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The House of Luis Tan

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

Lemongrass and ginger panna cotta at The House of Louis Tan in Bondi.
Lemongrass and ginger panna cotta at The House of Louis Tan in Bondi.Christopher Pearce

South American$$

I can't think of two paired words that thrill me less than "fusion cuisine".  "Rental inspection" maybe, or "low-salt". Some chefs nail it – Hamish Ingham is doing great things with "chucka" (Japanese-style Chinese dishes) at Bar H. But, for every bulgogi taco there are 10 more ramen burgers. Hence, when Luis Tan opened in July serving "Latin American street food with Asian accents", I didn't rush out and top up the Opal card for a Bondi mission.

This, as it turns out, was a mistake.

The restaurant and bar is located in the Campbell Parade site once home to Paper Planes. South American travel posters hang from most walls, tables spill into the arcade, vines cling to lanterns and everything is a late '70s shade of orange, black, yellow or red. On a Saturday night around seven, the place is chockers with upwardly mobile 30-year olds in surf T-shirts hoeing down on plantain chips with chipotle mayo ($9). There's a nice last-days-of-summer vibe here.

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The House of Louis Tan turns up the late '70s colours.
The House of Louis Tan turns up the late '70s colours.Christopher Pearce

You'll have to squint to find the Asian influence in a few dishes (like those chips) and even then, it's blurry. Not that it matters when provolone and kale croquettes (three for $15) are two-bite sized baubles of cheesy fun, or tomato-braised Black Angus short-ribs ($30) melt away with a fork's nudge and the cinnamon-scented beef has a grand time getting to know its chimichurri and black turtle bean plate-mates.

Albacore tuna ceviche ($20) is christened in tiger's milk (that's lime, chilli, onion and splash of fish juice) and roughly diced with grape tomatoes, avocado and cucumber. It's more chopped fish salad than ceviche and strikes the right balance of cream and kick.

"May I order another bowl of plantain chips to eat the ceviche with, please, barkeep? I'll have a couple more hunky, smoky chargrilled Venezuelan chicken skewers ($15.50) while you're at it, because the first two went down terrifically. Actually, no cancel that. We're saving ourselves for the lemongrass and ginger panna cotta ($14) with another pisco sour ($18) on the side."

Hunky, smoky, chargrilled Venezuelan chicken skewers.
Hunky, smoky, chargrilled Venezuelan chicken skewers.Christopher Pearce
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The pisco sour. What a drink. It's a smacking blend of Peruvian brandy, lime juice, sugar syrup egg white and Angostura bitters served straight-up. The legend bartender offers two types of pisco for the sours. Both Encanto brands, one pisco is a lighter, muscat-based drop, while the other is a heavier, slightly chocolatey distillate of quebranta grapes. We conclude that both are delicious.

Meanwhile, it's always a pleasure to see Canada's favourite clam broth-infused tomato juice, Clamato, on a drinks list and here it appears in the Bloody Mary Tan ($19) – a Bloody Caesar riff also featuring Del Maguey mezcal and a zippy house-spice blend. If the surf hasn't cured your hangover, this romper-stomper will. Chase it down with a Grifter Pale Ale from the tap and you'll be laughing.

We leave The House of Luis and stop off to see Andy Penney for a lagerita at The Anchor and the best damn southside I've ever had on the east side. Or most places, for that matter. Capping the night off with a very safe and not at all intoxicated night swim, I'm left regretting I didn't catch the Bondi bus months ago.

The mighty pisco sour, which is served with two kinds of Encanto pisco here.
The mighty pisco sour, which is served with two kinds of Encanto pisco here.Christopher Pearce

Go for… a post-beach pisco sour.

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Stay for… costillas and chimichurri

Drink… the Bloody Mary Tan.

And… get a san choy taco into you at the "rum cha" sessions on Sunday arvo.

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Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

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