Latino House

Burger… Latin American food… burger…Latin American food. I think that bounced back and forth in my head for 13 minutes and 4 seconds whilst standing there on Magill Road in St Morris. The intention was to eat at Burger Foundry but I had missed eating some good authentic Latin American cuisine and so in to Latino House we went.
The lady who ran the restaurant, Helen, was very warm and friendly and made us feel so very welcome. We got handed our menus and sat down.
A lot of what is on the menu is very familiar to me. I had eaten and cooked this kind of cuisine for close to 10 years of my life. I was getting very excited!
It was a hard choice to pick what we wanted to eat and were worried if we were biting more than we could chew, so after a short discussion and some help from Helen we chose our food to share.
She did advise us that the food may take a little longer than usual as she was working on her own due to the chef having to go overseas at short notice.
CHICHARRON CON YUCA
This was two cooked pieces of cassava covered with a traditional type of salsa and crispy pork belly. I love cassava! It’s white, it’s fluffy and has a texture similar to that of cooked parsnips. The pork wasn’t over seasoned, just the perfect hint of salt. My only peeve with this dish was there were a few pig hairs sticking out of the pork skin.
BANDEJA PAISA
This plate consisted of two chorizos (as Helen couldn’t find the ground beef), frijoles which is refried beans and crispy pork served next to a pile of rice, two fried eggs, white corn cake and plaintain (maduro). For anyone who doesn’t know what plantain is, its similar to that of a banana but you’d only really ever eat it cooked. Don’t be scared about the sweetness of the plantain with the savoury components of the dish, it really is an amazing flavour combo.
The rice, although looked plain was in fact very flavoursome. The chorizos tasted like the homemade variety and were very lean and had a delicious intense pork flavour. Frijoles were also delicious.
Once again I had one peeve with this dish. The avocado was mottled brown. For me, the flavour of it was still good, but my Mum felt hers had an unusual sourness to it. Helen did apologise for the way the avocado looked.
On the side we had a simple salad which really lifted the heavy carb load of the dishes.
For a drink we decided to order the Aguapanela with lime. WOW!!! Honestly if you want to order drinks at this place, I suggest you order this drink. It’s not too sour nor too sweet and is just beautifully refreshing.
Just before leaving I decided to order a tamale to take away. Although the menu states Tamales, you only get one. Don’t be concerned about that though, they are quite large and very filling. I haven’t made tamales Salvadoreños in a very long time and this Colombian version’s smell just brought so many memories back. It’s very similar in smell, taste and that its also wrapped up in banana leaves. This brings a flavour dimension that will leave you wanting more. It really is hard to explain the flavour and textures of a tamale in a review without me writing a mini novel as I am just so passionate about these little parcels of deliciousness. So feel free to come on down to Latino House and order one for yourself.
All in all I think this place is pretty good. There were a few things that needed room for improvement but I would still come back and eat here again as I felt like I was eating back at my ex-​mother in law’s place having a home cooked meal.

Filled with passion and strong coffee if this place was human it would be a newly born Colombian baby and I would just squeeze its little cheeks so hard!
Ok so they don’t seem to have spoons for their coffee (yes that is a paddle pop stick in my photo), and the entrée dish of sweet corn arepas with cheese and more cheese wasn’t brilliant but I totally love the potential this place has.
With a wonderful selection of traditional latin american frozen and pantry items as well as home dried peaches on the shelves this would be a great place to pick up some very traditional items for a south american feast with friends.
You really can’t be vegetarian or vegan and enjoy yourself here though. So if you like pork and chicken or chicken and beef or pork and beef served in an arepas, empanada or as a meatball then definitely head here and order any of these and you’ll only be set back $ 10. It’d be awesome if they started serving Sth American booze on their list too, but I know that’s a whole bigger process to get licensed!
The coffee is fair trade and strong, and the atmosphere is bright and welcoming, I will definitely be returning to give this place a try for a proper lunch or dinner with friends.

I happened to chance a visit to Latino House by accident as my partner and I were catching an early movie session and wanted a quick bite. I initially wanted to try Maiz and Mazcal in Magill but alas it was closed! But we walked pass a curious little joint which was opened in the evening and the Colombian style menu piqued our interest. So we took a seat and a friendly female wait staff/​cook promptly took our orders. It was an interesting menu and my companion choose the meatballs and I had a platter which contained a bit of everything: beans, a fried egg, a bit of meat (?), cornbread, something like a fried banana, sausage and rice. My partner asked if the meatball was a decent size as he was hungry and the waitress said it should be enough. When the food came out, we both enjoyed our meal but my hungry companion was not fully sated so next time I suggest a hungry diner to order some sides but for me, I was satisfied with my portion size. We also ordered the 100% fresh fruit pulp which was freshly made and came out after our meals — but since there was only one person running the joint at the time, it didn’t really bother me. On the flip side, each main was from $ 10 – 15 a pop and a good bargain for something tasty, unique and quick! Make sure you pay them a visit if your in the area, the columbian-​style coffee looked good so thats next on my list!

Dinner, with an entrée and a coconut water for only $ 19? I certainly am one happy camper!
I popped in for dinner with a friend on a Monday night — when a lot of places don’t seem to be open.
We were the only ones there for a while — which made us sad as we felt that this cute little place needed to be shared with everyone, but it began to fill up after 7.
The basic little café /​grocer is a fantastic addition to the area, with a range of delicious products and dishes available.
The décor is eclectic and a little retro, allowing you to feel at ease — like you’ve just popped in to visit your grandma (…mind I never feel at ease visiting my granny… she’s so judgey… but that’s for another time!)
The staff (well on this visit, one lovely waitress) were attentive and helpful, making suggestions from the menu.
We ordered the Pasteles De Pollo (chicken, rice and egg filled pastry) as a shared entrée — two pasty shaped treats, with one being plenty each, served with a tasty salsa. They were yummy — featuring a non over powering flavour which allowed them to be perfectly paired with the salsa.
I ordered Arepa Con Carne — slow cooked shredded beef infused with a Colombian style salsa, served on a large corn cake with salad.
My friend ordered Colombian style meatballs. Both dishes were delicious — unique from anything that I had tried in the past, simple but wholesome and very tasty!
You can’t beat the price either — her meal was $ 10 and served with rice, mine was $ 12.
There was plenty of food and though I was tempted for dessert or a slice of cake — all priced around $ 4 — $ 5, I simply didn’t have room — alas I will have to return again soon!
Oh and BONUS — their coffee is fair trade — yay!