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 !

Without question, this is the best restaurant in Ramsbottom!! Chef Rachel's dishes are a delicious…read morecombination of great ingredients, cooked and seasoned to perfection in a wood burning oven!! After a lunch of Spanish Shrimps (flown in from España!!) and Fried Hake, Chef Rachel talked us into coming back for dinner, as they were expecting a shipment of special Spanish beef (I wish I could remember the name!!). The beef is butchered on site and served "blue." Having never had a steak served "blue," I was a little apprehensive, but willing to try. We were not disappointed! It was a memorable meal like no other we have ever had!! Absolutely unique and delicious steak!! This is a don't miss dining location!!

Mum and I paid a visit on a Monday lunchtime. It was quiet and there were a few staff on. But that…read moredidn't mean we were seated straight away, no sir. We were left stood at the entrance for a good while before someone came over. We were shown to a table and handed a menu - no explanation of any offers that were going on, but as it happens we'd already seen a poster for 5 tapas for £12 outside anyway, it put my 2-4-1 tapas voucher I had ready on my iPhone to shame! We were given adequate time to decide what we wanted, then our order for food and drink was taken at the same time. Drinks arrived swiftly and the food followed some five minutes later. Everything was cooked beautifully, not overdone like I've had before, and five tapas between the two of us was more than enough to fill us up. The bill came to a very respectable £16. A bargain lunch, some would say! The service could be a bit quicker in regards to showing people to tables and the manner could be a bit less brusque. Also I'd prefer it if I'd been told about the offers - had we not seen a poster outside, we'd have gone for the 2-4-1 offer I'd had ready anyway - every other La Tasca I've been to has always said what offers they have available. Still, I'd go back. It was a pleasant environment (screaming child aside) and the food was delicious!

Had lunch here today and both the food and the service was supberb!…read more We had the lunch special - ongoing until 5PM - which was 5 tapas selections for two people for £10. We started off with bread and olives. The olives were proper Spanish olives (not that tinned rubbish that some places give you) and the bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar was plentiful. The chicken croquettes left something to be desired. The fried white fish was crispy, light, and not greasy at all. The meatballs were plentiful and tasty. The vegetarian paella was the best I have ever had! The cheesy aubergines in red sauce was delicious. There were many vegetarian options. The service was great and friendly, our waitress was more than helpful. The food came out reasonably quick as well. Both the serving plates and the food was hot (very important). The staff tips are not shared - the waitress did share hers with the cook staff, which I thought was fair. All in all a great experience! I would definetly recommend this place, and intend to visiting again.

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.

I know folks were down on Trinity when it opened, "oh it's a massive wind tunnel!" they bemoaned…read more Well, the more I get to know this shopping mall, the more I think those luddites got it so wrong. There are two sides to every coin; Trinity's opening meant that Briggate (and others) took a hit, but with it came a flourish of new life and new business, and although the truly small indies struggle to get a look in, smart, chic, delicious places like Pintura can spring forth. Enough of the politics: this might be my new favourite, and I've only been once. It's a basque tapas house and gin bar. Goodness knows, I love a gin bar. (Did you see my review for the Gin Garden?) It's obviously the new thing, but I'm at peace with my hipsterdom. (The fact I was wearing a trilby long before it was cool means I'm a hipster, I'm told. Especially the fact that I say that.) I'm not a massive fan of being called darling, but if the bartender wants to do so whilst making me an exquisite cocktail, I'm hardly going to complain. Oh, yes -- they do cocktails. And a vodka lemonade that was insanely lovely. Monkey 47? YAH. Ambience is on trend. On point. All those sorts of phrases. Those filament lightbulbs dangle low on long electrical wires above the bar. The woodwork is dark and sturdy. The stairs give you an entrance -- if you care for it, it's an opportunity for those shoes/that skirt/those trousers. Intimate couples tables, or hang fly at the bar. Something like that. The music is not intrusive. Upstairs the open kitchen gives diners a chance to get excited about their light bites before they arrive. It's standard tapas style, in that the dishes you order come as they're made, so it's a staggered affair. It's your usual British version of tapas -- tapas-made-restaurant -- but I like eating to be an event so that's great. (As opposed to ordering a beer at the bar and being given a free tapas.) The waitress was actually unbelievable -- so passionate, knowledgeable, and gave us a stellar wine recommendation. Do not miss: the calamares, risotto, and orange salad. The croquetas are lovely, but aren't they always? The calamares was among the best I've ever tasted -- deliciously salty, perfectly crispy, and not in the least bit rubbery! The risotto was utterly more-ish and the orange salad was the freshest, most delicious choice to accompany everything. Fine, but not for me: Mackeral special, gambas, salt cod and squid ink paella. I know mackeral is fishy, and usually I love it, but this was too fishy for me. The gambas were a little overdone for my liking, but tasty. The salt cod was just not to my taste -- I think the squid ink paella overwhelmed the fish. However, my companion devoured all of the above with relish, so that's just personal, like. I'm actually going back this evening for more, so updates are to be expected -- I've got all the cold meat and cheese to try, yet! Absolutely worth your while -- check these guys out. They're fab.

I've just moved from London to Leeds, and happened to visit Pintura for a Saturday brunch. Let me…read moretell you, I could have been sitting in any cool eatery in any of the trendiest areas of London. The decor inside was dark and moody, yet open and inviting. The food was top notch - no complaints there. The coffee, when it arrived, was of amazing quality. But on that note, the service was terrible. Slow, unsure, abrupt and - at times - just downright incompetent. Given the atmosphere and quality of the food and drink, though, I'd give Pintura the benefit of the doubt and hope that on return visits the service wouldn't be quite so abysmal.

I have to say, I didn't think Pinchjo's was very good which seems to put me at odds with basically…read moreeveryone else that has been there including my two fellow diners. So maybe I am just wrong. But let me explain. The prices were great - all the dishes were £2.50 - £3 (I think this is a Monday - Thursday deal) which frankly is so cheap these days it's almost not worth complaining about the food. However, I really didn't think the food was that great. Calamari and patatas bravas were just ok. The calamari came with something that was supposed to be chilli and garlic mayo but which tasted like thousand island dressing. Good quality plain alioli would have been much better. Patatas bravas were a little soggy, obviously there's a sauce on them but they should retain some crispness rather than being drenched in it, generally. Maybe this is just the house style. Gambas pil pil I thought kind of had a strange taste which I suspect was something to do with the oil. You get five prawns which is a good portion size but overall this dish was disappointing, especially when compared for example with the incredibly good gambas al ajillo at Tapas Brindisa in London Bridge (to be fair, those cost £8.95 - for a small plate!) Finally the tortilla. Tortilla española is one of my favourite dishes in the world. Done well, it is one of the most delicious things you will ever eat, despite its simple ingredients. One time I had a tortilla in a baguette, which was one of the biggest and best meals of my life. Unfortunately I almost immediately afterwards went home to my host family to find out that grandpa had slaughtered a goat from his farm for me, which I then also had to eat. This tortilla, however, was really bad. It was very soggy, it had no flavour, you could barely tell there were potatoes in it, let alone onions. Maybe there weren't onions in it at all, actually, but then don't call it Spanish omelette. It was basically just egg and what looked like spinach. What I can say for it is that there were 3 slices, which was generous. The restaurant appearance and atmosphere is nice and service was pleasant and I was impressed when our server came over to apologise for the food being delayed (we hadn't been waiting inordinately long at that point). But overall I guess we did wait quite a while as we weren't really sharing it was a bit awkward when 2 people got most of their stuff way before the other 1. Not that big a deal though really.

As someone who has lived in Spain for a number of years, I'm always quite wary of tapas bars in the…read moreUK that claim to have British twist. I'm a classic purist, believing that if something has worked for centuries there's no need to modify a winning formula. The thing about Pinchjo's though, is Jo's enthusiasm and charm, which translates directly into the food he prepares and the atmosphere of the decor. It really does look like a basque bar with its classic bar seating and traditional wooden furniture. The latin music immediately lifts your spirits and it's clear the staff here are enjoying themselves, they're so friendly and smiley. The food, based on Basque pintxos (tapas mounted on little rounds on bread), I have to admit, are welcome modifications to classic dishes. Yes, I take it back. The chorizo cooked in white wine was sublime, as was the pan-fried red mullet with salsa verde. Washed down with my favourite South American beer, I was a happy chappy indeed.

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.

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!

Ambiente is an absolute gem of a restaurant. We are tapas fans and these were some of the best…read moretapas we have ever eaten! We ordered Dates wrapped in Serrano ham, golden beef empanadas, lightly battered calamari, delicious shrimp, and chorizo y patatas in a delicious wine sauce. Service was excellent as well.

Great service, great food authentic Spanish Tapas. Great service and fair prices. I highly…read morerecommend this restaurant for lunch or dinner.