Most of the Sydney listings in our directory talk about wine lists, beach views or imported products. Encasa talks about age. It opened under another name, Casa Juanita, and the restaurant now describes itself as the longest-standing Spanish restaurant in the city, with more than four decades behind it.
We can't independently verify the "longest-standing" claim, so treat it as the restaurant's own description. What the listing does make clear is the shape of the business today: two venues, a classic menu of tapas and paella, and a Pitt Street room that works as a pre-theatre stop.
From Casa Juanita to Encasa
The name change is the one piece of history the restaurant shares. "Casa" names are common in Spanish dining abroad because they promise home cooking. "Encasa" (from "en casa", at home) keeps that idea and drops the personal name.
Forty-plus years is a long run for any restaurant. It also explains the menu: the listing talks about classic tapas and paella, not a chef's tasting menu or a fusion experiment.
Two venues, two jobs
According to its record, Encasa splits the work between two addresses. The Lane Cove venue is the tapas room, described as cosy. The Pitt Street venue, at 423 Pitt St in Haymarket, is where the paellas take centre stage, and the restaurant pitches it for casual meals and special occasions alike.
The Pitt Street location matters for planning. It sits close to the Capitol Theatre, and the restaurant itself suggests it as a start or finish to a night out in the city. If you're eating before a show, keep the timing in mind: paella is normally cooked to order, so ask how long it will take when you sit down and order it with your drinks rather than after the tapas.
What to order at a long-running Spanish restaurant
The listing names two things, classic tapas and paella, and doesn't publish a dish-by-dish menu, so we won't invent one. A few general rules help at any older Spanish restaurant abroad:
- Order a few tapas to share first, then one paella for the table. Paella is sized for two or more, and most kitchens won't make a single portion.
- Look at the base of the pan when it arrives. A thin, toasted crust (the socarrat) is a good sign that the rice was cooked flat and left alone.
- Ask the staff what the house is known for. Long-running places often have a dish that doesn't stand out on the printed menu.
Sydney's other Spanish tables
Encasa is one of five Sydney venues in our Sydney directory. The other four each take a different angle:
- BALCON by Tapavino (17 Bligh St, CBD): contemporary cooking that takes its lead from Northern Spain, a list of 500 Spanish wines and an outdoor dining area. The group behind it also runs Barrica Wines, a distributor of Spanish wine in Australia.
- Ibérica (251 Bondi Rd, Bondi): a Spanish-Mediterranean restobar near the beach, styled after Ibiza and Mallorca, with seafood, paellas and a private dining room.
- Paripé (348 Crown St, Surry Hills): casual and run by two Spaniards, built around Spanish products such as Ibérico, cheeses and tinned seafood, served like a tapas bar back home.
- Alegria (124 Terry St, Rozelle): traditional and modern Spanish dishes using imported Spanish ingredients alongside local produce, with a wine list built with its Spanish suppliers.
Planning a visit
For a first visit, the Pitt Street room makes the most sense if you want paella, and Lane Cove if you'd rather graze on tapas. The Encasa profile has the Pitt Street address, website and contact details. If you have time for a second Spanish meal in Sydney, pair Encasa's classics with the wine list at BALCON or a tinned-seafood session at Paripé.
