Team behind Nour and Aalia to open tapas bar in Bondi (with a hatted chef in the kitchen)

When Besa opens on Sunday, March 1, Bondi’s newest tapas bar will feature a hatted chef in the kitchen and an interior that resembles a set from a Pedro Almodovar film. Besa’s owners will be hoping it becomes a bright spot after a tough summer at Australia’s most famous beach.

Besa is the latest venue from ESCA Hospitality Group, which has upscale Sydney Middle Eastern restaurants Nour and Aalia in its stable (including the also new Aalia wine bar), along with Japanese bar-restaurant Joji and charcoal chicken joint Henrietta, one in Surry Hills and another in the Bondi Hall Street Hub precinct Besa is joining.

Besa slides into the space where Pasticceria Papa previously traded – next door to fellow newcomers Salumeria and chocolate bar Cocoa & Bean – opposite Harris Farm and busy Da Orazio.

It’s the second Spanish restaurant to open in the suburb in recent times. Late last year, Hotel Ravesis, on the corner of Hall Street and Campbell Parade overlooking the beach, launched Alzado.

Besa squeezes 65 seats into a tight space of “moody” red tones, spotted gum timber, circular booths and a ceiling where architect Matt Darwon installed deliberately torn acoustic panels. “They look like flowers,” ESCA co-founder and creative director, Ibrahim Moubadder, said. He remembers Bondi as a young immigrant, in particular its cool optimism and cutting-edge restaurants, and as the birthplace of food brands such as Oporto and Fishbowl.

Inspired by the tightly packed venues of Spain, and Madrid specifically, Moubadder said they set out to create a high-energy place (yes, there is a DJ on weekends) with food at the core and cocktails inspired by the Spanish novel Don Quixote.

Besa, which means kiss in Spanish, has a double act in its kitchen. Executive chef Ibrahim Kasif, who snared chefs’ hats at Nour in Surry Hills, worked with head chef Alan Kropman on Besa’s opening menu. Moubadder remembers his first taste of the fideua negra of squid ink egg noodles with grilled chicken and aioli during recipe testing, and recommends it as a great example of what Besa is about.

“The raw beef carpaccio with white anchovy and goat’s cheese is like a little flavour bomb in your mouth,” Moubadder said of another dish.

Kasif enjoyed the collaborative process with Kropman, who he described as of great pedigree, having worked at restaurants such as Sean’s Panaroma in Bondi. Kropman impressed Kasif with a dish of blue mackerel and Spanish pickles served on butter leaf. “It’s good drinking food,” Kasif said.

Besa will skip a dessert menu, opting instead for a couple of rotating daily specials, with Basque cheesecake, crema Catalana and churros in the mix.

With its grown-up speakeasy vibe and mid-century touches, Besa is a little left-field in a suburb that more regularly leans on a straight-off-the-beach coastal design brief. “It does feel like a film set,” Kasif said.

The opening comes as hospitality operators look to attract more Sydneysiders back to the suburb. Moubadder said he had witnessed the effect of Bondi’s horrific December shooting on local businesses first hand at Henrietta, which opened in October on Hall Street. He’s also concerned for other operators in the area who are observing a sustained drop in trade.

While Moubadder doesn’t envision the level of chain expansion enjoyed by Bondi success stories Fishbowl and Oporto, Besa might one day have a sibling. “I would love to have another, maybe in the city. I can imagine it in a laneway,” he said.

Open lunch Fri-Sun; dinner Tue-Sun

75-79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, esca.group