Most of the Spanish restaurants in our Australian listings are in Sydney and Melbourne, but not all of them. Our directory currently lists 14 Spanish restaurants in Australia: six in Sydney, five in Melbourne (counting Hawthorn), and one each in Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This guide goes through all of them, using what each venue's own listing tells us.
Sydney: six Spanish restaurants
Encasa on Pitt Street in Haymarket is the one with the longest history. It was established as Casa Juanita, and the restaurant describes itself as the longest-standing Spanish restaurant in Sydney, now past four decades. The menu runs from classic tapas to paella, and the Pitt Street room is close to the Capitol Theatre, so it works before or after a show. There is also a tapas venue in Lane Cove. We wrote a longer profile in Encasa, Sydney: tapas and paella since Casa Juanita.
BALCON by Tapavino at 17 Bligh Street in the CBD lists 500 Spanish wines and an outdoor dining area. Its cooking takes its cue from the dishes of northern Spain. The group behind it also runs Barrica Wines, which its listing describes as one of Australia's biggest distributors of Spanish wine.
Percy, on Murray Street, is a tapas and wine bar modelled on the bars of Barcelona and the pintxos culture of San Sebastián. Seasonal share plates use Australian produce, and the list covers Spanish wines, vermouths and cocktails.
Paripé, at 348 Crown Street, is run by two Spaniards and set up like a tapas bar at home: tapas, pinchos, Ibérico, cheeses and tins. Alegria in Rozelle mixes traditional and modern Spanish cooking with imported and local produce, and its wine list was built with its Spanish suppliers to include bottles not often found in Sydney. Out at Bondi, Ibérica at 251 Bondi Road takes its look from Ibiza and Mallorca and cooks seafood and paella; it has bar seating, tables and a private dining room.
Melbourne: MoVida and the rest
Any account of Spanish food in Melbourne starts with MoVida Original at 1 Hosier Lane, the small bar on a graffiti-covered lane where chef Frank Camorra and his team introduced Melbourne, and Australia, to tapas and raciones. The stated aim across the MoVida venues is Spanish produce and technique seen through modern Australian food culture.
MoVida Next Door, at 164 Flinders Street, was once a corner milk bar. It now runs as an Andalusian-style bar: seafood on crushed ice cooked a la plancha to order, about fifteen daily specials on the chalkboard, croquetas, the Bomba, and fino, manzanilla or Albariño to drink. MoVida Aquí at 500 Bourke Street is the big one, with an open kitchen, a private dining room and outdoor space, which makes it the pick for groups.
El Rincon, at 69 Victoria Street by Queen Victoria Market, is owned and led by chef Manuel Jimenez-Navarro and built around his grandmother's recipes, with tapas and paella in a southern-Spanish style. It is flagged in our directory as open late. In Hawthorn, Tinto on Burwood Road focuses on tapas, charcuterie and paella, with ingredients imported directly from Spain.
Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast
- Meninas Grill, 519 Beaufort Street, Highgate (Perth): a Spanish steakhouse and wine bar with tapas, mains and cuts from the grill. Some of its wines are imported directly from Spain by the restaurant.
- Olé Spanish Restaurant, Little Stanley Street, South Brisbane: a menu built for sharing, drawing on classic techniques and regional influences.
- El Portón, Ashmore Road, Benowa (Gold Coast): a menu inspired by different Spanish regions and old recipes, made with authentic ingredients and techniques, according to its listing.
How to use this guide
For history, start with Encasa, past four decades by its own account, or MoVida Original, the Hosier Lane bar where Camorra's tapas began. For wine, BALCON's 500-bottle Spanish list is the largest figure any Australian venue in the directory gives.
Every venue above has its own page on our site with its address. Opening hours change, so check with the restaurant before you go, especially for the smaller places.
