Bondi restaurant and cocktail bar, Luis Tans, is celebrating its first birthday by welcoming new chef duo Leandro Legname (ex-Bridge Street Garage) and Sean Andrews (ex-Tetsuya).
The pair has created a light, fresh menu that combines South American and Asian influences, paying homage to co-owner Raul Gonzales’ Peruvian heritage and head chef Legname’s love of Japanese cuisine.
“I’ve gathered my knowledge and experience from past years, working with really good chefs all over the world and using inspiration from dishes that made an impression on me, to create this menu,” said head chef Legname. “We’re putting different cultures and different recipes together in one dish – that dish that makes you say, ‘I never thought about that.’”
Dishes include scallop and salmon tiradito ceviche with yuzu juice and chargilled corn; crispy skin pork belly with ginger, coriander, and black vinegar; the ‘LT Bowl’ – a quail egg, charred corn, farro, pico de gallo, guasacaca and cashew sour cream; and a chargilled Tomahawk steak with sesame greens, jasmine rice, chimichurri, and chipotle butter. Desserts include traditionally made churros, and Akemi’s pearl – a crystal-clear raindrop cake served with mirin caramel and roasted soybean flour.
The casual, shared food is matched with South American wines, Pisco sours, rare Japanese whiskys, 18 year old Nicaraguan rum, mezcal and signature cocktails, amidst a colourfully retro, eclectic backdrop of contrasting design elements.
Luis Tans is run by Gonzales with co-owners Ryan Ginns, Nathan Joliffe and Shane Moran. Quynh Van Nguyen (previously bar manager at China Diner), who recently joined the team, is set to re-launch the cocktail list later in the year.
