Enjoy sunset sips at new Scarborough wine bar and café Little Wave

Little Wave, big vibes!

While there’s heaps of things to love about WA (understatement), one of the best coast’s simplest and greatest pleasures is enjoying a wine while watching the sun go down.

Luckily, Little Wave owners Ali Karcher and Federico Vitelli are all about sunset seaside wines – and the new Scarborough venue is designed around appreciating not just the view, but taking a pause to enjoy the finer things in life.

“The whole venue is designed to watch the sunset – we’ve got the alfresco, with low tables, and the venue goes from low to high,” Ali explains to us on a blustery, grey afternoon when the ocean view is more wet and wild than turquoise glass – although no less beguiling.

“I’m a Scarborough local, I’ve lived here since 2012,” he continues. “I was chilling, going for a surf – I saw the business and I’m like, ‘This location’s cool, maybe I should do something here?’ And then two weeks later I signed the lease!”

“[Since moving to Scarborough] I’ve seen the evolution, especially after the renovations with the swimming pool and skate park. It’s still got this really warm feeling to it, of everyone knowing each other.”

When we visit, the windows are taped up with newspaper – but inside, the welcoming glow of Little Wave’s lighting is paired with warm-toned parquetry and an impressive ocean-inspired wall treatment by locals Painted Earth.

“Me and my business partner, Fede – I’m French, my business partner is Italian – we want something laid back, something very Mediterranean. So the menu will reflect that, the wine list reflects that. We just want a place for people to chill, and to get lost. You can come for ten minutes, or you can stay longer. We want everything to be something to chill, to stop a little bit.”

Although the coffee machine will be up and running from early in the morning, the venue is a wine bar first and foremost.

“This place, organically with the location, it is a café. People come here early for the surf, with their family, for work, and we’ll be open.”

“But the design and the feel and the vibe is that you want to come here at night time. I think that was the biggest challenge, to mix the concept together of a beach café and a wine bar, and I wanted the interior design to reflect that.”

“But also, not feeling intimidated – you can come for a coffee, and it’s not going to be too formal. Come barefoot!”

Share plates will favour Mediterranean flavours (think fritto misto and spritzes as the sun goes down – delightful!) as do larger mains of gnocchi and pasta – although there’ll also be some more Australian-style, pub-adjacent classics.

The wine list follows a similar cross-continental style, but you’ll also be able to sip on post-Euro summer favourites like limoncello spritz.

“Very Italian, very French! But very Australian as well – I’d say a third French, a third Italian, and a third Australian/New Zealand,” says Ali.

“I love the wine here, especially down in Margaret River, and we love wine from the east coast, Tasmania, New Zealand. But we also have a lot of wine from back home, like I got a carton of Bordeaux today and I can’t wait to open it!”

“I started at the Sandbar, from 2013 to 2017 – I moved here from France and they gave me my first job. I fell in love with Scarborough – I love surfing, all my kids go to surf lifesaving, they all go to a local school, and what I love about Scarborough… The sunset’s pretty awesome! But also the community – we know a lot of people here, from going for a little walk in the morning or going for a swim at 6AM, to people coming to have fun later – there’s always someone celebrating something here, and Scarborough is really cool for that!”

Little Wave will be opening very soon, and will be located at 190 The Esplanade, Scarborough.

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All images: Sally Hall / Perth is OK!