Is Melbourne finally ready for a new wave of Latin American food? We’re about to find out

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Celebrity chef Alejandro Saravia is set to open Morena and the less formal Morena Barra in the swanky 80 Collins area next week. Here’s what to expect.

When Peruvian-born chef Alejandro Saravia opened his contemporary Peruvian restaurant Morena in Sydney’s Surry Hills, In the early 2010s“The market wasn’t ready,” he told Good Food, which closed a few years later. It was, he thought, too far ahead of its time.

In the years since, the market has changed as more Australians travel to Latin America, absorbing its diverse culture and cuisine, and as restaurants there have gained global acclaim.

His reincarnation Morena Opening at Martin Place, SydneyIn April this year, Got a hatNow he is preparing a similar project in Melbourne, near Morena Restaurants and Morena Barrawill open next week at 80 Collins.

Saravia – Executive Chef The Farmer’s Daughter and Victoria by the Farmer’s Daughterwhich used to be Peruvian Restaurant Pastuso – hopes to set a new standard for Latin American food in Australia, expanding diners’ minds and paving the way for other chefs.

At his tiered Morena restaurant, the focus will be on Latin American ingredients and presenting the region’s various cultures in creative ways. “We don’t serve traditional dishes, nor do we serve dishes inspired by traditional dishes,” Sarabia explains.

On Morena’s menu are rib-eye steaks, spanner crab tacos and a butter lettuce salad with cucumbers and shallots.Simon Schluter

His excellent black mole, which he has been crafting for years, is served with dairy goat, morita chili sauce and nasturtiums. Another dish features ullucus, an Andean tuber similar to potatoes, served two ways: one in a creamy, smoky puree and the other in oil.

Drinks are representative of Peru too, with cusquina beer and plenty of pisco, available in tasting packages or cocktails like the signature sour, made with blood orange syrup and oloroso sherry. There’s also a bright purple mocktail based on chicha morada, a drink made by boiling Peruvian purple corn with pineapple peel and cinnamon.

“We don’t serve traditional dishes, nor do we serve dishes inspired by traditional dishes.”

Alejandro Sarabia

The restaurant’s ground floor has cobblestone floors and a chef’s table surrounds an open-fire kitchen. Curved features, including a slender staircase leading to the main dining room on the second floor, add a touch of elegance.

Next door, the bar Morena Barra is less formal and more casual, all rustic wood and burlap, with whirring fans overhead that evoke a Latin American cantina.

Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche with Aged Soy Stock, Daikon Radish, Aji rocoto, White Radish and Wasabi Leaves.Arianna Legero

Ceviche is a focal dish. The menu shows how the dish differs from country to country, so you can start with a traditional Peruvian ceviche made with tiger milk (a spicy citrus marinade), followed by a Colombian-style prawn ceviche in a savory “clam” sauce made from tomatoes and clams.

Other tapas include Abrolhos scallops with aji amarillo chili butter, Parmesan cream and lime; and charcoal-grilled ox tongue kebab (Peruvian kebab).

Morena Restaurant and Morena Barra will open on Monday, September 2. Reservations are being taken now.

Morena restaurant is open from 12pm to 3pm and 5:30pm to late Monday to Saturday; Morena Barra restaurant is open from 12pm to late Monday to Saturday

71 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, morenarestaurant.com.au/Melbourne