A taste of Spain has arrived on the Sunshine Coast promising to spice up breakfast with a unique twist on tapas.
Spanish Bar in Buderim will offer big flavours lovingly prepared with “mum’s” recipes and is set to become a crowd favourite after opening last week.
With dishes including breakfast paella, delicious spinach fritters and homemade churros, owners Adriano and Mary-Joe Gonzalez hope their menu will be different to anything else offered on the Sunshine Coast.
Mr Gonzalez told Sunshine Coast News he did not know of a tapas restaurant with a dedicated breakfast menu, and he was looking forward to sharing his family recipes and love of coffee with diners.
It will soon be expanding to a lunch and dinner menu too, which will include dishes such as soft-shell crab on a charcoal bun with coleslaw, empanadas and mussels al Diablo.
With a passion for all things Spanish – including the cuisine, culture and the country itself – the husband-and-wife team opened Spanish Bar in Melbourne in 2014.
After eight successful years, and now with two young children aged four and one, the family decided to embark on a sea change to the Sunshine Coast to expand their business here.
“We love Spanish food and Spain. We would go to Spain every year – to Madrid, Barcelona, to Costa del Sol – and we loved the sangria and the tapas,” Mr Gonzalez said.
“We thought we needed to open our own. We wanted to open something different.”
“We do a Spanish twist on breakfast. We have traditional Spanish sandwich and a breakfast paella – I have never seen a breakfast paella in the restaurants.
“We do a spinach fritter, which is one of my mum’s best recipes, with bacon, avocado sour cream and chilli sauce.”
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Argentinian-born Mr Gonzalez said his mother, who lives in Buenos Aires, was a wonderful home cook and the inspiration for all the recipes on the menu.
With a focus on good service and quality food, Mr Gonzalez has two chefs he has hired for his Buderim bar and is teaching them the ropes of the family dishes.
“All of the recipes are my mother’s. She has been cooking for me and my family forever. There are so many recipes – even from my grandmother. It is amazing to continue them on.”
He also makes his own Sangria, from a recipe he learnt when he was in Costa del Sol and has a Spanish supplier that provides him with traditional ham, cheese and wines.
Aside from food, Mr Gonzalez loves his coffee and customers will often spot him behind the coffee machine.
“It not just about the wine, beer and sangria – I love coffee.
“We make a beautiful coffee and I have been making it for a long time. I love to be behind the machine when its busy with lots of dockets there.”
Being new to the area, Mr Gonzalez has been overwhelmed with support from the Buderim community who pitched in to help bring the restaurant, on Karawatha Street, to life.
“The wonderful thing is that the whole neighbourhood helped me build the bar.
“One neighbour helped me build all the shelving. Another neighbour lent me a ladder and the brushes to do the painting inside.
“The neighbour opposite my house has a truck and helped me move everything in.”
Spanish Bar Buderim is open Wednesday to Sunday from 7.30am to 2pm and will be introducing its lunch and dinner tapas menu in the coming weeks.
Find them on Facebook for more details.
