All images: Sunnyside
Things are heating up at Henley, as new beach front brunch bar Sunnyside hits the shores.
Taking over the space that was once home to Little Shoo, Sunnyside brings a new light to the venue with a casual popup cafe.
The new brunch bar which opened quietly over the weekend is being brought to west-siders by brothers Liam and Mattis Vanzati of MALOBO Hospitality Group, who also own a number of Henley Square eateries.
“The space was an opportunity that we couldn’t say no to,” Mattis said.
“We’d been aware of the site for a long time and when it became available, we saw a lot of huge potential in terms of what we thought it could be.”
While Mattis is the director of MALOBO Hospitality Group – who own Seamore’s, MALOBO Kitchen & Bar, Hermanos Cubanos and Swedish Tarts – this will be his younger brother Liam’s first venue ownership.
Working in the hospitality scene from a young age, Liam has been the Head Chef of MALOBO Kitchen & Bar, Swedish Tarts, New Nordic and Seamore’s; together with Mattis, the brothers have a vision to deliver a fun, vibey and quality-focused brunch experience to perfectly suit the high energy of Henley Beach.
Customers can expect classic brunch dishes made with local ingredients. There is customisable pancake stacks, breakfast platters to share, dumplings and more to tantalise your tastebuds with ocean views.
The drinks menu does not disappoint either, with bottomless mimosas, locally-roasted specialty coffee and boozy brunch cocktails to sip while soaking in the summer rays.
“The menu focus is really about making it fairly casual and very accessible while enabling customers to get exactly what they want,” Mattis said.
“It’s what people want when they’re going to the beach. We’re making it fun and putting quality in there too.”
During a time when the hospitality industry has both struggled and persevered through unprecedented times,
the brothers see a bright future within the community in Henley Beach.
Taking over the space only a few weeks ago, Mattis said it’s been a very short turnaround, but they wanted to capture the summer crowd with the new venue.
“We’re in the middle of summer trade period; being so busy, it’s a good state to start off the venue,” Mattis said.
The brothers are focusing on the popup concept as it tells customers that there is a whole lot more to come with Sunnyside; but as for now, Sunnyside is embracing and building on the bones of the previous venue and its excellent details.
“We don’t want expectations too high because there’s more we want to do with the space,” Mattis said.
“It’s very different to what the space was. It will feel familiar to some people, but the food offering, the vibe and everything else has really changed.”
Mattis said beachgoers can expect special offerings on the horizon in the near future.
“We really didn’t want to rush to long term concept which we are going to grow into,” he said.
“We have some exciting ideas coming up that I think will work really well and be much more refined too.”
Sunnyside is located at 245 Esplanade, Henley Beach.
You can keep up to date on Instagram and their website.
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