Bonilla a la Vista potato chips cost $50

Chefs and foodies alike swear by these upmarket crisps made from just three ingredients - Galician potatoes, Spanish olive oil and sea salt.

ELIZABETH MCDONALD

2 min read

January 6, 2024 - 11:13AM

Food

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You may have spied this nautical tin of chippies during your latest deli visit, or perhaps on the menu at a particularly swank European restaurant.

In Sydney, they’re hot ticket items at tapas-style bars like La Salut and the Continental Deli, as well as staples at upmarket provedors like Maker & Monger and the Culinary Club.

Hailing from the coastal province of Galicia, Spain, Bonilla a la Vista potato chips may originate at a tiny dot on a map but they’ve made waves across the culinary world. So what makes these chips so special?

Bonilla a la Vista potato chips cost $50.

In 1932, when founder Salvador Bonilla left the navy he decided to open a churrería, selling churros and chips in nearby towns and ports. He decided to call it ‘Bonilla in Sight’ or Bonilla a la Vista, which was what he answered when approaching warships peddling his wares. The recipe has remained the same since day one and as they say – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Bonilla a la Vista potato chips founder Salvador Bonilla.

All the potatoes used by the Bonilla family are sourced in Xinzo de Limia, a region famous as one of Spain’s most fertile food bowls. Incidentally, the region also produces plenty of beautiful olive oil in which the Bonilla potatoes are fried.

Growing side by side, the olives and the potatoes of Xinzo de Limia are intrinsically linked, with nothing more needed but a dusting of Atlantic sea salt. And there you have it, the perfect potato chip, provenance and all.

Bonilla a la Vista potato chips are made from products sourced in Xinzo de Limia.

So at $50 a pop, are these 500 gram tins worth it?

Obviously, we’re skipping a bunch of boring stuff here, like import tax, shipping yadda yadda yadda, but if we’re going to get granular about it, an average potato weighs around 173 grams, so in a 500 gram tin you’re getting just under three potatoes. This works out to about $16 per potato. That’s a spenno spud.

The cost may be eye-watering but devotees of the Bonilla a la Vista crisps are adamant that the mouth-watering chips are worth every penny.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide. In the meantime, we’ll be rummaging for spare change.

Prices for the patatas fritas can vary from $39 – $79 for a 375g collector tin.

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Originally published as Bonilla a la Vista potato chips cost $50