Casa Iberica

This place is a gem! It has everything you could possibly want or need for Latin inspired cooking and then some.
They have huge bags of dried chillies-​anchos, pasillas, chipotle… which is one of my favourite things about the store. They also have an incredible range of hot sauces that you can’t find elsewhere.
The deli is pared back but has all the key cheeses and salamis, and a great selection of olives. They also have a chiller with local cheeses, including Meredith feta. You can pick up something for lunch too, with beautiful empanadas on offer.
In the freezer cabinet, they have a selection of frozen seafood perfect for paella and you can also pick up huge paella pans while you’re there.
We really love this deli and recommend it to everyone-​and you absolutely must try the Portuguese custard tarts-​you won’t get better!

Okay, so it’s wise to plan before you visit. I always allow myself about ten minutes, just to navigate the store before i get overwhelmed in the amount of awesome this place holds. Once, you’ve got an idea, you can grab fresh bread rolls to be made up with fillings of your choosing at the deli, read multiple option. Or take home some empanadas for later. Cheeses and small-​good products are available to order as you would at any other deli. Great outlet for hot sauces, salsa and a myriad of other ingredients.

Great place to find everything you need to make a South American dish! I can’t live without adobo!!! I use it in everything!!! Reminds me of home and these guys have been here for yonks! All the Latino community shopped here cause they do bring South America to Fitzroy — Gracias!!!

Oh Jamon I love you so.
With olives and bread
and a little wine on the side
you’re the kind of porky treat
my stomach must abide
Oh queso I love you so.
From the mild to the blue
the funkier the better
I’ll eat you every day
and just get feta and feta.

Cool little deli type store with the best authentic chorizo going around!

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of hot sauce, so I had to restrain myself from buying every variety after stumbling upon Casa Iberica. After poking around at all the latin american delights, I took a deep breath and settled on some hot sauce, spices, a big fat jar of jalapeños and some fresh corn tortillas from the fridge section (yep, way better than flour). Looking forward to cooking up those bad boys for dinner tomorrow!

On Johnston street you will find a place called the Spanish Club. Truth be told this is not where the Spanish really is. A few doors down you come across a food store of low light and maddening scents permeating from it. THIS is where the Spanish really is.
Casa Iberica is where I come for all my Spanish spices and herbs. Smoked Paprika in wicked little tin cans yes yes. Custard Tarts yes yes. Herbal Teas ye yes yes.
Everything else is also of the Spanish bend. Cooking pots and equipment to make all the delicacies you’ve heard about. The prices for all these bits is cheap in terms of the spices, though the equipment is the quality you’d expect to use for more than a week, so are a little on the investment side.
The people found behind the counters are helpful to all the unsure cookers of food like myself, and will help with recipes when they can.

Casa Iberica = the house of Spain and Portugal.
I would always walk down Johnston and see this quirky little store and always say i would venture in, and i’m glad i did. I now frequent the store when i need to make tacos, chilli con carne and what not, this is the store to make your cooking taste much more authentic!
I love to mix things up in the kitchen now; herbs, spices, mexican /​spanish ingredients. Where do i find these? Casa Iberica!
I also love the fact that the place is still family run and has been handed down generations of family, ask the staff what you need to make your meals have a little more oomph!

Today I was schooled in the intricacies of chorizo by a jaded but very informative ten-​year-​old boy in Casa Iberica. It was a humbling — and exceedingly educational — experience.
From the outside Casa Iberica may look like a jazzy Mexican restaurant but inside lies Spanish/​Portuguese/​Latin American foodie heaven; all row upon row of different preserved peppers, more dried spices than you can shake a — cinnamon — stick at and the kind of deli section that would make Coles verde with envy.
But today I was looking for one thing: chorizo. Glorious Spanish sausage. It turns out that in a shop as well stocked and specialist as Casa Iberica the choice is not that simple.
Firstly there was a decision to be made between soft, semi cured and dry chorizo. Once that was made there was an option of mild or hot. In fact there were so many chorizo variables that I had to sequester said small child working behind the deli counter to seek his advice. Which was excellent.
Amazingly knowledgable service, an excellent selection of specialist food, and great spices all conspire to make Casa Iberica my new favourite Melbourne grocery store.

I’d been curious about what lies within Casa Iberica’s colourful walls for years, but not being much of a cook I never had need to visit. So when a friend announced we were having a taco-​making day, I jumped at the chance to go and find authentic Mexican ingredients…
I found many, many strange and wonderful things in Casa Iberica. I have no idea what half of them were, but I loved the colourful labels. They stock food from Spain, Portugal and all over South and Central America. I told the lady I was looking for authentic Mexican things for tacos and she was very helpful — I ended up leaving with pickled jalapenos, frijoles, refried beans, multiple unidentifiable sauces of varying levels of spiciness and some Colombian coffee, just for good measure…
The result of this haul was the best home made tacos I’ve ever had! Of course, I’ve never had tacos in a Mexican home, but that doesn’t count. Anyway, even if you’re not in the market for weird and wonderful Spanish foods, Casa Iberica is worth a visit — it’s way more fun than a regular deli.

When I heard an American girl lamenting Australia’s lack of black beans in Coles the other day, I was proud to be able to point her in the direction of Casa Iberica. It’s heaven for anyone wanting (or NEEDING) good quality Spanish ingredients — or simply looking for a larger range than any supermarket can offer. Old El Paso, be damned.
Yes, there are cans of black beans here. There are also excellent quality corn chips, fresh tortillas, a HUGE range of hot sauces, tinned everything, dry legumes, meats, pastries, sweets, coffee, tea, fish… and it’s not a big shop, so it’s all piled high around you. It’s easy to spend some time looking around here.
The prices are a little higher than the supermarket for a lot of things, but the quality is good and the staff are lovely and are a lot of help, too, so you don’t mind. There is a $ 15 limit on eftpos though, so take some cash along. And check the opening hours as it closes earlier than most food stores.

I’m like a kid in a candy store when I come here. Hanging sausages, big tins of olive oil and rows upon rows of mystery items that beckon to you from the shelves.
I love making my way through the different cheeses on offer, ordering a few grams to taste and experiment with before coming back and ordering the next. The sheep’s milk cheese with the obscure name I can never remember is delicious. If you ask someone there about it, I’m sure they’d be happy to steer you to the right one.
They also have every type of olive you can image, and every type of nut you could ever want. Pickles, beans, drinks of all kind, sweets, snacks and spices are just some of the things on offer. And let’s not forget the traditional kitchenware you can get here too, including everything you need to make paella, of course.
Prices are quite reasonable, but the danger is you may get carried away with all the bits and piece you want to try and end up spending more than you think. Well, at least that’s what always happens to me.

I love Latin food. And that is sometimes a difficult order around here.
I love to cook. There are lots of grocers, so I can cook easily.
Cooking Latin Food? Hmmmm.
Enter: Casa Iberica. Tons of imported cooking foods; sauces, dried beans, pimientos (capsicums, but way better spiced). Tons of cured meats; chorizo, jamon Serrano, bresaola. Tons of marinated olives, peppers, dolmatas, cheeses.
Even if you don’t have an affinity for that style of food, it’s worth popping in once in a while to grab some new flavors to experiment with.
You can even get a cheap sandwich ready made for lunch, or a delicious empanada. Go on, Pruébaloooooo (try ittttt)!