What Is The Best Spanish Food Found In Melbourne?

Unlike Greek and Italian restaurants, you won't find many Spanish ones in Melbourne. There aren't nearly enough Spaniards here. A regular stream of Melburnians is going on vacation in Spain & bring back a little of the culture, rather than a mass of individuals moving to Melbourne just after war.

Paella, Jamon, croquettas, wine, and all the other hallmarks of Iberian gastronomy can be found at a number of restaurants in Victoria, and the city is also home to a small number of native cooks. It's incredible to consider how far Australian cuisine has progressed over the past three decades. Since Australia relaxed its immigration policies in the 1970s, Melbourne's environment has benefited greatly from the infusion of new recipes.

Australia and Spain didn't reach an agreement on population exchange until the late 1950s, but now hundreds of Australians may indulge in Spanish art, literature, and food. This Spanish restaurant in Melbourne now offers some of the best paella you'll find anywhere besides Spain.

Spanish Cuisine Can Be Found In Melbourne

It's great to see how the thousands many Spaniards who settled here brought with them such wonderful traditions as paella and tapas, even though the Spanish community never became a majority. Both are commonplace in Aussie culture; tapas and beer are often seen as the pinnacle of social fare. In Melbourne, you may choose from a wide variety of Spanish restaurants that cater specifically to date nights.

Añada

Aada on Gertrude Street provides excellent service to its regulars. Even though many businesses have come and gone along this busy inner-north road, this Fitzroy restaurant has been a fixture in the community for the past decade.

Several chefs have taken over the kitchen at Aada since its original owner retired, but the restaurant's modest, southern Spain-inspired menu has remained popular throughout the years. The food is being influenced by Maria Kabal, a former sous chef who is now in command of a team of three female cooks.

Kabal, a native Estonian who has been with Aada for half of its existence and who has remained true to a fast food place's roots while also trying to draw on her own is an artist. She deftly combines traditional European "peasant" techniques with more modern approaches.

Tapas, raciones, squid-ink paella, and dessert cheeses are just some of the tasty options on the menu. Menu items include Arroz con Model was za de cocoa coconut porridge with butterscotch & coconut sorbet, smoked duck heart torrija with guanciale and fig sauce, and mushroom and manchego croquetas.

Tinto

Tinto in Burwood Carriageway near Hawthorn is a cosy restaurant with a lengthy Colonial dining & drinking space, as well as outdoor patio pathway eating as well as a narrow courtyard. It's a great spot to meet up with coworkers and friends for a glass of wine or a cold beer and some tasty tapas.

Cozy up to a fire log fire and snack on smoky goats' cheese, mustard, lavosh, & pickled radishes this season.

a slow-cooked lamb shank packed with pappa al peppers & represented by a breaded pear and dukkah crust; wagyu flank steak served with braised potato, aioli, and red mojo.

Bomba

Tigerbird Group, owners of the Bomba restaurant & rooftop bar, specialise in importing Spanish alcohols and wines.

The downstairs restaurant is narrow, dark, and inviting. Chef and co-owner Andrew Fisk is well-known for his protein-packed tapas and larger share dishes. First-date and fifteenth-date couples regularly fill his restaurant's quieter booths.

Cured, baked, grilled, or slow-cooked meats are just a few of the various ways you can enjoy your favourite protein. Fans of the 12-hour Manuel Ximenez-braised pig jowl have not had to wait for it to return to the menu since Bomba's 2013 inception. Bone marrow toast, or more accurately Wagyu cecina toast, is a popular bar food in Melbourne.

In 2018, a million dollars were spent updating the rooftop space on the building's fifth floor, which is conveniently located near an elevator. Debenture terrace with retractable roof, stadium-style seating for 120, and breathtaking vistas of the city.

The toasties available in Fisk's second-floor bar are a tribute to the offerings at the concert hall of same name in Barcelona. Among the six varieties available is one loaded with confit chicken, cucumbers, and Mahon; another with banana, mascarpone, with dulce de leche; and the classic, stuffed with Jamon Iberico, that Burk has topped just with black truffle.

You can place an order for a bikini along with the rest of your meal until a change room becomes available on the second floor.

If the spectacular view of Her Loyal subjects Theatre isn't enough to entice you, the bar also has a wall-mounted projector that will play a black-and-white silent Spanish film on the building's exterior.

Movida

Movida is indeed the restaurant that first introduced modern Spanish cuisine to Melbourne. The formerly unassuming tapas bar has become a popular Comedor, with wait times that often exceed a week, thanks to its many years of success. Those looking for a more casual tapas bar should visit Movida Next Door, the establishment's sibling.

Be prepared to shell out a fair coin because it's easy to overeat over supper at MoVida. Keep in mind that the tapas & raciones upon that menu are supposed to be shared, and order accordingly to ensure that you have room for dessert. Have the chef select your meals if you're in mood to enjoy a wide range of the restaurant's specialities and seasonal dishes.

Movida now operates a beachside café in Lorne, a taqueria in a shipping container, airport bars in both Melbourne and Sydney, and a rapidly increasing off-site catering division.

In any event, a trip to MoVida is all it takes to see why it's been hailed as being one of the best in the city. You'll want to press the snooze button and remind yourself to take it easy after sampling the vast tapas menu, vibrant bar, and large beverage list at MoVida, which is conveniently located across from Federation Square. This casual hangout channels a suave, sophisticated Euro-Latin feel. Anchoa and Cordero al Chilindro, two traditional Spanish dishes, are on the menu.

MoVida Aqui

MoVida Aqui is a vast cry from the gritty surroundings of a original MoVida & MoVida Next Door, thanks to its placement in the heart of a Bourke Street business district.

Unlike most restaurants in the Central Business District, Aqui features a huge outside terrace on the ground floor, perfect for enjoying Paco's Tacos when the weather is nice. Whenever the weather is nice, the whole town turns into a Spanish fiesta.

An abundance large windows and the trademark MoVida Spanish tile lights that run the length of the space make Aqui's interior feel long and bright.

The bar's roof is covered in colourful milk crates, and the walls are plastered with posters inside the Euro style that compete for customers' attention.

You may now enjoy the sunshine of Spain on your Melbourne workday. New diners now have the chance to try with all Frank Camorra's tasty dishes from Movida, as they are all included on the menu. You won't be able to choose between the Pedro Ximenez beef cheek raciones and the squid, yuzu, creme fraiche, & red pepper raciones. Get the gang together, crack open a bottle of sherry, and spread the appetisers around.

MoVida Next Door

Melbourne's MoVida has a younger sibling, MoVida Next Door, and it shares all of its outstanding qualities.

With such a bar for drinking or the owner's superb tapas and racion menu, it aims to be like its more famous sibling, minus the three-month wait & relatively pricey price tag.

That's why college kids, sightseers, and theatregoers all go there. The one thing they have in common is an unhealthy obsession with drinking for an abnormally long period of time.

Getting a seat in this little hideaway will continue to be a game of chance, as reservations are not taken. But we think Misty Bar, up Hosier Lane a little ways, has benefited from being MoVida's waiting room.

Bouzy Rouge

Gourmet Melburnians may dine like rock stars in a venue with an underground feel at Bouzy Rouge.

Amidst the lavish furnishings and expertly placed Venetian mirrors, all who enter through the intricately carved doors were treated like royalty. Scottish Knoll chairs have been upholstered in lavish fabric since the Middle Ages.

Get a drink at the well-stocked bar while perusing the menu of traditional European dishes. Whether you're in the mood for char-grilled octopus on white gazpacho, jalapeno salsa, red peppers, and almond, or spaghetti with prawns, courgette flowers, bottarga, & chives, you won't be disappointed.

Lona Pintxos Bar

While visiting Spain, Lona got the concept for her bar. He came up with the idea along with his sibling. The 200-seat San Sebastian-style restaurant is a pleasant place to have some pintxos, whether as an appetiser, a side dish, or a main course.

A rye honey whisky biscuit topped with sliced salami and capers, or sliders made from slow-cooked, bourbon-braised pork topped with jalapeos and crackling, may be on the menu.

In addition to the renowned charcuterie from Locheilan Farmhouse, the menu also has quince paste from Sedgley & Sons. There are also 50 bottles of wine from all over the world as well as the Basque country in particular to pick from on the wine list.

Las Tapas

The restaurant Las Tapas does not really have a cold storage area. The owners have instead instituted a single rule: "Do it exactly like we do in Spain." You should use only the freshest ingredients and sauté them in olive oil with a little stock. The bread is cooked using a traditional Catalan recipe which Pardo-Vinals' mother has translated into English. Later, he gave it to a Russian baker in town who has been slowly but surely improving the recipe ever since.

Just like at home, the day's menu is written in chalk on a whiteboard in the kitchen, and it changes with the season and also the availability of fresh, local foods. When Pardo-Vinals order a suckling pig or opossums for his winter stew, he sources the ingredients from local enterprises, or what he calls agriculture from The Comprehensive Guide to Victorian Generate.

In traditional Spanish cuisine, each meal is built around a single star component. Dishes like grilled artichokes with patatas bravas or local lamb cutlets are just two examples of seasonal tapas. One constant is the huge bucket of fresh sangria that stands on the bar. Cocktails, beer, and wine are served alongside.

Please feel free to join Alfredo, our main source & regular customer, at the bar after hours. He is convinced that even a vegan would switch to one of his universities because it is so tasty. With the music and dancing and the earthy design, you could believe you've landed in Latin America.

Simply Spanish Cbd

Simply Spanish, despite being in the middle of Melbourne's hectic CBD, brings some of Spain's exquisite culture and cuisine to the neighbourhood. Hang out with friends over paella and sangria at this rustic restaurant located on one of the town's busiest avenues.

This restaurant is well-known for its delicious seafood, but it also offers authentic tapas and small plates for lunch and dinner, such as smokey boneless ribs and baked apple coleslaw, dressed not in spicy aioli but in lemon.

Paella for two with chicken and chorizo, made with red peppers, peas, and a special sensor is usually spice combination, and a glass of Spanish Tempranillo.

Nomada Food & Wine

Together with veteran host the front and pro Michael Burr, they created the 50-seat space that is now known as Nómada, which has Scando furniture, a tile bar pressed by hand, hand-stitched leather upholstery, as well as the occasional fur accent. The room feels comfortable and familiar despite its obvious antiquity.

There are wines from both the old and new worlds, such the Riesling at Henty Farm and also the Garnacha from Azul y Garanza, as well as sherries.

Bar Lourinhã

Small but mighty, Bar Lourinh sits at Little Collins Street's absolute pinnacle, and its aura of exclusivity makes it a hit among collectors. The bar's high-end hardwood decor and interesting collection of wall art are to thank for this. Bowerbird's nest, a tangled mess of chillies, spoons, fans, and tiny paintings. The wall is always a good source of conversation starters, so if you manage to steal a seat just at crowded bar, you won't go hungry.

The furnishings are interesting, but that's not all. Small servings range from grilled mutton tongue and broad bean labneh to yellowtail kingfish pancetta, all of which were inspired by the chef's travels. Iberian techniques are used to prepare and showcase dishes that feature regional ingredients.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly small menu. More than twice as many items as the standard menu are available on the specials menu, and all of them can be bought in half sizes.

Beverages from France, Italy, and Spain make up the bulk of the large drinks selection. Just when you thought everyone had it worked out, some German, Scottish, and Japanese beverages came out on the scene. The attendees are a reflection of the collection's varied nature.

A great place to relax is Bar Lourinha, an Mediterranean haven on Little Collins Street. Instead of the usual large family or community tables, there are shorter bar stools that encourage conversation and the willingness to serve strangers.

You'll feel like you're in a Spanish tavern and will wish lunch lasted all day long. Indulge in some delicious tapas and a wide variety of drinks at this wonderful hangout. Wagyu Bresaola and anchovy-stuffed olives may be on the menu, or perhaps grilled lamb tongue, wide beans, and couscous.

Simply Spanish

Stop by Simply Spanish for the some paella and sangria & say hola to Spain among the bustling of South Melbourne Market on Cecil Street.

Spanish cuisine is available throughout the day at this restaurant, which got its start more than decade ago in the city's iconic market and is today known for its exquisite meals that meet the soul.

For the early birds, we get an open pan omelette featuring vegetables, red pepper, chorizo, and bread. While pig belly that has been cooked twice and served with apple chutney in place of the traditional quince sauce is a favourite tapas option to go with a Pisco sour. smoked ham and mushroom cooked in thyme & white wine would go well with the paella.

Kanela Flamenco Tapas Bar And Restaurant

And certainly, Melburnians travel from all around to experience the unusual flavours and lusty Spanish vigour at Fitzroy's Kanela Latin music Restaurant and Bar.

The flamenco superstar Tedesco family—which includes Richard and Johnny—run the spectacular restaurant Kanela, where mesmerising dancers perform under sparkling lights to complement the equally amazing meal. Authentic Spanish tapas, such as acc Mediterranean sardines, fourth straight bravas, or roast beef, and a Sangria created from a family recipe.

Don't miss out on the Spanish attitude that has inspired Richard and Johnny to work with groups like Kate Dialect as Well as the Cat Empire by skipping out on famous paella with Pollo y chorizo (chicken, prosciutto, and seasonal veggies). Kanela is a restaurant that requires advanced reservations.

Conclusion

Paella, Jamon, croquetas, wine, and other staples of Iberian cooking may be found in Melbourne's Spanish restaurants. Melbourne's ecology has substantially benefited from the introduction of new cuisines since Australia loosened its immigration policy in the 1970s. The paella at Aada on Gertrude Street rivals that found in Spain. Estonian native and Aada employee Maria Kabal blends modern methods with old European "peasant" practises. There are also dessert cheeses, raciones, squid-ink paella, and tapas.

Tinto, located on Burwood Carriageway not far from Hawthorn, is a warm and inviting restaurant with a long Colonial dining and drinking area, outdoor terrace walkway dining, and a narrow courtyard. Andrew Fisk, the co-owner and head chef, is famous for his hefty portions of protein-packed tapas and larger share dishes. In Melbourne, a popular bar snack is "Bomba," which consists of Manuel Ximenez-stewed pig jowl and bone marrow toast, braised for 12 hours. The toasties served in the bar on the second level of Fisk are an homage to those served in Barcelona's concert hall of the same name. Movida, Melbourne's first modern Spanish restaurant, has become an extremely popular Comedor with wait periods that regularly surpass one week.

It features an extensive tapas cuisine, a lively bar, and a lengthy beverage selection, all within walking distance of Federation Square. It also includes airport bars in Melbourne and Sydney, as well as a fast expanding off-site food sector and a coastal café in Lorne. When compared to the seedy atmosphere of the original MoVida and MoVida Next Door, MoVida Aqui is a world away, offering a chic, upscale Euro-Latin vibe. MoVida Next Door is a bar with a popular tapas and racion menu frequented by students, tourists, and theatregoers. Up Hosier Lane, at Misty Bar, business has increased since MoVida made it their waiting area.

Bouzy Rouge is a subterranean nightclub decorated with high-end furnishings and strategically positioned Venetian mirrors. Spaghetti with prawns, courgette flowers, bottarga, and chives; char-grilled octopus on white gazpacho with jalapeo salsa, red peppers, and almonds.

Located in Barcelona, Spain, Lona Pintxos Bar serves San Sebastian-style cuisine and has seating for two hundred diners. Fifty different wines from all around the world can be found alongside charcuterie from Locheilan Farmhouse and quince paste made by Sedgley & Sons. The owners have mandated one policy: "Do it just like we do in Spain." Pardo-Vinals' mum has translated a traditional Catalan bread recipe into English, and it's used in the baking. The menu is updated seasonally and based on what's fresh and in season in the area. Cocktails, beer, and wine are available, and there is a large bucket of fresh sangria on the bar. Even a vegan might consider transferring to one of Alfredo's universities, according to Alfredo, who is both the main source and a regular consumer.

Content Summary

1. There are a lot more Greek and Italian restaurants in Melbourne than Spanish ones.
2. Many restaurants in Victoria serve traditional Iberian dishes including paella, ham, croquetas, and wine, and the city is also home to a sizeable population of indigenous chefs.
3. Just think about how far Aussie food has come in the last 30 years; it's remarkable.
4. Changes to Australia's immigration policy in the 1970s allowed for an influx of new culinary traditions that have tremendously improved Melbourne's atmosphere.
5. Hundreds of Australians now have the opportunity to travel to Spain and experience its rich culture, thanks to an agreement reached in the late 1950s between Australia and Spain regarding the exchange of populations.
6. You won't find better paella outside of Spain than at this Spanish restaurant in Melbourne.
7. Melbourne is home to some excellent Spanish restaurants. Although if the Spanish community was never a majority in our country, it's nice to see how many thousands of Spaniards who settled here brought with them such wonderful traditions as paella and tapas.
8. There is a great selection of Spanish restaurants in Melbourne that are perfect for a romantic dinner for two.
9. Formerly a sous chef, Maria Kabal is now in charge of a kitchen staff of three women, all of whom have contributed to the restaurant's ensuing culinary evolution.
10. Located on Burwood Carriageway in the Hawthorn neighbourhood, Tinto Tinto is a cosy restaurant with a long Colonial dining & drinking space, as well as outdoor terrace walkway eating and a narrow courtyard.
11. The Bomba restaurant and rooftop bar is owned by the Bomba Tigerbird Group, which specialises in importing Spanish alcoholic beverages.
12. The tapas and larger sharing dishes prepared by chef and co-owner Andrew Fisk are famous for their high protein content.
13. Wagyu cecina toast, often known as bone marrow toast, is a common appetiser in Melbourne bars.
14. Movida is the pioneering restaurant in Melbourne to provide contemporary dishes from Spain.
15. Due to its long history of success, the once-unassuming tapas bar has become a popular Comedor with wait times that regularly exceed a week.
16. Movida Next Door, the restaurant's twin, offers a more laid-back option for those in search of tapas.
17. Movida has expanded to include a coastal café in Lorne, a taqueria housed in a shipping container, airport bars in both Melbourne and Sydney, and a quickly expanding off-site catering operation.
18. In any event, a trip to MoVida is all it takes to see why it's been lauded as being one of the greatest in the city.
19. In the menu, you may find two classic Spanish dishes: anchoa and cordero al chilindro.
20. Life Here Located in the bustling Bourke Street commercial district, MoVida Aqui is a far cry from the seedy environs of the original MoVida and MoVida Next Door.
21. In the Neighboring MoVida There is a younger version of MoVida in Melbourne called MoVida Next Door, and it is identical to its older sibling in every way.
22. It aspires to be as popular as its more well-known brother by offering a similar bar for drinking or the owner's great tapas and racion menu, but without the three-month wait and relatively exorbitant cost.
23. This is why students, tourists, and theatregoers all frequent the area.
24. The luck of the draw will still be required to secure a table at this cosy nook, as reservations are not accepted.
25. Nonetheless, we believe that Misty Bar, located a short distance up Hosier Lane, has benefited from its role as MoVida's waiting room.
26. Red Wine with Bouquets of Flavor At Bouzy Rouge, Melburnians can eat like rock stars in an underground setting.
27. While exploring the menu of classic European cuisine, enjoy a drink from the well-stocked bar.
28. Pintxos Bar Lona In Spain, Lona had an inspiration for her pub.
29. Along with his sibling, he thought of the idea.
30. The San Sebastian–style restaurant with 200 seats is a great spot to relax with a few pintxos as an appetiser, a side, or perhaps a main.
31. In addition, the wine list features 50 different bottles of wine from all around the world, including several selections from the Basque region.
32. In Praise of Las Tapas Las Tapas does not have a proper refrigerator or freezer.
33. Instead of multiple rules, the proprietors have adopted just one: "Do everything precisely like we do in Spain."
34. Bread is made according to a traditional Catalan recipe that Pardo-Vinals' mother has adapted for the English language.
35. The daily menu is chalked up on a whiteboard in the kitchen, just like it is at home, and it shifts with the seasons and the availability of fresh, local ingredients.