Melbourne’s best South American restaurants
FROM Peruvian parillas and Brazilian barbecue to classic Colombian cuisine, here are 29 of the best places to get your feast on, South American style, in Melbourne.
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MOVE over Mexican.
South American is taking over as Melbourne’s next big food trend.
Recent years have seen an explosion of contemporary Latin American-inspired eateries popping up all over the state, with everything from Argentinian grills and Brazilian barbecues to Chilean and Colombian cafes and Peruvian cevicherias bringing their famed fare to hungry Melbourne restaurant dwellers.
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Our obsession with this spicy cuisine kicked off back in 2011 when envelope-pushing city restaurant San Telmo flung open its antique doors and stamped Argentinian flavours firmly on Melbourne’s foodie map.
Pastuso — which showcases modern Peruvian cuisine — followed suit in 2014. Then, just last month, Palermo — an Italian-influenced Argentinian asado — took up residence among Little Bourke Street’s French quarter.
Craving authentic, Colombian-style arepas topped with slow-cooked Cuban-style beef? Look no further than Sonido in Fitzroy.
For the most traditional Chilean empanadas, Marciano’s Cakes in Clayton is the place to go.
Or, if you’re after some zesty Peruvian ceviche — Inti Gourmet in Chelsea’s lime-cured snapper with chilli, coriander, Spanish onions, caramelised sweet potato and corn is fresh, fabulous and friggin’ delicious. Pair it with a Peruvian cerveza (beer) and you may as well be in Lima.
So if, like us, you’re looking for a little Latin American foodie lovin’, here’s our guide to the best South American restaurants in Victoria.
De nada. (You’re welcome.)
29 BUCKET-LIST SOUTH AMERICAN RESTAURANTS TO TRY IN MELBOURNE
ARGENTINIAN
401 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
This is one of the newest additions to Melbourne’s Argentinian dining scene and boy — she’s a beauty. Named after and inspired by Buenos Aires’ largest and most vibrant barrio, Palermo embodies the Argentine spirit with it’s simple, share-style menu that showcases coal-roasted meats slow-cooked in Melbourne’s first asado fire pit. *Wipes drool from mouth.
*Experience the flavours of Argentina (Palermo), the Middle East (Maha) and Italy (Trattoria Emilia) all in one night as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine festival.Click here for details.
298 Beach Rd, Black Rock
Craft brewery-come Argentine grill overlooking the bay in Black Rock. For a special treat, you’ll want to try their lechon al horno — or suckling pig. This is cooked to succulent perfection, carved at the table and comes served with lemon and chimichurri. Unless you’re settling in for an afternoon, you’ll want to preorder at it takes more than an hour to prepare.
14 Meyers Pl, Melbourne
The original, and still up there with the best. You know your steak is going to be excellent when it’s cooked on a bespoke 2.5-metre parilla charcoal grill, handmade by one of world’s best craftsman whose previous clientele include former Argentine presidents and the Ferrari workshop in Modena, Italy. So yeah, you could say this steak is pretty unmissable.
*Journey though the flavours of South America at three of Melbourne’s favourite Latin Restaurants: Palermo, San Telmo and Pastuso.Click here for details.
454 Nicholson St, Fitzroy North
Family-run Argentinian steakhouse with an honest approach to food and a humble menu that exemplifies the stunning simplicity that is Argentine cuisine. For $49.50, you may as well go for the banquet and feast on empanadas, all-you-can-eat asado (barbecue), dessert and a glass of vino or soft drink. Arriba!
79 Main St, Gembrook
One of the great things about this end-of-the-Puffing-Billy-line gem — other than the fact that the food is delicious — is that unlike many typical South American restaurants, it caters to plant-based and vegan diets without sacrificing on creativity or flavour. Think palm heart ceviche with green chilli and spiced salt or potato and rosemary empanadas with tomato and chilli salsa. The seasonal menu showcases the best local produce, and is inspired by head chef Mauro Callegari’s Argentinian heritage, which means dishes like the Tasmanian grass-fed beef short rib with chimichurri and potatoes are going to be spot on.
Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra
Hand-carved beef, fresh herbs and vegetables wrapped and baked in freshly rolled pastry. What’s not to salivate over?
115 Bay St, Port Melbourne
Argentinian-inspired eats dished up from within a heritage-listed building with a rambling outdoor courtyard. Live music on weekends.
SALVADOREAN
128 Mitchell St, Maidstone
It’s a family affair at Los Latinos, a Hispanic cafe in the heart of Maidstone, in Melbourne’s west. With Lilian Funes de Murga at the helm, her husband Mario and her nieces and nephews helping out in the restaurant — the food is not only made with love, but Murga is recreating the flavours she grew up with as a child in El Salvador. Los Latinos’ Hispanic-inspired specialties include pupusas — which are a traditional Salvadorean thick tortilla made from maize flour, stuffed with pork, refried beans, cheese or a combination of all three and served steaming hot off the griddle. Drool.
CHILEAN
6/210 Albion St, Brunswick
With literally thousands of brunch places to choose from, this cosy Chilean cafe offers a fresh take on breakfast fare. The traditional empanadas are pretty hard to beat. So too the humitas (corn dough steamed and baked in the corn leaf and served with tomato and onion salad). The sopaipillas (fried pumpkin bread) are a light and fluffy delight. They are also making Chilean-style sushi, which sounds like pretty much the greatest thing ever.
PERUVIAN
19 ACDC Ln, Melbourne
This sunken Peruvian grill, cevicheria and pisco bar is inspired by the colourful streets of Lima, which is widely becoming recognised as one of the world’s hottest foodie destinations. Pull up a spot at the bar and watch as the bartenders create you a personalised pisco cocktail, sit in the cevicheria where chefs are freshly preparing some of the city’s most delicious cured fish dishes (the ruby red snapper is delightful) or, if you can stand the heat, get a load of head chef and restaurant owner Alejandro Saravia getting his grill on in the open kitchen.
*Explore Gippsland produce through street art and a six-course menu designed by Peruvian cuisine master, Alejandro Saravia. Click here for details.
71 Collins St, Melbourne
Pisco sours, ceviche and anticuchos (meat skewers). What more could you want in life? How about some Causa Peruana — which is a refreshing, South American-style layered potato salad served in a perfect cylinder shape. So. Much. Yum.
414 Nepean Hwy, Chelsea
Rumour has it this peninsula Peruvian restaurant has some of the best ceviche in Melbourne. Meals here are about as authentic is you’ll get — the eight-hour slow-cooked spare ribs, swordfish skewers and traditional stews are seriously tasty. And make sure you wash your meal down with a pisco sour because the staff here make a mean cocktail. Inti Gourmet can afford to be humble because the food — and service — speaks for itself.
BRAZILIAN
61 A’Beckett St, Melbourne
Brazil-style barbecue meats, carved and served at your table. That’s the kind of theatre that would have even MasterChef judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan smiling. Churrasco-roasted garlic rump? Please and thank you.
139 Smith St, Fitzroy
For a night of entertainment, dancing and dining — look no further than Smith Street institution Copacabana. Book in for a dinner of all-you-can-eat Brazilian-style barbecue meats, fresh salads and homemade dessert, before sitting back and enjoying a live Latin dance show. At the end of the night, you can even hit the dance floor yourself.
Shop 3, 296 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. Entry via Johnston St.
Chicken. Helados. Empanadas. That’s where the acronym for Fitzroy’s laid-back Peruvian chicken shop, CHE, comes from. It also happens to be slang for ‘mate’. The menu is simple, starring succulent, Peruvian-marinated chicken, traditional beef, corn and cheese, smoked beef or smoked chicken empanadas, a selection of simple salads and, of course, helados — South American style soft-serve. It’s part-owned by Pastuso’s Alejandro Saravia, so you know it’s going to be good. Dig in.
COLOMBIAN
268 High St, Windsor
The latest addition to Windsor’s global food scene is La Tienda, a traditional South American eatery dishing up authentic Colombian street food.
69 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
This Gertrude St cafe is famed for its authentic Colombian/Venezuelan arepas (kind of like mini maize pancakes) topped with all manner of delicious things. Once your try the arepas with Ropa Vieja (slow-cooked beef stew), you’ll want to come back every week.
2/140 Flinders St, Melbourne
Get around the ancient Columbian dish of Ajiaco at this humble city cafe Ajiaco is a soup made of chicken and two different potatoes, which gives its distinctive and unique texture. Soak it up with a tasty Pandebono — small bread roll made with corn and cheese.
LATIN AMERICAN
79 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
Vibrant Latin American flavours, pitchers of pomegranate spritz and deconstructed peanut butter cheesecakes are the name of the game at The Black Toro, which has been slinging creative South American fare in the ‘burbs since 2012.
68 Acland St, St Kilda
Cocktails, scallops and skull desserts. These are the calling cards of St Kilda’s Latin American-inspired cocktail institution and tapas bar, Pablo Honey.
Level 1/37 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
Latin American-inspired eats with a soundtrack ranging from Spanish Flamenco to Cuban Jazz. Our fave is the spiced Black Angus brisket with roast capsicum and spring onion mash, but the crab tostadas with guacamole, lettuce, tomato and jalapeño salsa are a close second.
798 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn
Don’t freak out, but ceviche salad bowls are now a thing. Yep, you read right. Ceviche. In bowls. Atop colourful quinoa, corn, greens and chipotle mayo. This place also makes a pretty mean green tomato salad, but the real showstopper is the charred octopus. It’s an absolute masterpiece — the smoky flavours of the parilla are beautifully balanced with slices of zesty pink grapefruit and earthy greens, with roasted chipotle mayo, avocado puree adding a subtle heat.
937 Glen Huntly Rd, Caulfield
After more than 35 years and 250,000 caipirinhas, Richmond’s Rios Latinos has moved to Caulfield. And though it might have a new home, this lively Latin taberna where it is still bringing you Brazilian beats, meats and barbecue ribs. Get the ribs platter (marinated beef, pork and lamb ribs, chicken skewers, grilled veggies, chimichurri and chips) — you won’t regret it.
25 Johnston St, Fitzroy
Warehouse, chorizo-making factory, small goods shop, cooking school and kitchen. Welcome to Casa Iberica — a family-fun a Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American deli, slinging salami, salsichon and regional products since 1975. Looking for traditional tinned Spanish sardines, Salvadorean plantain chips or Argentinian sweet potato and chocolate desserts (dulce de batata y chocolate). You’ll find it here.
93-95 Ryrie St, Geelong
Contemporary Aussie cuisine with a South American twist. Ingredients are sourced as locally as possible. This food is art on a plate. The Hopkins River dry-aged rib eye with a side of burnt broccoli with parsley and garlic.
809 Ballarat Rd, Deer Park
If you’re looking for some of the state’s best baked goods, you’ll want to get yourself to Deer Park, stat. From the same flaky pastry-creating folk who brought you Empanadas Las Peñas, this cafe come bakery come wholesaler offers everything from deliciously juicy empanadas to imparted wines, pisco, traditional breads, sweets, smallgoods and cerveza. Stop in for a feed and stock up on all your most-loved Latin American goodies.
SPECIALIST BAKERIES
40 Alfred Street, Noble Park
South American bakery specialising in fried and oven-baked empanadas.
MARCIANO’S CAKES
1481 Centre Road, Clayton and 126 Mitchel St, Maidstone
Renowned bakery specialising in South American cakes, sweets and savouries, such as
traditional milhojas — layers of mille-feuille (puff pastry), dulce de leche (caramel) and vanilla custard — empanadas and alfajores (shortbread cookies sandwiched with sweet fillings, most notably, dulce du leche, and sprinkled with icing sugar, coconut or chocolate). You’ll want to try them all.
MONICA’S CAKE SHOP
14 Hosken Street, Noble Park
Argentinian bake shop and cakery with all the South American sweets and treats you could wish for. Hello, sandwiches de miga (traditional, triple-layer finger food sandwiches, kind of like English-style cucumber sandwiches), facturas (sweet pastries made with a spongy and delicious dough and filled with caramel, custard or quince jam). The smell of freshly baked goods is divine.
HAVE WE MISSED SOMEWHERE? LET US KNOW YOUR FAVOURITE SOUTH AMERICAN EATS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.