Ku De Ta is out on a limb. Jutting into the Swan, the development, over $25 million in the making, opened at a time when restaurateurs were holding their breath. We’ve got development: from Elizabeth Quay to Yagan Square, the State Buildings having also taken a bite out of CBD trade, and many suburbs are punching above their weight.

It sounds like a no-brainer though, a riverside location to rival the growing set of beachside eateries, just a stones throw from the CBD. Not quite. In a no mans land, devoid of notable foot traffic, this is destination dining. Pay parking, a bus, an uber, or even a ferry docking on the riverside are all options to get you there, but when you have a multitude of venues on the Terrace, will people go that extra mile? Will destination alone fill the three restaurants midweek and in the slower months?

Cutting through the social-bleat of Perthonalities, the talk from seasoned hospo folk, and the CBD crowd was of the schlep down from the Terrace, and lacklustre service. More questions posed: Is it tall poppy syndrome? Have we become immune to the glitz? But more importantly, is it all justified?

Ku Dining, the flagship eatery, on a Friday afternoon. Blue skies over the Swan, boats and those passenger ferries glide past, the doors open to the water. You’d expect the place to be buzzing. But it’s quiet, almost deathly so. This could be game over in the hands of inept service. A view is one thing, but atmosphere and service is everything. Enter Cicero Salvador. It takes a moment to place him when he greets us with a “great to see you again, how’ve you been?” Such is the skill of this sommelier, come front of house manager, cum part-time winemaker, that he remembers our wine choices from a Margaret River degustation months before; duly rolling out the Ochota Barrels and a Lucy Margaux not yet on the wine list. He also knows how much chat is needed and when to exit stage left. It’s a skill. Thoughts of how busy it is or is not float away and we settle in.

The kitchen team is equally poised. There are few duos in Perth as strong as Dan Fisher and Liam Atkinson. They were formidable at Print Hall, turning out some of the best plates in the state. Fisher is now Executive Chef, overseeing the three venues within the development, Atkinson stepping up to Head Chef of Ku Dining. He’s proving his skill ably.

My advice: pile in with the small plates and don’t skip the bread. Using a heritage flour Atkinson’s ciabatta is a three-day process that puts other sorry loaves to shame. Served with cottage cheese, first press canola oil from Albany and dehydrated saltbush, he’s got the edge on the cultured butter club. Crisp fried pork jowl with chilli caramel has shades of Bak Kwa (albeit not jerky), a hot, sweet, and salty hit that won’t last long at the hands of the hungry. Andalusian-inspiration brings b’stilla, a delicate rolled pastry served with lupin puree. Squab, pigeon and poultry are traditional fillings, but Atkinson is using alpaca neck. Thoughts of those long-necked llama-like moptops are best banished from your mind, if you’re a sentimental carnivore. The meat, similar in texture to oxtail is robust in flavour and gaining ground on menus. It’s only a one-dimensional quail dish that fails to launch. Nowhere near as crisp as it should be.

Mutton from Moojepin (in WA’s Great Southern) stands out. A meat seeing a justified resurgence, the shoulder and loin are confited overnight, the shoulder then pressed and reheated in a sauce from the mutton bones; reduced and split with milk, a hint of caramelisation in play. Green olive and parsley puree, some spigarello draped over the dish, and a hung sheep milk yoghurt offer brightness and acidity against the mutton’s glorious fat. It’s a dish that begs the question: why do we eat so much beef?

Time will tell as to whether Ku De Ta is an easy sell for Perth, but with Atkinson and team mixing the casual and the fine at Ku Dining, front of house finding its feet under Salvador, this is clear competition to both destination and fine diners from CBD to coast.