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Henley’s Hot New Restaurant & Bar Opens Its Doors (& We Have The Scoop)

Goodbye Zootz, hello Malobo. You’re everything we hoped you would be.

Goodbye Zootz, hello Malobo. You’re everything we hoped you would be.

Freshly recovered from our weekend exploits, we joyfully discovered our newest local venue opened its doors today. The much-anticipated sister business to newly-launched Hermanos Cubanos Cuban sandwich bar (right next door), and Swedish Tarts (across the road), cements the Vanzati family firmly as founders of the new-look Henley Square and its new-and-improved food and beverage offerings.

Malobo Henley Beach

One whole side of Malobo opens on to the Square, giving diners amazing views of the beach and outdoor space

The newly renovated Henley Square

The newly renovated Henley Square

So what’s the deal you ask? Well imagine the old Zootz, and then scrub that from your memory forever. This is nothing like that. Bright and airy with views of the ocean from every angle, this 100-capacity bar offers casual dining by day, and once its soft-opening period is over at the end of February, will also operate as an entertainment venue (hello wine bar) by night.

Malobo Henley Beach

Mattis Vanzati and his brother Lukas recently launched Hermanos Cubanos in the Square several weeks ago, much to the delight of locals and visitors to Henley alike. With that venue rolling ahead with gusto, Lukas has now taken over operations there, freeing up Mattis to manage Malobo while their mother Louise heads up the Malobo kitchen along with with Nida Norclyff (who was previously whipping up delights at Swedish Tarts).

If you can’t wait until the grand opening later this month, you can head in now between 6:30am-4pm daily to enjoy the delicious all-day menu, the Fair Trade Organic coffee and the incredible shakes and smoothies. Just keep in mind that there’s some amazing artwork on its way, a full bar and more. There’s even a solid kids menu, which outdoes pretty much every other venue we’ve checked out of late.

As per usual, I sacrificed my waist line for you, and ate three breakfasts today in order to give you the scoop on what delicious things are on offer.

The best part of the food on offer? Louise has written all the recipes herself, and after years in the industry being the creative genius behind the fab food at Swedish Tarts, we know we’re in for a treat. And if you’re wondering how she keeps coming up with such creative dishes? She dreams about food. We’re not even kidding. Louise keeps a notepad by her bed, so when she wakes up with delicious inspiration, she can jot down her notes and serve up her dreams on a plate (lucky us!).

Malobo Henley Beach

Malobo Henley Beach

Malobo Henley Beach

This colourful number is the buckwheat turmeric crepe, rainbow salad, sauerkraut, egg, tahini dressing and black sesame. It’s pretty much as amazing as it looks, but as a bit of a pickled vegetable fiend, I would have loved a slightly stronger flavour from the sauerkraut. Given that I ate it for breakfast though, I think it hit the spot, with a fantastic blend of flavours and textures. It’s as fresh as it gets.

Malobo Henley Beach

Malobo Henley Beach

If you love a little sweetness in your day, make sure you try the blueberry ricotta hotcake with blueberry compote, pure maple mascarpone, roasted almonds and flowers (of course). It’s heaven on a plate.

Malobo Henley Beach

If you’re a coffee fan, Malobo is a dream come true. With Free Trade Organic Coffex coffee in the grinder, plus single-origin beans from different regions rotating for our drinking pleasure, you have your pick from some damn fine options. Throw in cold-drip for those hot beach days, plus more non-dairy milks than you can poke a stick at, this venue basically caters for everyone. There’s also a broad selection of teas, including homemade Russian Babushka spiced iced tea, and old lady grey, orange and ginger spiced tea.

The smoothies cater for the health crowd, with a pure & green option leading the charge. You get a healthy dose of avocado, kale, Lebanese cucumber, spirulina, apple and lemon to kick start your day. A power smoothie offers up peanut butter, banana, almond milk, oat bran and pure maple. Good for all those gym types out there we’re guessing. Our drink of choice comes in a cocktail glass though, so we’ll just have to wait until the end of the month to see what else this local gem has in store for us.

Malobo Henley Beach

Check out Malobo on Facebook for their updates on the progress of the venue and the new opening hours once it properly launches.

What: Malobo Cafe & Bar
Where: Seaview Road, Henley Square, Henley Beach
When: 6:30am – 4pm daily until their official launch at the end of Feb when hours will change

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