Casafuego Eatery & Bar (literally “fire house” in Spanish), in a building that used to be a fire station. Mexican cafe/restaurant. I took these photos January 28 and didn’t get around to blogging. Balclutha, South Otago, New Zealand.
Text by Liz, photos by Liz; Exploring Colour (2019)
Exploring Colour 
Nigel and you discover the most unusual places to dine, this one is no exception! Of course, I must ask if the cuisine was equal to the divine decor? I really like the photo of Nigel that shows his reflection in the mirror! Quite some years ago, there was an old abandoned firehouse that was transformed into a restaurant in a neighboring state. My then young children loved to visit, not for the food, but due to the vast display of old fire equipment all about the rooms. Sadly, the place burned to the ground…absolutely true story! Thank-you!
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The food is reliably fantastic (like the lychee dessert cake I featured recently) and their mains are equally great.
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It may be a ‘fire’ house, but it looks like a really cool place to eat!
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Very. They do a tasty steak which is delivered super-sizzling hot to the table.. quite dramatic on arrival!
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Looks like a fun place to spend some time and have a nice meal.
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Sure is!
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Cool decor; a place that would be fun to visit!
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Absolutely! Easy place to relax in.
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I love seeing all of these quirky decorations. It is always fascinating when a building is repurposed like this former fire house. I would love to have a loft space in a former factory or some other interesting old building, though the reality is that I live in a townhouse community where all of the homes are pretty much the same. I especially loved the colorful animal paintings. Were they done is watercolor or acrylic? I can’t quite tell if they are prints or originals, but they are definitely cool.
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I would think they’re prints. My feeling is that they’ve approached the decor very creatively while keeping a firm rein on costs – which makes sense in a rural town like Balclutha where the number of potential customers is limited (compared to a city like Dunedin). I hope they do well, it’s a real boon to have a neat place like this in Balclutha.
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I had to look on the internet to figure out where Balclutha is and learned that it is halfway between Dunedin and Invercargill. I like trying to get a sense of where the places are located geographically that you mention in your posts.
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We allow about an hour and a half to drive to Invercargill from where we live. Gore is also south – about a 30 min drive. Balclutha is more like 50 mins and its on the way to Dunedin. A trip to Dunedin is the best part of two hours, say an hour and fifty mins from home (depends on the amount of traffic/trucks).
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Looks like they had real fun decorating that place, even the sconces look like faucets.
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They’ve done a great job! It used to be an Indian restaurant, dark inside, and the transformation under this owner is remarkable!
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