New Noosa wine bar Bar Rosi serves Basque-inspired snacks on Hastings Street
A slice of San Sebastián has arrived on Hastings Street. At Bar Rosi, Spanish technique meets Australian heart, with a menu built for long afternoons and electric evenings incorporating everything from croquetas to cava. Take a peek inside …
When it comes to powerhouse promenades, few high streets in Queensland can match Noosa’s Hastings Street in terms of prestige and popularity. The strip has long been home to some of the Sunshine Coast’s best, from long-heralded culinary institutions to boundary-pushing operators.
Belmondos Group straddles both camps. The hospitality outfit has been present on the coast for years, delivering Sunny Coast mainstays including Tanglewood Bakery, El Capitano and Doña Cocina Mexicana, to name a few.
The crew has been active recently, relocating El Capitano to Hastings Street in 2024 and expanding its portfolio last year to include Perigian Beach pizzeria Delilah and, most recently, Bar Rosi – a Spanish-inspired wine bar that made its debut in June.
Taking over the site previously home to Japanese-inspired fish-and-chips spot Mahi Mahi (next door to El Capitano and underneath Doña), Bar Rosi sees Belmondos Group responding to a gap in Hastings Street’s offering while also shoring up its own Noosa enclave.
“There’s nothing really on the street which represents modern wine-bar dining, so that’s really where we wanted it to go,” says Belmondos Group executive chef Matt Woodhouse. “We wanted to also get away from that takeaway aspect and make our restaurants a precinct.”
Bar Rosi cuts a chic figure. The team has swapped Mahi Mahi’s grey-heavy aesthetic for one that is rich in colour and vibe, from the slender blush-hued bar to the plush patterned banquettes outside.
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“We wanted that chef-to-customer interaction to be a key focal point of what we’re doing,” says Matt. “The idea is people just walk in, sit at the bar, talk to the chefs and create this one-on-one real experience.”
Bar Rosi looks every bit the modern European wine bar, which tracks, considering the offering is infused with Spanish inspirations.
“It’s Australian at heart, but Spanish in technique,” Matt explains. “I’ve got a big background in Spanish cuisine, so we decided on a by-the-beach, Basque-leaning menu, but wanted to have that Melbourne wine-bar feel to it as well.”
Matt tells us that Bar Rosi’s menu, though concise, will be ever-changing. Pinchos-style snacks and small plates reign supreme, with the kitchen team turning out smashable dishes that serve as ideal pre-dinner appetisers. That said, if you are more than peckish, snacks can be mixed and matched with larger plates to create a satiating feast.
“We use a hibachi grill, which cooks different pinchos like grilled skewers and octopus and all that sort of stuff,” says Matt. “We do little bocadillo sandwiches, which are renowned in San Sebastián. You can just pop in, grab a wine, grab a snack.”
Other highlights from the snacks menu include caramelised leek and manchego croquetas, sobrasada doughnuts topped with whipped ricotta and honey, and mussels on grilled focaccia with harissa. As for larger plates, there’s beef tartare with whipped bottarga, wood-roasted carrots with hazelnut romesco and txistorra with butter beans and peppers.
“We’re also going to activate our laneway, so people can use it as a hangout,” Matt reveals. “We’ve got a spit roaster down the back and some big paella pans, so we’re going to be doing live activation and outdoor dining as well, which is going to be really, really cool.”
Bar Rosi’s beverage program has been designed to complement the food offering, matching the Spanish-style culinary beats with a wine list that can match the fare or stand alone if you’re only visiting for a glass or two.
“Spanish with flair was our MO,” explains venue manager Trudy. “It’s all those European grapes that you know and love. Juicy, sexy, delicious and drinkable – paired with food or without.”
Though most varieties are covered, drops like shiraz or sauvignon blanc have been exchanged for drops that boast a similar profile but follow Bar Rosi’s Iberian inspirations. You’ll spy garnatxa, rioja, monastrell and cava alongside Sicilian rosato, Mornington Peninsula chardonnay, and orange pinot gris from Victoria.
“The wine list is very much an education in teaching people about other grapes in the world,” says Trudy. “I’ve got a grape varietal that’ll give you exactly what you’re chasing – it just goes by a different name.”
With limited space for shaking tins, Bar Rosi’s cocktail list keeps things classic and simple. Most concoctions are pre-batched and dispensed with speed, without a dip in quality. There’s the likes of martinis, negronis, margaritas and gimlets, plus five kinds of spritz to match the sun-soaked setting.
“We’re a very small, intimate space, so it was about what I could pre-batch and execute consistently,” reveals Trudy. “It’s going to come out the exact same way on the other side over an ice cube – it’s still the perfect expression of that cocktail.”
Bar Rosi arrives at a time when the Sunshine Coast dining scene feels like it’s entering a new era. While the region’s long-established favourites continue to draw crowds, a new crop of operators is broadening the conversation with more relaxed formats, adventurous menus and destination-worthy wine programs. Belmondos Group sees Bar Rosi as part of that next chapter.
“We just want to make the food scene better, to be honest – a lot more accessible and exciting,” says Matt.
You can find more info on Bar Rosi in The Directory.
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