Peninsula House Penang – Modern Aussie, Contemporary Casual Dining in India House
Words: Monica Tindall
Photos: Han Sen Hau
Penang’s latest restaurant opening, Peninsula House, offers a unique dining experience within the historic India House building. After being vacant for over 30 years and previously housing the United States Information Service library from the 1950s to 1970s, this iconic 1937 building has been transformed into a convivial space designed to feel like a second home, partnered with a fantastic food and beverage offering to match.
India House presents a substantial, multi-story facade with a curved corner in the heart of Georgetown. Its exterior is clad in light-toned stone. Prominent, deep-set archways define the ground level, exhibiting a solid, somewhat monumental character. The restaurant’s entrance is intentionally mysterious, offering no signage, just ambient lighting and music. Find it on the far left as you are facing the building. Steps ascend from the exterior into a dimly lit interior space, creating a subdued and unassuming impression.
Inside, Wunderwall Design has created different zones within the 550-square-metre space, filled with carefully sourced second-hand furniture, including a repurposed jewellery display cabinet dining table and a science laboratory desk used as a service console. The main dining hall is spacious, with soaring ceilings revealing exposed wooden beams. Natural light floods the area through expansive windows, some draped with neutral-toned curtains. Other pieces of organic fabric hang from the ceiling, creating breezy dividers and keeping the space open while generating a feeling of intimacy. Round tables with wooden surfaces and woven chairs populate the dining area. Potted plants add a touch of greenery, and pendant lighting fixtures contribute warmth. The overall atmosphere is airy, understated and very, very comfortable. It just feels great being here.
Peninsula House Penang Menu
Peninsula House Penang is pegged as modern Aussie dining. There’s a compact day menu followed by a more comprehensive evening menu, supported by some artisanal coffee, tea and non-alcoholic beverages alongside a collection of house-distilled cocktails.
House Distilled Cocktails
We find an attractive dark wood bar to the right as we enter Peninsula House. It’s sided by a display of laboratory equipment, such as a distilling machine, from which the bartenders compose creations unique to the restaurant. Envision pre-or post-dinner drinks here, or even stay the evening perched at a table with liquid lubrication and sharing plates. The space is as versatile as your desires.
A must from the house-distilled cocktail menu is the namesake, the Peninsula Martini (RM 55.9), based on Tanqueray No.10 with Mancino Secco, flower tea distillate, lavender wine and lemon balm. It’s a tall, elegant picture with yellow and purple viola flowers floating on the surface. I’m a martini gal, and this one hits the mark, delivering integrated depth with the tea and lemon – delicious!
Our second cocktail, Hojicha (RM 45.9), comes highly recommended for its fresh yet light and flavourful profile. It’s pale yellow in a rocks glass with a white lemon foam crown broken by a colourful arrangement of edible blooms. Hojicha whiskey forms the base with pear and geranium adding garden complexity. It’s a fantastic aperitif. While I polish off the martini, Han Sen wraps his hands around the Hojicha, claiming the rest as solely his.
Peninsula House Wine List
Cocktails are a terrific place to begin, but I’m all for wine for the long haul, and Peninsula House has plenty to satisfy. Organic, biodynamic and natural is the theme for the wine list, a well-compiled booklet appropriately printed on recycled paper. Each bottle of white, amber, rosé, red and pét nat is pictured along with a short description highlighting their origin and tasting notes. Red, white and amber wine are available by the glass, and we’re grateful for the chance to have more premium drops in single serves.
The Sybille Kuntz Mosel Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2011 (RM 45.90) from Germany is a complex, aged biodynamic white. Granny Smith apple, citrus and the signature petroleum aroma telling of a great Riesling are immediately upon the nose. Its vibrant freshness and elegant minerality make it an excellent companion to veg and seafood dishes.
Lawson’s Dry Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2020 from Marlborough, New Zealand (RM 339 bottle), showcases concentrated red fruit notes of cherry and raspberry, underpinned by subtle earthy and spice complexities. This elegant vintage offers a smooth texture, well-integrated tannins, and a lingering finish, making it a refined expression of the region’s Pinot Noir. Both are excellent choices I wouldn’t hesitate to order a second.
Food Menu
Starters
Tuna & Snapper Ceviche (RM 42.90) is an excellent beginning. Sweet potato puree beds a mix of corn, pomelo and fish cubes in a well-balanced leche de tigre marinade. Crushed peanuts are sprinkled over the top and Thai basil keeps the plate fresh. A generous slice of house-made lavosh cracker with cumin seeds crosses the top, a flawless mate and crunchy contrast to the tender fish.
We feel nourished eating the Broccolini (RM 27.9). Everything tastes just-picked and loaded with nutrients. Roasted sunchoke has an attractive charred edge and addictive tang. The labneh moat surrounding the veg, hazelnut chilli butter and crispy quinoa mix up the textures and add a nice nutty finish to the profile.
Commons Farming Greens Salad (RM 24.90) shows off the urban farm right under the same roof! Peninsula House grows all of its greens and edible flowers! Crispy cauliflower, pickled celery, mixed nuts, sliced muscat grapes are tossed through a mountain of lollo lettuce. The honey mustard and herb dressing is a light, tasty seasoning with a spot of warmth, sweetness and tang.
Mains
Pasta seems an excellent choice in a carb-loving nation, and the Chanterelle Orecchiette (RM 62.90) aims to please. First appearances deceptively make us think that it’s going to be too rich to devour the entire plate. That’s fine; sharing is caring, right? However, the mushrooms, miso bagna cauda, and smoked provolone are lightened with lemon juice, crispy sage, and a few drops of truffley-garlicky kulim oil. The latter breaks the richness, allowing us to repeatedly scoop back in for more.
Our final main is a fresh catch from the sea this morning—Pan-Seared Wild-Caught Grouper (RM 58.9), thick, meaty, and expertly prepared. Served alongside baby potatoes, kale, pistachios, and a rich Café de Paris butter, the dish balances indulgence and nourishment. The greens and potatoes medley add texture and depth, making it a well-rounded and satisfying meal.
Dessert
A single dessert is all we need to conclude. The Peninsula Chocolate Tart (RM 28.90) is a slice of dark, mysterious heaven. A pencil-thin crust holds the smooth chocolate filling with a sprinkle of sea salt donating a touch of savoury. A mixed berry compote bestows a fruity acidic counterbalance.
Drinks
It would be easy to head back over to the bar and end with a digestive, but we want the complete experience, and with Norm Micro Roastery as a sister outlet, that means some hot bevvies.
Darker Than Dark Mork Chocolate (RM 20.90), a brand from Melbourne, is rich, bitter-sweet and delicious! It’s viscous and powdered with a stripe of cocoa powder. A marshmallow cube is on the side, ready for melting if you have a sweet tooth.
For those who prefer a caffeinated finish, Norm’s house blend of locally roasted beans is the foundation for expresso-based beverages. As expected, the Latte (RM 15.90) is exceptionally well-brewed and foamed, with a fine balance of bitterness and acidity and medium body appeal.
Peninsula House Penang Review
Peninsula House is the kind of place where time slows down—long lunches, intimate dinners, and quiet moments with a well-crafted cocktail or expertly brewed coffee. Housed in the historic India House, it blends heritage with a modern dining sensibility in a space that feels both elevated and effortless. The menu reflects this balance, with contemporary Australian flavours, house-distilled cocktails, and biodynamic wines complementing its warm, understated atmosphere. Whether you’re settling in for a meal or a lingering drink, Peninsula House is designed for the kind of dining that encourages you to stay awhile.
Reasons to visit Peninsula House Penang: love, love, love the space; it feels great to be here with the natural materials, soaring ceilings and breezy openness; excellent house-distilled cocktails; quality organic, biodynamic and sustainable wine list; superb coffee on their own roasted beans; delightful contemporary Australian menu with plenty of plant-based options.
Peninsula House Penang
1st Floor, India House, 25 Beach St
George Town 10300, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Peninsula House Penang on Google Maps
@peninsulahouse_
+6016-439 1335
Peninsula House Penang Hours
12:00 PM / 2:00 PM / 6:00 PM / 8:00 PM
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