Lifestyle precincts: Perth, London locales for fine food, shopping

The term lifestyle precinct might be overused but is relevant in places that have got their collective acts together.

At Teassential in Perth the motto is “brewing happiness”. Picture: Susan Kurosawa

That fashionable term “lifestyle precinct” might be overused but it has a nice ring and relevance when it comes to city quarters where businesses have got their collective act together, merging retail and dining outlets, galleries and bars.

It’s rare to see such unified enterprise surrounding a hotel, but during recent stays in Perth and London I’ve been impressed with how five-star properties have gathered complementary operators into their orbit.

At COMO The Treasury in the Perth CBD, the courtyard and encircling arcades of the adjoined State Buildings are home to small showcases of West Australian produce and talent. At Teassential (pictured), the motto is “brewing happiness” and smartly packaged tisanes and pyramid infusers include blends such as green jasmine. Neighbouring retailer Kat Snowden of Clean Slate offers lovingly made small-batch vegan skincare products. During my visit, she’s aproned-up and pouring soy candles with soot-free cotton wicks; scents include lemongrass and ginger. Peckish? At The Honeycake Shop there are samples to nibble; it’s completely impossible to resist buying a box of at least five.

COMO The Treasury general manager Anneke Brown says many locals make a night of it in the precinct, especially Fridays and Saturdays, drifting from late-afternoon shopping or catch-ups to drinks and dinner at, say, Petition Kitchen or David Thompson’s basement Long Chim, all under cover and with no concerns about safety moving between venues. So that sense of security seems a welcome trend as well.

In London’s Soho, Ham Yard Village lies virtually on the doorstep of the impeccable Ham Yard Hotel and features two Australian stores — Dinosaur Designs and Jac+Jack — plus local-label fashion boutiques, a juice bar, purveyor of fine teas in unusual combos such as nettle and mint, and the divinely named Bloomsbury Flowers. Brummells of London beauty boutique stocks the Rik Rak bodycare and home fragrance line by designer Kit Kemp, co-owner of Ham Yard Hotel. A Japanese restaurant, Engawa, stands opposite and its deluxe bento boxes can be ordered via room service. Just around the corner on Shaftesbury Avenue the Japan Centre supermarket sells tubs of green tea ice cream. An in-room feast of sashimi in Soho with a matcha chaser? That’s my kind of global village.

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