Disclaimer: No promises are made regarding the use (or lack thereof) of tennis-related puns in this article.
I work on Wellington Street near Perth Arena, so the Raine Square food hall is one of my regular lunchtime destinations. Back in November they launched the “Centre Court” concept, which gives vendors the opportunity to use empty tenancies as pop-up restaurantsย andย provides CBD workers with the opportunity to enjoyย dishesย usually found only at nighttime hawkers markets and major events.
I’ve had lunch at Centre Court with my workmate Andrew almost every day over the last three weeks, and my apparent addiction to waffle-dogs prompted the folks from Raine Square to ask me to diarise a week’s worth of eating, so here goes…
Monday – unfortunately there was no action on Centre Court, so I had to be content with myย memories ofย previous weeks…
Have you ever had a hot dog that uses a gigantic waffle as a bun? Batter Up Waffle Clubย servesย up some tasty, uniqueย food…
…and they mix up the menu every time, just to make sure that you’re paying attention.
These moist, crunchy wings from T Sisters Fresh Foods came from some of the largest chickens on the planet.
Roark and Co offered a selection of raw desserts and slices, and Antz Inya Pantz coffee.
Yes, that does say cake batter milkshakes. Is there anything on these menus you don’t want to try?
Tuesday – there was a new player on Centre Court , Japanese pop-up Fat Maki.
What is a Fat Maki? Glad you asked.
This was a satay chicken fat maki ($9), also available in green curry chicken and Korean BBQ beef.
They also servedย beautifully softย steamed buns, like this pulled pork and also slow-cooked beef. ($8 for two, $10 for three)
Wednesday – Batterย Up Waffle Club were back on Centre Court with two new meals to choose from.
The pulled pork bagel ($15) was most enjoyable, soft & tasty pork with a spicy sauce (and a crunchy, salty topping on the bagel).
There was also “pulled” chicken & waffle, which was a great combination and had the same spicy sauce as the bagel ($12).
Thursday & Friday – The fantastic Hood Burger were back, playing against Fat Maki on Thursday but having the court all to themselves on Friday.
What is there to say? You can see how good their burgers are. This was their “standard” Cheeseburger ($12) with onion rings (well worth the extra $1!)
Why not end the week with aย game of doubles? (okay, I’ll stop now).
Centre Court is still open in the lead up toย Christmas, and will hopefully continue into next year. It’s a great opportunity for local vendors to serve their food to customers who wouldn’t normally get to experience it – I’d ย never eatenย from any of these restaurants, and I’ll be sure to search them out in future. I also look forward to seeing who’s playing next…
Thanks to Raine Square for sponsoring this post.

















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