We were on the way the Stand mid-week and so decided to take in this new place. It's a Spanish tapas restaurant in the area behind the Mitchell library. On entering the place it looks the biz, its very spacious, comfortable and well-lit, and has bare stone walls - and a fish tank, I love fish tanks. It was early on Wednesday evening and there were literally no other diners, so it felt a bit quiet - but it is new, and Wednesday night is Glasgow's tumbleweed time.
The welcome was very friendly and as it mostly is in the city, Spanish, and as you would expect in a deserted restaurant it was very attentive too. A look at the menu, and we saw the usual tapas staples - no beef though - they also have Indian, Japanese, German, Scottish, Mexican and Moroccan options too, the last two I guess I understand, but strange then that they boast of their Spanish tapas bar authenticity on the website. We ordered bread and olives, Pinchos Morunos (Moroccan-spiced chicken skewers), Gambas Al Pilpil (chilli prawns), Albondigas Con Tomate (meatballs in tomato sauce), Chistorras A La Sidra (chorizo in Spanish cider) and Pollo A La Cerveza (chicken cooked in beer - a German recipe!)
We started on the bread and olives, the olives were nice, the bread was okay, it was light but nothing special in flavour. The strange thing was the olive oil and balsamic mix, it was served in a deep dish. I know now that this doesn't work, you start off with very oily bread no matter how much you try to scrape at the vinegar, and at the end you have very vinegary bread because the oil has all gone. Shallow plates are the way to go!
The other dishes came quickly enough, all but one were good, the chicken was moist, well-cooked, the skewers well-seasoned, and the German chicken really creamy and flavoursome. The prawns were just right in the spiciness stakes and again cooked just right. No complaints either about the chorizo. The only slight grumble would be about the Albondigas, they just weren't as good as I'd expect. They were a bit undercooked and not dense nor cohesive enough for my liking. They weren't bad, but they didn't pass muster compared to most tapas places.
All-in-all I think this is a good addition to Glasgow's ever-expanding tapas scene. It is the only tapas bar in that area, and so if you're in the mood for Spanish and in the area it would be worth checking out. Hopefully it will get even better and establish a good customer base in what is predominantly Indian restaurant territory. read more