they came around to the table, always with a smile. Food was good but wasn't up to my expectations with all the fuss I've heard about, although you can experience some "unique" dim sum dishes you would not otherwise find in other dim sum places in Perth, such as the super cute custard bun. We were seated all the way at the end corner, the music was WAY TOO LOUD that we struggled to hear each other in our conversations. Music is a lovely way to add to the atmosphere in any restaurant but when its so loud that you struggle to hear the person across the table from you, it just becomes annoying. Considering the $$ versus the taste of the dishes we've had (comparing to other dim sum places in Perth), this is definitely not my 1st place to go to in Perth for dim sum. But if customer service is your priority in experience, definitely recommend it :)

Foodie Fa

Raw pork!! We have ordered 4 dishes Egg tart- cold Lobster dumplings - average Pork short rib - raw Pork dumplings (Shu mai)- totally raw We Talked to the staff immediately, never ever had Raw dim sum in anywhere. They collected immediately, just too angry and didn't take the photos of the food. For apologize, they didn't charge for the tea. First restaurant that I black listed .

Review Shy John Brewery & Yum Cha - Perth