MamaMia and I were hungry, it was 9.45am and we were driving around the North Shore in search of food. She stopped in front of Delicado Foods in McMahons Point and pointed at the striking red and black facade. “That’s the place I was telling you about, it’s always full. Always.” It was music to my ears and to our stomachs as we sauntered up to the front, past the rather impressive looking wine shop (it was only 10am so we bypassed it), through the deli, past the small but pretty courtyard to find a seat outside. We both grab a cushion (and why don’t all cafes have lovely cushions to rest against?) and take a look at the menu.
The deli section
Courtyard area
We’re looking at the breakfast menu as well as their extensive beverages menu. There is a range of teas and coffees as well a Bloody Mary section (only available after 11am!) which is a Virgin Mary where you can select the range of spiciness you want from the mildish Siesta to Running With The Bulls for what sounds to be an extreme chili hit. There’s an Adults Only coffee called Cafe Carajillo which is a black coffee with a shot of Spanish Brandy on the side ($14) and it is another after 11am item. Sadly since it’s early, we miss out on these but we choose a couple of coffees and the churros for breakfast (would this qualify us for extreme eating?) and something I completely butcher when pronouncing called the Huevos al plato al modo de Avila.
Cafe Canario $4.50
Our coffees arrive first. I’ve ordered the Cafe Canario which comes out layered. Did I mention the reason why I ordered this? No? It’s the layer of sweetened condensed milk lying under a shot of black coffee. It’s intense and sweet with the strong black coffee shot and sweetneed condensed milk combining to make a thick, sweet syrup.
Leche Manchada $4.50
The Leche Manchada is essentially a reverse macchiato. Literally translated it means “stained milk” and the menu recommends it for lovers of weak brews of which MamaMia definitely is. She’s a fan of this and tips the tiny cup of coffee into the foamy milk to stain her milk.
Churros con Chocolate y Dulce de Leche $14
I touch the churros and they’re thankfully warm. There’s a wodge of Dulce de Leche on the side and a generous serve of chocolate. There are 6 crunchy churros in the serve which are generously sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon but I don’t really like the bitter chocolate which seems a bit watery to me and prefer the Dulce De Leche (although that’s a no brainer as I love the stuff).
Huevos al plato al modo de Avila $18
The plate of the baked eggs with chorizo, potato, sofrito and sourdough toast is a lovely sight full of colour and causes the woman at the table next to us to exclaim that it looks lovely. We dig in and it’s very good although I would love some more chorizo (again no surprise there, I adore the stuff). The bread is much softer than a sourdough though and quite light but it matches well when buttered and eaten with the sofrito laden slightly spicy eggs.
As we pay I see the RCA award on the wall and recall where I had heard of them. Reem and I had attended the Restaurant & Catering Awards recently representing the amazing Perama restaurant (and yes of course Perama won the Best Greek category and yes we had to go up on stage to accept it, a rather knee knocking experience!). Delicado Foods had won the Best Tapas award at the recent awards beating out names such as Bodega, Emmilou and Subsolo. At the time I had turned and said to Reem “Who?” as I’d never heard of them. I shall now consider myself happily informed.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you a fan of Tapas and if so, do you prefer traditional Tapas dishes or the more experimental Tapas dishes?
Delicado Foods
Shop 2/134 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9955 9399
http://www.delicadofoods.com.au/
Open Tuesday-Sunday for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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43 Comments | Add your own
I love Tapas, both traditional fare and some of the more experimental offerings. There is just something so satisfying about a table laden with food that one shares with friends and family- That way I get to try a little bit of everything!!
The churros look very nice… mmmmm.
A Spanish place in Australia…I see tapas and churros with chocolate more dulce de leche this is my favorite…I know it’s fried but, from time to time, is worth to enjoy them
Lovely store!
Cheers!
Gera
OMG Churros my absolute favourite.
Dulce De Leche? I could cry seriously! My first trip to Spain about 16 years ago I remember vividly tasting my first ever Dulce De Leche – the custardy silky indulgence of it. It’s a memory that will never leave me me. The postcards I was sending home from my two week holiday of Madrid, Salamanca, Valladolid, Santander, quick ski in Andorra and then to Barcelona – not about the amazing sights and experiences (and there were many), but of the FOOD.
Gambas ala plancha – paella, and I remember a particular cavern bar in Madrid where we had many a racion and ‘canyas’ some huge mushrooms that stuffed with chorizo and a white wine type bechamel, topped with breadcrumbs and grilled. Amazing. To this day I’ve never had tapas to rival it.
I vow to take my hubby to spain one day, not only to relive these beautiful culinary experiences but to show him what ‘real’ spanish food is like. I can’t wait.
Woohoo this is one of my favourite weekend spots!
Ohh didn’t know they have that condensed milk heaven in a glass. Churros with Cafe Canario next time!
Were you hanging out with THE MamaMia aka Mia Freedman? That would be like my two fave blogs combined!
After just returning from 2 weeks of Spain, this looks like heaven. I will be there this weekend…
I LOVE proper tapas but hate the imposter tapas that is being served at so many places these days.
Dulce de leche and condensed milk – yum!!! I do like tapas of any variety, and MoVida in Melbourne is a favourite.
The churros look nice and firm and, I’m glad to hear, HOT! But what I’m really taken by is the eggs…so much sauce for dipping. Perfect late morning pick-me-up in my opinion.
Fantastic! I’ve often driven past this place. I’m definitely trying it out now.
baked eggs! (: one of my favourite food to have when I’m out! those look yum!
OM gosh when I read your post I thought you meant the north shore of Oahu Hawaii and wondered, hmmm, have we missed something great? Anyway,thank you for sharing your most interesting experience and awesome pictures! Aloha and God bless, Wes
What a lovely courtyard! I had to do a double take on your incredible-looking coffee…so simple, yet so fantastic! I will definitely try to recreate that at home!
It all looks soo good! Love reading your blog, you open my eyes to so many different things to eat here in Sydney
Tapas… never done it and really really want to!!!!
I’ve never had tapas before…sad, I know. So many things I haven’t experienced yet!
Churros…oh yum…need some…right..now..
hehe
Thanks for telling us about this place, Lorraine. While McMahon’s Point is a bit to far for me to travel, I’m sure I’ll get there eventually…I’d love to try tapas at Delicado Foods
This is tres cool! I luv how I never know where we are going to go every day I open up ur site =)
What a great post – Delicado is one of my favourite places for brunch!! I dragged my boyfriend out there one day and we had a great time, now we keep on going back. Ben, the co-owner / sommelier, is very knowledgeable about Spanish and Portuguese wines & spirits, we bought really good manzanilla. Also, Delicado stocks these really funky chocolates from Barcelona-based chocolatier Oriol Balaguer (formerly at El Bulli). Not cheap but really interesting!
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-choco27jun27,1,7728908,full.story
http://www.oriolbalaguer.com
The layered coffee with condensed milk sound very neat! I’m love tapas and definitely love all the new experimental stuff!
Oh yum!
I used to work just up the road and would pop down for their delicious mochas… but I must say I never ate in. Now I’m regretting it – that egg/chorizo/tomato dish looks to die for.
Amazing place and amazing breakfast! Those coffees are so luscious looking and the churros – well, I could eat them all day. What fun!
Is that similar to coffee jelly? I have been lusting after spanish/mexican food since…. I can’t remember, this most has me so witty…..
I love chorizo too, so I KNOW I’ll love that Huevos al plato al modo de Avila! But I’m not sure abt churro and hot chocolate…I’ve had churro before and it already was sweet enough for me, much less with hot chocolate!
Hi NQN!
I have been reading your blog for almost a year now (!!) and absolutely love it! I wish I had your life, and amazing culinary skills.
However, I was wondering something. I hope this sin’t too personal of a question, but how do you stay healthy and maintain your weight with all of the delicious food you get to taste? Do you simply “sample” many of the beautiful things you feature on your blog, or do you have a stict exercise regimen? I often wish I could indulge in as many fabulous food as you do but fear that my waistline would suffer greatly! Any tips or advice would be great
Lena
i don’t know if i’m a fan of tapas in general, but i’m a huge fan of churros. in fact, i’d be willing to become huge if it meant i could eat all churros all the time.
Looks like a great spot. I’ve never heard of Leche Manchada before – probably because it is the opposite of how I like my coffee!
Yep, I’m a tapas fan, providing the price is right. I like a mix of traditional and experimental. My willingness to experiment increases with affordability of dishes
A non-asian place that serves espresso with condensed milk, brilliant find! I love the concept of tapas wherever it’s found, yum cha, there used to be a Thai yum cha in George St, fusion French/Japanese tapas, Greek yum cha/ mezzes down south, any excuse for tiny tasting plates of goodness – maybe I’m just greedy, I always want to try everything on the menu and tapas is the perfect excuse!
What a cool little place. That breakfast looks fabulous. I’m really enjoying your posts, glad I found your blog.
oooh yummmmmm bakes eggs…I really need to find a decent recipe for them. Or, just head to my local, omerta for their version!
hehe m loving the deli section!
would love to have a Cafe Canario!! thats a great place lorrein 
Ya’ll had a true SA style breakfast! You can’t go wrong with churros and dulce de leche! Have you ever had migas?
It’s a great place…I tried to get you to go along last year!
Strongly recommend you try it again in the evening when the weather warms up a little…as it’s nice to sit outside in the courtyard
That Cafe Canario looks so good! And churros with dulce de leche? I’m with you on that one
i’m hoping to one day venture over to try this place. i actually went to school with the owner. he’s doing very well for himself now.
Yum – I used to work on Blues Point Road – I wish this place had been there then….
Any tapas are good for me as I love sharing (aka trying other peoples food!). I do prefer if their experimentation doesn’t take them too far away from Spain though.
Another place to add to my “Where to go in Sydney” list. I’ve had Spanish eggs from a cafe in Richmond and I thought they were delicious, but I’d love to try these ones…and churros!
Yet another place to add to my “When in Sydney” list. I’ve had baked eggs at a cafe in Richmond (stingy with bread–what was I supposed to sop up the sauce with–and I think only 2 pieces of chorizo, though it was delicious. Can’t wait to try this one. Can I get to there from the McMahon’s Point ferry terminal?
I adore Tapas. Ive been here but i didn’t eat (wish i had). The wine shop is great, we bought a LOT of wine and loved it all. Really quirky labels from independent aussie winerys. Will be heading back there for a feed without a doubt.
Was at this restaurant yesterday and must say VERY Disappointed awful awful service by the “manager” shame because at other time had a good time there…
Hi sandra-Me too!
Absolutely, food is best shared!
Hi Anita-They were!
Hi Gera-Yes definitely worth it occasionally!
Hi Katherine-They’re great!
Hi Liss-Haha yes! I have a lovely memory of my first DDL along with first real truffle. Oh you’re meant to be food blogger I’m convinced!
Hi Yas-Oh cool! Hehe yes definitely do!
Hi Blanche-Haha really? Aww you are so sweet but MamaMia isn’t Mia F
Hi Vita-Oh fantastic! I’d love to know what you think!
Hi Gastronomy Gal-There is a lot of bad tapas isn’t there!
Hi Cakelaw-I’d loveto go there! I keep hearing about it from Tomatom
Hi ms délicieuse-Yes nothing worse than cold churros! The eggs were oh so good!
Hi Syrie-Wonderful, I’d love to know what you think of it!
Hi Lianne-Hehe that’s great! They were really good
Hi wes-Haha I wish!
Thankyou so much!
Hi Faith-Yes I want to try and make something similar
Hi clekitty-Thankyou so much! You are too kind!
Hi Tara-Oh really? Oh you must!
Hi Liv-Wow, well it’s fantastic stuff!
Yes somewhere to go one day perhaps!
Hi Brianna-Aww thankyou!
Hi Myriam-Great isn’t it! Ahh that is great to know re the wines. Next time I’ll definitely check out the chocolates-they look intriguing!
Hi 5 Star Foodie-It was so good and I’m sure could be done at all to great effect
Hi A Girl Called E-Ahh well when the coffee has condensed milk in it it’s a great choice!
Hi Jamie-It was lots of fun I have to say, good company and good food!
Hi April Marie-Ahh no really (I love coffee jelly!)
Hi sophia -Hehe I have to say I preferred it best with the sweetened condensed milk!
Hi Lena-Ahh wonderful, thankyou for being such a loyal reader!
Hehe not at all, it’s the hardest bit about being a food blogger. The rest is easy (a piece of cake if you’ll pardon the pun). If I know I have a nice dinner coming up I’ll eat less for breakfast and lunch. Doesn’t always help but it does a bit! 
Hi grace-Hehe yes well they’ve got cinnamon!
Hi Conor-Haha I see!
Fair enough, value for money is always important!
Hi Moya-Yes that’s true! It’s usually associated with Asian cuisine! Haha I’m like that too!
Hi Lea Ann-Thankyou so much!
Hi Reemski-Hehe that might be easier!
Hi nora-It’s great isn’t it!
Hi Blond Duck-Cool! No I haven’t, what are they? I must look them up now as I’m curious!
Hi Wayfarer-Oh yes you did! Yes all of these wonderful north side places!
Hi food.4.two-Hehe good stuff! I would love some now in fact
Hi Simon-Oh you should especially since you know them!
Hi Jen-I love sharing too
Haha yes sometimes it is just small plates of a cuisine but you don’t know what!
Hi Vanessa-That’s great! Yes I’d love to go back and try more things
Hi Vanessa-Hmm good question! I should think so as it’s the right ferry area although I’ve never caught the ferry! I hope you like it
Hi Bam-I’ll definitely pass that onto wine loving friends! That’s very cool indeed
I hope you like it!
Hi Nevarra-Aww no what a shame! Service can really ruin a meal can’t it!
Chorizo sold here are the best ever. Sold in Argetinian & Spanish versions, made in mild or spicy variants.
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