Story

Our love of all things Spanish started when my wife and l enjoyed our honeymoon in Spain in the Y2K. It was the first time we had travelled to Spain and although I have some Spanish bloodlines deep in my family, we were immediately hooked and fell in love the place. We dined, devoured and consumed Spanish cuisine from all over Provincial Barcelona, meandering through the cobble laden back streets and even dined at little eatery frequented by Picasso. 

We would be drawn into restaurants by their counter top Tapas range and then spend the entire night eating and drinking and watching the parade of tourists walk by. Our dreams back then as we just started to join our lives together and after experiencing the taste of Spain was to replicate that experience and open a Spanish restaurant offering the types of culinary experience we had been exposed to. 

Unfortunately, life, a mortgage, kids and pets got in the way. Fast forward fifteen years later and I left my corporate role and convinced my wife to leave hers and we opened our first restaurant in a heritage listed shop on Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. We chose Hawthorn because we are locals and maintaining the proximity and the balance between our new passion and our kids’ school, friends and family was very important. 

The build lasted 9 months and we converted an out dated retail jeans store, with no kitchen and amenities to a gem of a ‘front and centre’ kitchen style contemporary eatery. I wanted the kitchen and preparation area in full sight of our customers, just like the ones in Barcelona - not hidden away. We believe you need to see and experience where the magic happens. We paid homage to the arch features of the existing floor plan and adopted every aspect of our architects plans, down to the imported tiles and tap fittings. 

Our vision at De Barcelona is to bring the taste of Spain's famous churro to Hawthorn in a new and innovative way. We offer a range of products from the plain sugar coated Traditional Churros to imported Spanish delicacies. We have also added our new Savoury Spanish Regional cuisine accompanied by our imported selection of Spanish wines and beers to our menu. 

We pride ourselves on the freshness and high quality of our products and want nothing more but to share our love for Spanish Cuisine with our customers, what you eat at our cafe is what we cook at home for our family. Our home based recipes are tried and tested, if our kids won’t eat it, we won’t serve it on our menu. 

Aside from offering a modern twist on an ancient treat we endeavor to stay true to our original dream of creating the European eating experience and our products are sourced from local Australian suppliers. We have lived in Hawthorn for over 18 years and support local community groups and are a frequent supplier to local charities and school groups. 

We hope you visit our restaurant and enjoy the Spanish experience. 

Sam & Dee Aldemir 

Owner and Founder