naked for satan, fitzroy: pintxos & vodka

It was a cold and rainy spring afternoon when we decided to get Naked for Satan...

naked for satan

But for 50-cent pintxos, it's worth the trouble. Hell yeah.

introductory lunchtime special - 50 cents per pintxo. how good is that!

The curious name is an ode to Russian immigrant Leon Satanovich, who, legend has it, operated a vodka distillery in this very building during the Great Depression, and would strip down to just his underwear when working under extreme temperatures. For those in on this clandestine operation, the code phrase "Let's get Naked for Satan" was born. Good story, hey?

So what are pintxos? Apparently they're Spanish bar snacks - think mini tapas, but (usually) served on bread. These are secured with a toothpick, hence the name pintxo, or pincho, which literally means spike. You select the ones you want, buffet-style, and pay at the end of the meal according to the number of toothpicks collected. Drinks are ordered and paid for separately at the bar.

There was a good variety of cold pintxos at the counter - scallop on green pea puree, rice ball, mussels, crumbed eggplant on blue vein cheese, smoked salmon, field mushroom on carrot mash and more. From time to time the staff would also come by our table to offer us hot pintxos such as cheese and chorizo croquette (the only pintxo we had that came without bread), whitebait with aioli, and chilli and fennel sausage. We got ourselves a generous assortment of pintxos, all of which were packed with flavour, and I also tried a delectable green apple and cherry infused vodka. Yum!

pintxos and vodka at naked for satan

The pintxos here are normally $2 a pop, which I would say is a reasonable price in Melbourne, and at 50 cents they are a steal. Simon declared that if it were possible, he'd buy fifty dollars' worth of pintxos to bring home and eat them over the next three days! We also liked the decor of the place - adorned with the recovered distillery equipment, it was very industrial chic. Naked for Satan left us both very satisfied and I am sure we will return again for more.