bravo barulho
Ray McVinnie finds a tiny place making a big noise in Parnell
Barulho — a Portuguese word, pronounced “barule-yo” and meaning noise that often has connotations with parties and celebration.
The first time I went to Barulho it was a warm autumn Friday night. The trademark, long, brass-covered table extended out on to the street, the nearby trees were strung with lights, the place was bustling, with chef/owner Sarah Ginella turning out delicious tapas and entrees and co-owner, chef Nico Mendez, on the street, tending a huge seafood paella. The music and wine were good and I was reminded of lazy evenings in restaurants in Buenos Aires and Spain.
Barulho describes itself as a “Euro-Latin bistro bar”, which ticks all the boxes for me. It is a tiny establishment tucked away in leafy Faraday St in Parnell. Like all others who set the trends rather than follow them, no one is serving food like Sarah and Nico, let alone in a place so evocative of the relaxed restaurants and tapas bars in the little streets that run off the Ramblas in Barcelona.
It is not mere novelty that makes me return to Barulho, it is the credentials of the chefs and their food. I know that at Barulho I will eat handmade meals prepared by two experts with many years of experience and with a knowledge of delicious cuisines not often encountered in Auckland.
After her training, Sarah did a stint at the legendary Quaglinos restaurant in London in the 90s, so got a crash course in European ingredients and dishes that were only vaguely being acknowledged in New Zealand at the time. She worked and lived in Barcelona, was chef at the British Embassy in Uruguay for a couple of years and returned to New Zealand to be chef at one of Auckland’s first Spanish influenced restaurants, Rocco. This was pioneer territory back then as Kiwis hardly understood the concept of tapas, shared food to eat while talking and drinking — a concept that has since become completely familiar (to the point where we now just about share every meal in a tapas-like manner when we eat out). Her partner Nico, a Uruguayan, trained with Argentinian celebrity chef Francis Mallmann (who features in the Netflix Chef’s Table series) and worked at a luxury hotel in the small town of Garzon, which Mallmann is accredited with revitalising.