A Taste of Cuba

WORDS: PHOTOGRAPHY

El Patio de Cuba is the second restaurant for owner Harley Amies who also owns The Cuban Bar & Dining in the Oracle precinct, Broadbeach.

El Patio is inspired by the original party island of Cuba; famous for delicious cuisine inspired by Spain and the Caribbean.

 

“El Patio is at the forefront of the culinary movement taking place on the Gold Coast,” Amies tells ORM. “Surfers Paradise is up and coming and has always been a tourist hotspot but with great new offerings popping up everywhere in Surfers it’s clear that the locals are heading back. We have a lot of guests from the northern side of the Gold Coast and this location is ideal for them and it’s just a short stroll across the bridge for Isle of Capri residents.

 

“Our inspiration is 1950’s Cuban so we’ve used yellow, blue and rich wood textures. We wanted a contrast to Broadbeach where we used more red and black. There’s more greenery and foliage in El Patio.”

At the heart of the kitchen lies a beautiful piece of high-tech steel. Often found in the top restaurants in Spain, El Patio is proud to be the first restaurant on the Gold Coast to house the Josper wood fire oven, which uses the same method of traditional Catalan cooking over hot coals. It allows simultaneous roasting, grilling, pan-frying and smoking. Temperatures inside the oven can reach up to a whopping 500 degrees Celsius, but it imparts delicate, subtle smoky flavours and succulent tastes.

 

The fully stocked bar is also impressive here – you’ll find no less than 70 varieties of rum. “We offer a tantalizing rum experience where our guests can taste a range of rums from all over the world,” says Amies. “We had a lot of fun inventing cocktail names which sit alongside classic Caribbean Punch and Sangria.”

The cocktail list pays homage to Cuba with names including El Presidente (which features Kraken spiced rum), Che Guvera (featuring Gin) and Fidel’s Rebels, (eaturing Havana Club 7 rum).

 

 

 

“Steaks from the Josper oven are amazing and have been flying out of the door. They’re succulent and tender with an amazing smoky finish,” says Amies.

 

El Patio – all the details…

Located: Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre.

Open: 7 days, 11am – late. Starting breakfast soon.

Seats: 90.

Website: www.elpatiodecuba.com.au

 

Bookings: 07 55383099

IG: @elpatiodecuba
FB: /elpatiodecuba