Latin American for Brunswick Street

Guatemalan, El Salvadoran and Colombian are some of the cuisines on offer in a new Central/South American restaurant moving into the space recently vacated by Pinxto Spanish tapas in Brunswick Street. Villa Maria's owners are Maurisio and Maria Bara, who also own Villa Maria Mexican and Latin American food in Camp Hill.

While that restaurant is most famous for its Mexican food, the Baras come from El Salvador.

“When we came here and opened a restaurant we were going to do South American food but it seemed that people weren't so familiar with it, so we put the Mexican first, which people knew,” Maurisio Bara says.

Times have changed, according to Bara, with the Latin American dishes cooked by Maria the most popular on the menu. Added to the fact there are a lot of Mexican restaurants on this side of town and that he and Maria decided the time was ripe to pursue their original dream and make the Latin American food the star of the menu.

“We have some traditional Spanish dishes, but we also have menu items like 'pepian', which is the national dish of Guatemala. It's pork ribs with a thick sauce based on seeds like sesame and pumpkin, dried chilli and spices. Then we have a pork belly in chipotle, a 'fondue' in a clay pot with fried beans and three cheeses from Honduras, Colombian empanadas and fried plantain with skirt steak and salsa. From Peru we have papa a la huancaina; sliced potatoes with a yellow sauce of chilli, cheese and milk as well as Peruvian seco de cordera - a lamb stew cooked in spices, onion garlic and coriander.”

The wine list dips further south, with representations from Chile and Argentina in addition to Spanish drops. After a minor refit, Maurisio and Maria are opening the doors Friday, August 30, and will be open for lunch on Saturdays and dinner Tuesday-Saturday.

Villa Maria, 561 Brunswick Street, New Farm, Brisbane.