The tapas bar has finally become a fixture in Australia. Barcelona-born Frank Camorra, capitalizing on his success at the Melbourne favorite MoVida, has just launched the same signature tapas menu at Depot, in Brisbane (and, yes, it includes his hot new take on cecina—slices of air-dried wagyu topped with truffle foam and a poached egg). Back in Melbourne, Matt McConnell’s Bar Lourinha brings a funked-up Portuguese twist to the genre. Sydney’s standard-bearer remains Bodega, a very cool Surry Hills bolthole opened by Polish-Argentinean Elvis Abrahanowicz and partner in kitchen crime Ben Milgate. The twentysomething pair’s tight black jeans, tattoos, and asymmetrical haircuts belie the finesse and technical skill underpinning the menu. Equal parts authenticity and audacity (the pork cabbage rolls with black grapes and dried olives are a revelation), it’s rock ’n’ roll tapas, and the city is loving it.
Sertl’s Note:"Bolthole" is Australian for "hole-in-the-wall."