Gloria’s cafe in Sydney was originally a burning passion from when the owner, Gloria Belinha, immigrated to Australia in 1983. A few short years later, in 1988, Gloria’s Restaurant and Cafe sprung to life as a result of this burning passion and the desire to bring the home cooked tastes from Portugal to Sydney. On the 8th of August 1988 (8.8.88) as a single mother of 4 children Gloria opened Gloria’s cafe, to cater for the Portuguese community. Slowly the Australians were introduced to the Portuguese flavour and today Portuguese food is well known and appreciated.
“When we couldn’t find a cafe in Petersham I decided that’s where we should open one,” Gloria recalls. Building the brand and reputation wasn’t always easy but the overtime, the word got out about the traditional Portuguese style dishes and cooking and the rest is history. Over the years, Petersham grew to have the largest concentration of Portuguese immigrants in Australia and is often referred to as ‘Little Portugal’. One of the more traditional Portuguese menu items is known as Bacalhau, which features prominently on our menu. For those who aren’t familiar with Bacalhau, it is actually salted cod. Back in the day, inland Portugal wasn’t able to get fresh cod so the trucks used to bring the cod in but had it salted to preserve it and to ensure it didn’t go off in the back of the truck. As a result you have quite a large population that was brought up on Bacalhau (salted cod) and we want to bring those flavours and authenticity to Sydney. Why not drop by and try some of our fresh, authentic tastes and catch up with the Portuguese locals who can regularly be found having a meal, our delicious Portuguese Tarts or a coffee and catching up with friends and family.
