A popular Eyre Peninsula pop-up is becoming a permanent second home this spring, with award-winning Port Lincoln favourite Santi’s announcing that Coffin Bay is here to stay.
After initially opening in the coastal town for just a couple of months over the busy December and January period, Santi’s will return to the same Coffin Bay site from mid-September following a short winter break and a series of upgrades to the venue.
The move comes after the pop-up proved far more popular than expected, with locals, tourists and plenty of familiar Port Lincoln faces flocking through the doors.
For co-owner Jay Fajardo, the Coffin Bay venture is a chance to take everything they have built in Port Lincoln and explore a new side of their cooking.
“We went to Coffin Bay last year and ran the same menu we had at Santi’s Port Lincoln because it was such a short window and we needed to get everything going quickly,” shared Jay.
“The locals responded really well. We got to meet the community and a lot of the operators there because Coffin Bay relies heavily on tourism. It was funny because a lot of my Port Lincoln customers were travelling to Coffin Bay anyway. After all, you can’t beat the view.”
The original plan was to fill an empty hospitality space while its owners searched for a long-term tenant. But after two months, the team decided to keep going, eventually running the pop-up through to the end of June.
Now, Santi’s is getting ready to make the leap and become a permanent destination. The kitchen and back-of-house areas are being upgraded to handle the volume experienced during the pop-up, including the installation of a proper cool room after the team relied on a mobile version during its first stint.
“We’re doing renovations at the moment to make sure it’s operational and can handle the volume we experienced last year. The number of people coming through was incredible. We were struggling to keep up,” said Jay.
While the Coffin Bay restaurant will carry the same Santi’s identity with Australian ingredients paired with bold Southeast Asian flavours, diners can expect an entirely new menu.
“This time around, we’ve developed a brand-new menu for Coffin Bay. It’s still going to be heavily focused on seafood, as you can imagine being in Coffin Bay, but we’re also leaning more towards Mediterranean flavours while still keeping those Southeast Asian influences.”
The change is another opportunity for the Santi’s team to experiment beyond the Sichuan, Thai and Filipino flavours that have helped establish its reputation.
Jay says a must-try will be the scorched prawn crudo. “It’s a cross between how they prepare crudo in Spain, but it also takes inspiration from Thai raw prawn salads. It’s got a really interesting mix of flavours.
“We’re also doing a braised lamb shoulder that’s inspired by Taiwanese braised beef, but we’re pairing it with things like labneh and cardamom-flavoured maple syrup. That’s another one of my favourites.”
The Port Lincoln restaurant was recently named South Australia’s Best Regional Asian Restaurant by the Australian Good Food Guide for the third consecutive year, really making a name for itself as one of the state’s standout regional dining destinations.
Since opening in April 2022, Santi’s has built a devoted local following by showcasing Eyre Peninsula produce through the lens of Jay and his wife’s love of Southeast Asian food.
Neither had a background in hospitality. Jay was working in software sales, but, as he puts it, he “spent a lot of time down Peel Street eating and drinking.” The idea for Santi’s came after the couple holidayed in Port Lincoln, fell in love with the region and saw an opportunity to share the kind of food and hospitality they enjoyed at home.
“We just wanted to share what we do and hope people liked it,” Jay said.
Four years on, Santi’s has become a local institution. Now, the Coffin Bay venue offers the couple another space to experiment, evolve and surprise diners.
“We wanted a venue where we could express ourselves in a different way,” Jay said. “We change our menu every six months in Port Lincoln, so this gives us the chance to experiment, push boundaries and keep surprising our customers.”
Santi’s Coffin Bay will reopen September 15th, and if the pop-up was anything to go by, the Eyre Peninsula’s newest permanent dining destination is likely to be very popular.
Santi’s Coffin Bay
Where: 61 Esplanade, Coffin Bay SA 5607
When: Opening September 15th
For more information, click here.
To read more about Santi’s, click here.
