Once upon a time, visitors willing to venture down a CBD laneway and up a steep staircase were rewarded with Latin food, music and wine at Vamos. Now, after six years in the city, the team are christening their new home on Brunswick Street. Vamos was founded by four friends hailing from Mexico, Columbia, and Australia. Whilst the four owners aren’t blood related, Vamos feels like a family business that will embrace you, tell you stories, and welcome you into the fold. 
The ‘family’ style of the business is evident in the food, with dishes including house-made chorizo and homestyle meatballs. Vamos executive chef and co-owner Iliana Hernandez grew up in Cuernavaca, Mexico with an extended family lovingly preparing meals from scratch. After working as a head chef at a Mexican restaurant in Tokyo for two years, Iliana moved to Melbourne and began exploring our city’s rich food and wine scene. 
Vamos offers visitors a medley of Latin flavours influenced by Iliana’s culinary experiences. There’s crispy Mexican tostadas topped with octopus, chorizo, or baby hearts of palm, Spanish patatas bravas, Argentinian chimichurri pork ribs, and Peruvian chili sauce drizzled over Portobello mushrooms. The dishes we sampled were cosy and warmed our bellies on a cold, dark Melbourne night. However, the food was in keeping with the tapas style of the menu, with nothing too dense or heavy. Ex. the marinated pork ribs were surprising delicate and easily paired with a white wine and the croquettes were crispy on the outside and with soft, creamy béchamel on the inside. 
We suggest visiting Wednesday to Sunday for live music and wine pairings. Brazilian singer Dany Maia and her band perform every Thursday at Vamos and Wednesday nights are Spanish wine tasting nights with drinks matched to favourite dishes. The rotating schedule of entertainment also includes Flamenco, Latin classics, Cuban Son, and a rumba band.
Stop by Vamos and say ‘salud’ to a welcome new addition to Brunswick Street.
– Jenny
Jenny Schmidt is an event adventurer. When she’s not attending live shows, you can find her sampling the latest craft beer or sipping a creative cocktail.
Vamos
366 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Tuesday – Sunday
vamos.net.au
