Bar Olé, Iluka

If Spain is one of your favourite holiday destinations, is on your bucket list or you just like Spanish food then head on down to the northern suburbs newest eating place – Bar Olé!

It’s the latest venture for local hospitality gurus, Ryan and Nikki Esqulant, who own and operate the very successful Hillarys Beach club at Pinnaroo Point.

Bar Olé! is easy to find on the upper deck of the Iluka Plaza – just look for the life-size red bull guarding the entrance. After a public competition, the bull was named MIGA (Make Iluka Great Again).

Olé! is the equivalent of bravo! in English and is used in Spain to praise a performance in bullfighting or flamenco dancing and latterly a good game by the Spanish soccer team.

Bar Olé! is principally a tapas bar. It has a wood fired grill. Fresh West Australian produce is used as well as a few Spanish imports such as El Capricho anchovies from Cantabria.

Featuring seventeen tapas on the menu, including the restaurant’s signature dish of Anchoas de Olé (anchovy on bread with manchego cheese – $8 each) as well as Abrolhos scallops, pickled peppers and the iconic Serrano ham, the menu includes larger plates of ribeye ($58), and jerk chicken ($36) in addition to fish and pork loin.

My husband and I ordered four tapas – Pan Fresco ($12), Croquettes de Jamon ($21), Chorizo al Vino ($18) and Gambas al Ajillo ($28).

The Pan Fresco had five slices of freshly sliced bread accompanied by a very good Gingin olive oil and balsamic mix. Perhaps overpriced but certainly tasty. The grilled chorizo in red wine with lemon was excellent – we could have eaten a dish each! The ham croquettes (Croquettes de Jamon) were crisp, had a good flavour and were covered in Manchego cheese.

Our only disappointment was the garlic prawns (Gambas al Ajillo). Firstly, I felt that $28 for four prawns was not good value, but the prawns themselves lacked flavour, with hardly a whiff of garlic. However, when providing feedback to co-owner Nikki Esqulant, she assured us that she would pass on our comments to the chef and that Bar Olé! was keen to find the right flavour profile that suited locals.

Head chef Nico Renzi brings expertise from several high profile Western Australian restaurants including the C Restaurant, Bread in Common and Vasse Felix while Damien Hey, lately arrived from working in Spain, leads the front-of-house team. Servers and bar staff were all efficient, friendly and happy to answer questions about the menu. Orders are taken at the bar and food is delivered to the table.

Décor is subdued elegance with lots of brick, mirrored glass, wood and leather. The black industrialised ceiling fits in well as does the beautiful wood on the bar. Seating is mixed with low tables (very close together) along one side, high tables, round tables and a long table as well as bar seating at the actual bar and at the window, which has views over natural bushland and glimpses of the Indian Ocean.

The wine list leans heavily on Spanish wines such as Rioja and Albarino and also promotes a few good WA drops. Beer is available in bottles, cans and on tap. Spanish Estrella beer is on tap as are several Australian beers and the inevitable Guinness.

Cocktails looked interesting and on a night out with my friends I would definitely be ordering the Mango Margarita ($22) or the Pavlova Passion ($21) but the Signature Sangria ($17) also looked interesting – what the heck on a girls’ night, we would probably try them all…

So come along and give Bar Olé! a try – it’s the nearest you’ll get to sunny Spain in Perth. Viva España!

Address: Iluka Plaza, 98 O’Mara Boulevard, Iluka WA 6028

Phone: 0412 770 332

Reservations: Yes

Opening hours: Seven days 11am (Kitchen opens at 11:30am) until late

Gluten-free options: Yes

Vegetarian options: Yes

Restrooms: Clean and accessible

Parking: Free parking on the top and bottom deck of the Iluka Plaza but it can get busy at peak times

Website: www.barole.com.au

About the Author
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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.