Having looked at the menu online, we went with an assumption that this was a tapas restaurant and that we’d probably want to order around half a dozen dishes to share between the two of us. However, the server advised that, even though some dishes were classic tapas, they were all in full size portions and three would be enough to share. This threw us a bit and we needed a rethink to whittle down our original thoughts as to what we might eat.
They’ve written the menu differently from many places. It’s not split into starters and mains or hot dishes and cold dishes. Or meat and fish. But dishes are grouped by the Spanish region from which they originate. So, you could, if you wished, have a Canarian meal, picking all three dishes from that section. But this is what we settled on.
Russian salad – classic tapa of chopped hard boiled egg and vegetables mixed with mayo. We also ordered bread which was handy for mopping up.
Morcilla – black pudding from Burgos. The town is known for its quality black pudding, in the same way that Bury is known for English black pudding. Morcilla is different from a Brit pudding – less fat, the inclusion of rice to lighten it and a little background sweetness. These were thick slices topped with caramelised onion and were delish.
Patatas bravas – possibly the best example of the classic dish that we’ve eaten. Crisp roast potatoes, topped with a lovely tomato sauce, spiked with chilli and a dollop of mayo.
And, yes, the three dishes were enough, although had there been a salad on the menu, we’d have ordered that as well to make for a more balanced meal.
We did have room for dessert. A Basque style baked vanilla cheesecake. No biscuit base with these and quite a dense texture. And not cloyingly sweet. Seems to be increasingly popular on both British and Spanish menus – this was the third we’d eaten in recent months having never previously heard of it. A chocolate dessert came in a jam jar. In the bottom, a layer of tangy raspberry sauce, topped with a ganache of 70% chocolate. Sweet but with that slightly bitter backnote you get from this sort of chocolate.
Coffee to finish and, like most places round here, it was excellent.
Service was friendly and very much on the ball. And full marks to them for not attempting to upsell more dishes than the suggested three. A place to go back to.
