Ola! We were very excited to be a part of this new establishment’s opening launch in the heart of the Adelaide CBD. We knew and heard a lot of good things about La Taberna well before their soft opening. It’s a fun place to be with lots of delicious food on offer and what is a Latin American restaurant without over flowing tacos and margaritas! Oh and tequila, obviously.

Easy to spot with their neon pink sign on the wall, we were greeted by the amazing hosts from Girl About Town PR. We hastily made our way to the bar to get ourselves some personalised margaritas from our favourite bartender and some aperol spritz because we knew the line up was inevitably going to get longer the later it got. The DJ was already playing fine tunes which made the dance floor even more irresistible to test out. We heard that dancing was on the agenda later on in the night, what a fun way to end a hump day!

Moving forward to the food, we were treated to a delicious variety of canapés including jalapeño wrapped in speck and melted cream cheese, vegetarian tacos, and best of all was their grilled cheese corn! It was truly an amazing explosion in the mouth! I would attempt to re create this dish at home but I will save myself some time and just go back to La Taberna to have them. So so good!

Miguel Sa delivered a very informative yet short and sharp speech. Mentioning the fact that they are not limited to Latin American cuisine but will also introduce some of their heritage which is Portuguese with a little twist of Spanish, Argentinian and even Cuban.

The duo co-owners Rosa and Gaspar Sa are a wife and husband, as well as the head chefs behind the bar and kitchen. We had the opportunity to try their amazing paella made right infront of our eyes.

Taking its name from a Spanish word, ‘La Taberna’ translates to ‘bar’. It symbolises a place where you go with your friends and family to eat, drink and have a good time which is exactly what we felt. It was fun with great food and great company. We couldn’t ask for a better night out in the city.

La Taberna will play in-house Latino music during the week, and on Friday and Saturday it’ll bring live Latino entertainment to the venue. It’s also set to make Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican salsa nights a thing! We were actually treated to a dance lesson from some of the fun staff that evening so it’s definitely something we would like to go back to. Sign me up please!

La Taberna will open Monday to Sunday from 11am until late. The kitchen will open for lunch and dinner 12pm–3pm and 5pm-10pm. The bar will remain open until late on Friday and Saturday.

Words and Photos by Dee Pene from Adelaide Food Authority

WHERE: 281 Rundle St, Adelaide