Villa Maria

VILLA MARIA  HAS PERMANENTLY CLOSED AS OF 2014

Take a food odyssey through South America at Villa Maria, the colourful Brunswick St sibling of the popular Camp Hill restaurant of the same name that has been keeping eastern suburbs residents nourished Latin American style for years.

Congenial owners Maria and Mauritio have put their skills to work here into a menu of hearty soul food that encompasses traditional dishes from Peru, El Salvador, Chile, Guatemala, Argentina and Colombia, complemented with a wine list from Spain, delicious house sangria, sherry and Spanish beer.

Starters at Villa Maria are designed to share, with standouts the Piquillo (red peppers crumbed and fried and filled with goats & cream cheese and mushrooms), the El Salvadorean Yuco con Merienda (boiled cassava covered in diced pork & cooked with onion, capsicum, onion and mint) and from Peru, Tiradito – julienne-sliced ceviche with Aji Amarillo sauce and corn kernels.

Mains include Churrasco Argentino (BBQ prime sirloin with chorizo and Brazilian potato salad), Pinchos pollo (succulent grilled chicken skewers marinated in paprika, oil and garlic) and the must try Pepian – a national Guatemalan heritage dish of slow cooked pork with a special blend of spice and rice, based on the ancient Mayan tradition of cooking with ground seeds.

Need to know: Villa Maria is open for breakfast on Saturdays only – pop in for ranchero eggs like you’ve never had before, caramel milk crepes, Nopal (cactus), onion and tomato omelette or a Mayan breakfast of taco or tortilla with fried beans, egs, chipotle sauce and sour cream.