Food Drink

Get The Scoop On Henley Square’s Two Hot New (And Totally Game Changing) Venues

We are trying to contain our excitement about this one, but it is basically impossible…

Working so close to Henley Square is both amazing and dangerous all at once… The Glam Adelaide office is next to the beautifully renovated square, which also means we are just a hop, skip and jump away from some seriously delicious cafes and food joints. Our brains and stomachs think this is perfect, while our waistlines suffer for it. Luckily though, we’re dedicated to our jobs and have sacrificed our new year’s diets for your reading pleasure.

This morning our mission was to hit up the newest cafe to open at Henley Square – Hermanos Cubanos, a new Cuban sandwich bar. Tucked in a little nook at the back of the old Zootz Cafe, the tiny venue packs a punch, with a whole lot of goodness poured into the cosy, bright space.

Say hola to Hermanos Cubanos...

Say hola to Hermanos Cubanos…

This venue, which has that ‘hole in the wall’ vibe, is the brainchild of two brothers who already know Henley Square very well. Mattis and Lukas Vanzati come from a family of hospitality legends. They’re the sons of the husband and wife team who own and run Swedish Tarts (another Henley Beach cafe, and one of our absolute faves). After working with, and gaining inspiration from the family, the brothers have now come together to start their own venture, and ‘stage one’ is Hermanos Cubanos.

You can't miss its bright window...

Just look for the bright windows…

We mention ‘stage one’ because there is also a ‘stage two’ which will actually knock your little socks off! But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about the food. Because that is very, very important.

As we sat in the little cafe (there are two tables and bar style seating along one wall) we had a chat to Mattis about the vibe and feel that they were going for. Basically the menu features three main sections: Cubanos (Cuban sandwiches), Franks (hot dogs) and Fried. Although they are still perfecting the dishes that will remain on their menu, we love the sound of all of them. And it’s cheap. We tried the Tijuana Frank for $10 which was filled with mojo pork, jalapeños, chipotle adobo mayo and cheese. It was ridiculously tasty.

The tasty Tijuana Frank with mojo pork, jalapeños, chipotle adobo mayo and cheese.

The tasty Tijuana Frank with mojo pork, jalapeños, chipotle adobo mayo and cheese.

They also do fab coffee. Win!

They also do fab coffee. Win!

But when the menu also includes dishes such as the Mexicano Cubanos, which involves taco beef, refried beans, chipotle adobo mayo, pickled onions and cheese being sandwiched between two pieces of delicious bread for only $12, well we know that we’ll be going back. Plus they do jalapeño poppers ($5), great coffee, salads, tasty little cakes (all baked at the Swedish Tarts Bakery) and multiple breakfast dishes. All of the food is made perfectly to take away if you can’t get a spot in the little cafe, or you just want to grab some tasty food to enjoy while you take in the beauty of Henley Square/Beach.

We loved the quirky little details.

We loved the quirky little details.

It doesn’t stop at Hermanos Cubanos though. Not only will we all have an amazing new cafe to enjoy at Henley, there will also be an unreal new bar opening thanks to this dream team brother duo and their fantastic mother! We are so excited we don’t really know what to do with ourselves.

Say hello to ‘stage two’: Malobo. The family are totally renovating and refitting the Zootz space to transform it into what will be Adelaide’s hottest new bar. With a focus on share platters and creating a space for people to come and enjoy a drink and some tasty food, we think that this may be exactly what the Square needs.

With Josh McCallum from Wholegrain Studios (the brains behind the Naomi Murrell boutique and the furniture in Please Say Please cafe) working on the fit out with them, the space will be light, airy and, in even better news, more than just a bar. Malobo will also serve up a breakfast menu and mains along with those share platters. Seriously, does it get much better?

The Henley Square we all loved has stepped up a few levels since the completion of the $8m renovation, and now with some seriously good new venues popping up, to sit side-by-side with some of our old favourites, it’s changing the face of Adelaide’s beachside destinations.

See you at Hermanos Cubanos!

257 Seaview Road, Henley Beach

Monday – Sunday [9am – 9pm]

henley beach

Mattis Vanzati

henley beach

Lukas Vanzati

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