Lamaro’s Bodega has had a Spanish/South American revamp! Inspired by the Spainards and their flair for communal eating the team now dishes up smoky pork, lamb and beef from its own free-range farm. The gorgeous Cecil Street building remains but the menu is completely different.
The team wanted communal, and who does communal better than Spainards and South Americans? Sam, the venue manager, noted that all produce is sourced within Victoria and a lot of it is local to the South Melbourne area. The seafood, for example, is sourced straight from Port Phillip Bay. This may cause concern among some but it was easily the freshest seafood I’ve had in a long time.
Dishes are designed to be shared and portions are generous. Make sure to get your hands on the rack of lamb. It’s ‘yummo’ which must surely be the highest of all accolades. This is particularly so when you’re matching it with a splash of Lamaro’s wine. On the night I stuck to a South American Pinot which matched perfectly for me.
Surprisingly, for a meat establishment, the Koo Wee Rup asparagus was another highlight of the evening as was the Tarago olive oil. The olive oil comes with a story too. Its proprietor was a pilot with Singapore Airlines for 40 years. On a flight he died for a minute and a half in the air (!) and decided life was too short. He decided life was too short, left, started his olive oil company and hasn’t looked back.
Lamaro’s Bodega is committed to ethically sourced meats and recycles all its food waste. I almost took a vegetarian to the evening which may not have been wise. I’m sure the Bodega team can cater for all tastes but there’s no hiding that the meats are their show stoppers, and the team is doing what it loves.
– Rukmal
Rukmal (Ruki) is The Plus Ones’ Managing Director. He looks after the marketing, technology, and finance areas of TPO and loves nothing more than analysing data and optimising campaigns. Okay, perhaps building a global digital media company is a touch more interesting. While he rarely writes articles these days, preferring to leave it to our incredible staff writers, he can occasionally tap his right brain.
