Easily one of the best tapas restaurants in Greater Manchester, Levanter has a great drinks menu…read more(vermouth, sherry and Spanish beer available as well as a solid and inexpensive wine menu, including a very drinkable white rioja) and an appealing selection of food. We enjoyed everything we had, namely the chorizo with honey, pig cheeks, sheep's cheese (great chutney), Galician octopus, liver, and boquerones (exquisitely flavoured). Service was excellent, very swift and attentive. Can't wait to go back and try sister pinxto bar Baraxturi!

When Neil C. said to me 'We're going to go and eat 1kg of steak' I grabbed my keys and ran to the…read moredoor. A short drive away in Ramsbottom lies Lavanter - a specialist tapas and small plates eatery so good that just being inside the place makes you feel like you're holidaying in the Basque region of Spain. It's really lovely. The restaurant is small, but that's what I like about it. To start we ordered a mixed seafood platter and some mixed olives - both outstanding. For the main course we did in fact order 1kg of beef. We chose our steak from a plate brought to us by the chef. He explained where the beef had come from, how it was raised and how he's going to cook it for us. It was cooked, as it should be, rare and seasoned and served on the bone. We also had some padron peppers and a tomato salad to accompany it. I can't fault the food here at Levanter, the service or the experience. If only every restaurant was like this and cared about their food as much as these guys do!

Lovely relaxed restaurant with delicious tapas. Identified…read morethis restaurant from the reviews online and I was very pleased with it. It was a Tuesday night and it was about half full. The service was attentive and friendly. Decor was simple and the atmosphere was nice and casual meaning it is suitable for families, couples, friends or solo. The tapas was delicious. Between two if us we chose 4 dishes which was about right but probably could have squeezed in another. Unfortunately they didn't have some of the items on the menu having had a problem with deliveries that day. The bill came to about £35 and we'd had 4 dishes, one pudding and 4 alcoholic drinks which I thought was very reasonable.

Went here last night and it was great food. We went for a set menu which was tapas and also paella…read more Not sure about all the names of the tapas dishes but they included meatballs, seafood salad, potatoes with tomatoes/salsa, diced pork, sautéed mushrooms, breaded crabclaws and paprika chorizo. About 12 tapas dishes into total plus the paella. Set menu was £16.50. If you don't want paella, its about £2 cheaper. The only problem with tapas is that there are so many dishes, you always run out of space quickly. You have to quickly eat dishes so you can make room for others. The food came very quickly. Good job as we were all hungry. The paella came about 40 minutes after we ordered - a good sign that it was cooked from scratch. Overall a very good evening. It was very busy and a group were actually sitting on the tables situated in the sort of "lobby" area at the bottom of the stairs near entrance (and near the entrance to toilets). I assume they were given the option if they wanted to sit there. I have heard El Rincon is very popular and you always have to book a table. There is quite a bit of football memorabilia on the walls and, as Emma-Louise H has also mentioned, I have heard that Manchester United have visited in the past. El Rincon is actually not situated on Deansgate as it has been mentioned on some places. Its actually on a small dark street parallel to Deansgate - which you could argue looks a bit dodgy especially when it was all dark and wet last night - typical Manchester rainy weather!! El Rincon is not the easiest place to find and I would imagine doesnt get much passing custom.

The 2014 winner of the 'That's not how I expected it to be inside' award definitely goes to El…read moreRincon. Had it not been for the trusty map app we'd probably have struggled to find it, (it's on the corner of Longworth Street, which is off St Johns Street, which is off Deansgate...). Head through the doors and you descend stairs that resemble a London Tube station's with a central hand rail. At the bottom, a small replica of Picasso's 'Guernica' painting is high above you, with a traditional-looking tiled restaurant sign on the back wall. Turn a corner and you're met with a cavernous space, double height ceilings and a huge bar (where you can sit and eat at as well). I'm certainly glad I booked as it was very busy and throughout our meal there was a constant stream of customers (some 'winged it' and were seated where they could find space, one small group ended up sitting in the entrance area!). We could tell it was a popular place so were looking forward to getting stuck in. As a group of seven we didn't need to trawl through the menu as we had a choice of two set ones (opting for the slightly more expensive, but we got two extra tapas dishes plus a paella; and it was only £2 per person extra). Jug of sangria poured, the first of fifteen dishes started to arrive (I'm not going to list them all so don't worry), but lots of tapas faves were included, as well as some I hadn't heard of before. I thought pretty much everything was delicious (though still not convinced by artichokes...). As I've said a few times now I love shared dinners, so tapas is perfect. We all really enjoyed our time here and I'll certainly be back again for more.

The Tapas Bar is fantastic, nice atmosphere and food to die for. My partner & I just love it. The…read moremenu choice is immense and nothing is too much trouble for the staff. It beats the likes of La Tasca and La Vina in Manchester hands down and is a million times better than La Mancha in Rochdale and The Rake in Littleborough. The only downside I can report is that I'm getting engaged on 2 Dec 14 and we wanted to come to the Tapas Bar for our meal and you are closed :(. Will have tto come down on Friday now! Keep up the good work love Wendy & Paul :)

We've been here quite a few times, but the new menu is better than ever. This must be one of the…read morebiggest choices of tapas anywhere, but even so, everything my girlfriend and I chose was really tasty and top notch. Oh, and the beer's great as well!

Nice find in Manchester. I personally love Spanish dishes like tapas. Honestly, Spain has a special…read moreplace in my heart. After a long day of touring Manchester, came down to city Centre and found this place while we were walking. All the food was fresh and tasty. The various meats were really good and prepared well. Even the butter spread with the bread was so good. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The overall ambiance was nice and had the feel of a Spanish bar. Obviously nothing beats Spain but this like corner in Manchester is bringing a bit of Spain to England.

We always love dining at La Vina. The venue has several floors, and it does get very packed on…read moreweekends. So making a reservation is a must. All the staff have been very professional and welcoming each time we're there. And the food is really good from the tapas to the mains.

I like this Spanish restaurant, it's definitely got "character" - by that I mean, it allows me to…read moreenjoy a glass of wine and then giggle like a schoolgirl when I try and pronounce the name: Ree-ho-HA! Much to the consternation of my dining partner! Thankfully, aside from the name, there's not much else you can have a go poking fun at. The food is superb and varied - there's the obligatory paella, and yes on one occasion making go-with-what-you-know choice I dined on it (highly recommended!) but there's also a range of chicken, fish and many more typically meaty Spanish dishes to selecy from the menu, that you could may I add spend at least the better part of 20 minutes perusing. Tapas ranges from £1.95 - £4.95 Bare floorboards and intimate dining make you feel part of a tiny world of gastronomic happiness, On a dark winter (or summers) night, mixed with candle light and the aroma of a heady bottle of Alta Rio Reserva, you would need little more to be feel transported to Las Ramblas

This has got to be one of the biggest tapas menus I've seen outside of London...and Spain! It's…read morenice to see they've got the kind of dishes I've been pining after since my return to Blighty. Firm favourites include Costilla (marinated spare ribs), Albondigas (Spanish meatballs) and Mejillones (mussles marinated in wine, lemon and herbs). Apart from the tapas menu, they also have some very traditional dishes on the A la Carte menu including Chuletas de cordero (grilled marinated lamb chops) and Cod catalana (cod fillet suated with garlic, shallots, cream and wine topped with parmesan cheese). Surely this is run by a Spanish family. Delicious.

Food: 4.5 Service: 5…read moreAmbience: 5 Food was very good and staff were excellent. We tried the calamari, meatballs, scallops, chilli fillet and pork cheeks. Everything was well flavoured and perfectly cooked. The pork cheeks were stand out delicious. There is an extensive wine selection as well. Tried the chocolate cake and basque cheesecake for dessert. My friend enjoyed the chocolate cake. I found the cheesecake delicious but not like the typical Basque style, its was served cold and lacked the soft center that the Basque cheesecake normally has.

A few weeks ago I went to the Tapas/Spanish restaurant Evuna. Evuna have a few restaurants in…read moreManchester - we went to the one in the Northern Quarter. (They also have another one in city centre on Deansgate and also one in Altrincham and one in Knutsford. I like tapas generally. I like going in a group so you get to try a wide range of different things, and some things you may not have ordered yourself. We picked 3 things each from the menu and then all shared. One of my fav things was the Catalan (style) tomatoes with garlic bread. Not that dis-similar to tomato bruschetta you almost always get when you have tapas. Its basically fined chopped up tomatoes and is more of a sauce compared to bruschetta, and various herbs and garlic probably and some nice bread. Very simple but tasted really good. Other things we had was the pork belly, ham croquettes, a cured meat/cheese platter, patatas bravas, calamari and padron peppers. All overall tasted good. Lovely selection of the meats/cheese, croquettes were tasty, nice salty/juice peppers. Calamari actually was just OK if honest, had better. So overall good food and good service so will be going back again.

Called the restaurant an hour in advance and requested if they can seat 12 of us the same evening…read more They were able to accommodate us within an hour so that was awesome! They were so nice and gave the table a round of champagne! Someone got lucky with my extra one! This place was upright amazing! Our service was phenomenal thank you to Claudia and her team! We've pretty much tried everything on the menu from the cheeses to the tapas to the paellas and the desserts. I will list the dishes we had and rate accordingly! Asparagus and cheese 5/5 Eggplant dish 5/5 Octopus dish 10/5 Potato bravas 5/5 Seafood paella 3/5, potent odor and the rice wasn't well done Chicken Paella 4/5 Trip of cheese 4/5 Meatballs 5/5 Ham Croquette (per my friend) 5/5 Chicken confit 5/5 Torrija dessert 100/5 Rice pudding 4/5 Chocolate layers 3/5 Churros 5/5 This restaurant is a fancy establishment and I highly recommend to everyone out there if you want to enjoy a great evening with family/friends.. please make a reservation and definitely come here.

We found Iberica on Yelp, and we could not be happier. First, the neighborhood is the place to be…read more Lots of people, things happening, good music. We sat inside, upstairs by the window. They first brought a dish of some of the best olives I have ever had. We had s bottle of rosé sparkling wine to start, along with tomato toast and a board with 3 meats and 3 cheeses. The flavors were incredible. For shared plates, we ordered 3 off the special Galician menu. The white asparagus was wonderful, a little of the sea asparagus on top gave just enough salt for the creamy sauce and crumb crunch. The octopus was also incredible. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, with tender pieces of octopus on top, all swimming in butter and topped with paprika. Finally, the scallops were served in the shell, with a crunch, spicy, peppery topping. The service was awesome, with a special shout out to Claudia, she could not have treated us better. Thanks for the digestif! A definite recommendation.

Located on Lee Lane in the heart of Horwich, which is quickly becoming a foodie haven, La Salsa is…read morean independent tapas and wine bar which has quickly gained the love of diners both local and visiting with its good quality food and service at a good price. The main draw is the fact that La Salsa offers a menu of over 40 tapas dishes for just £12.95-£15.95 depending on when you go. For this one price you can eat as much as you like, for as long as you like. The menu has sections covering breads, olives, salads, meat, fish, chicken, charcuterie, and vegetarian, as well as a large drinks menu covering beers, wines, liqueurs and spirits, and soft drinks, as well as the occasional special cocktail and sangria jugs. There's a dessert menu too, but most people don't get that far by the time they need rolling out the door! The way things tend to work are that after being seated and ordering drinks, your party will each tell the server two or three dishes (they're numbered too, so don't worry about brushing off those Spanish pronunciation skills you learned in school!), and the dishes are all brought together in small dishes, allowing you to graze, nibble, and share to your own delight. After finishing a "round", the waiting staff clear your dishes and take more orders. In essence you can try everything on the menu through the evening, as many times as you'd like! I particularly like their "Tapas De Pescado" (seafood), which are done very well. To be honest, all of the dishes are cooked perfectly and presented well, and I enjoyed all of the ones I've tried immensely. I've never NOT enjoyed a visit to La Salsa! The venue itself is split into two storefronts, which originally had one unit as the main dining room and kitchen, and the other unit as a bar and lounge area, but with La Salsa's increasing popularity, the lounge area had to be fitted out as another dining room! The décor is traditional and rustic, with stripped wooden floors, chunky wooden accents and artwork, and partitions made from old wooden doors (!), and tall candles on both the tables and against the walls, as Spanish and Catalan music plays giving an authentic feel to the Spanish atmosphere, only spoiled slightly by the ceiling, which is office style Styrofoam ceiling tiles. But frankly who's looking up? There's more food coming! The staff are young, friendly and hard-working. Due to how busy the venue can get, you can expect to order with and be served by several different staff members. Rumours are frequent that staff aren't allowed to keep their tips, and tips are kept by the venue itself. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but with how hard the staff work, I'd be disappointed if I found out if it was. La Salsa doesn't have private parking, so you will have to use street parking, or one of the local free car parks within walking distance, but luckily both options are free. I love La Salsa, and continue to go again and again, as do my friends, parents, in-laws, and anyone else I've introduced to it! If you try it yourself, I guarantee you will too! It's also nice to see that despite lots of local competition, including from restaurant chains nearby at Middlebrook Retail Park, La Salsa continues to thrive and gain in popularity. That shows they're definitely doing something right!

All you can eat tapas. First impressions were rustic and quaint tapas restaurant. A really good…read moreselection from kind prawns to risotto to meat balls. Portions are small but it truly is all you can eat and it forces you to pace yourself! It's good for groups and a casual night out.

It's pretty new, it's pretty pleasant, it's pretty pretty…read more Bilbao's reputation definitely preceded them, so after having heard a few wax the ol' lyrics about this place, I decided to give them a whirl. I'm all about the tapas eats in general, being the type who likes to choose as much variety of a meal out as possible, so Bilbao was always going to make me happy. I feel as though I'll have to come back to experience the heady heights others had told me about, since my visit was fine (certainly not disappointing -- so I've gone for four instead of three stars) but it didn't wow as much as I expected. Perhaps it's the classic pitfall of having high expectations after hearing such good press?! We went in on Saturday sans booking and managed to grab a seat straight away. (It was the last one, so we were pretty lucky.) One of the waitresses did her best to serve us promptly, although she was pretty rushed off her feet. The only downside to the service was that we spotted another waitress who could have seen to us sooner (and even smiled at us) but chose to natter at the bar -- it was quite some time before we got to order a drink. Every other person who served us was absolutely fantastic, though, which ought to be noted. We picked one dish each for ourselves and then three to share and --with a dessert-- this was plenty of food. We shared the olives (super garlicky, which I liked), the garlic prawns (shelled for us and marinated in ultra delish garlicky butter), and a pork dish. The pork pieces were cooked beautifully and came with these incredible oyster mushrooms. I had the steak, which was tasty and cooked well (how I'd asked) but didn't blow me away -- I think this was simply because I'd had the most amazing steak elsewhere very recently! We also shared a bottle of rioja, which was totally lovely. The desserts were great too: warm gooey brownie and a traditional Spanish dessert with sponge, cream, and torched sugar on top. (Forgive me for forgetting the name!) The overall ambiance is fine, although I'd say next time I'd like to sit at a lower table as the high chairs weren't optimal to sit and eat in. The music was also curious -- it sort of seemed to be so purposefully background it stood out to us, if that makes any sense. Gentle, romantic lighting and a pleasant space make up for that, though -- especially if in a group. I imagine the experience is even better with more friends to share with! Overall, this one merits a second visit. Five dishes and one bottle of wine: £60 odd. On a Monday it's half price, so you'll get a lot more bang for your bunse. Check them out!

Came here on a recommendation and wow did it deliver!! Food was amazing! Service was great and had…read morea lovely chat with the owner and you can tell the passion they put into the food and overall experience! I will be coming back and shouting from the roof tops to anybody who will listen how good this place is !