tapas – Page 3 – Scandelights

Eat brain? (Barrafina, Adelaide Street)

Published on July 22, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Barrafina is one of my favourite tapas places in London, both the newer one in Covent Garden (and dangerously close to my office) and the original on Frith Street in Soho. They have also just opened another restaurant on Drury Lane which I can’t wait to try! I really like that the different restaurants sport different (although similar) menus, which makes it feel like two (or now three) free-standing restaurants and not a chain.

bar5

Felicity and I had dinner here the other week and while waiting for our table we had some Txakoli (semi-sparkling wine from the Basque region which I love) and crab croquetas. When seated at the bar we noticed they had jamon croquetas as a special and we just couldn’t resist haveing some more croquetas. The crab ones are yummy but the jamon ones were perfection. Oh wow!

Next up we had smoked salmon with white beans, fennel and a dilly dressing. It was nice but a little too mild in flavour.

The asparagus with romesco sauce was wonderful though, I’ve had it here before and it has always been a great vegetable dish.

The skewes with Iberico ham were also really nice, but I’ve had even better pork in Spain.

We then decided to try the lamb’s brain (!). Once when I came here for lunch a lady dining on her own came here especially for the lamb’s brain and raved about it, so I’ve been dying to try it ever since. And I must say I was pleasantly surprised!

The texture is very soft so frying it until crisp on the outside was a smart move and the bold flavours with lots of acidity cuts through the richness very well, so this dish got top marks from me. But, the texture is still a little strange in the mouth (like very very soft sweetbreads but more jelly like) and it’s so rich I would not have been able to finish the dish on my own. But I would happily go back and share it with someone.

After the savoury dishes we were quite content but you always have room for sorbet, right, so we had a scoop each. Felicity’s mixed berries sorbet was really nice and fruity, the perfect ending to a lovely meal.

My peach sorbet was a bit too sweet and cloy. But apart from that our dinner was fantastic, just like the company.

Barrafina, Adeleide Street, London WC2N 4HZ

Barrafina Adeleide Street – revisited

Published on March 5, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Since Barrafina opened its second restaurant a two minute walk from where I work I’ve been there for lunch a few times. Last time I went with two colleagues and we had a lot of lovely food. So much that it was rather laborious to walk back to the office after lunch.

We started off with Jamon bellota and pan con tomato; actually one of the best pan con tomato I’ve had both in and outside of Spain. Perfect amount of garlic and the bread resists the wetness just enough.

Then we had these lovely crab croquetas.

And the tortilla with caramelized onions. So yum!

And extremely crispy smoked cod fritters with tartar sauce.

The fried artichokes was another favourite; so crispy and served with a lovely mayonnaise.

I can never resist the goat’s cheese stuffed courgette flowers with honey. Mmm…

And these ribs were delicious!! Good combination of salty and sweet in the sauce and the meat just fell off the bones. We also shared a pork belly with crackling and white beans with morcilla that I forgot to photograph, it was nice but the ribs were just amazing!

Although we were extremely full we couldn’t resist to share a plate of churros with cinnamon sugar and chocolate sauce. The perfect ending to a fabulous lunch!

Barrafina, 10 Adelaide St, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HZ

Lunch at La Bodeguilla, Palma de Mallorca

Published on October 23, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Although I loved going back to two favourites, I also wanted to make sure to try a new (for me) restaurant in Palma. La Bodeguilla was high on my list and open on Sundays (result!), so I booked a table online for lunch.

I instantly took a liking to the place. Impossible not to when you’re greeted by a huge jamon ready for carving! The interior is cosy and semi-formal. It has white table runners and napkins but still feels relaxed. And walking into the restaurant you can sneak a peek into the kitchen behind the bar, which further adds to the relaxed ambiance.

Seated we had a look at the menu and ordered some tapas to share and received an amuse bouche almost immediately after ordering the food. I actually don’t know what it was, but the creamy concoction was very nice!

We had some classic tapas that were very well executed. The croquetas with jamon and ceps were full of flavour, but not as perfectly delicate as at Puro Chef. Still very nice though!

The jamon bellota, was of course melt in the mouth delicious. I wish we had ham like this more readily available in the UK.

The calamari was really nice too, the batter was light and very crispy and the fish very tender.

The pan con tomate on granary bread was nice but I must say that I prefer it on white bread, that way the tomato make more of an impression, and doesn’t have to compete with the bread.

The patatas bravas were also well executed, full of flavour and both sauces were spot on.

We also had one proper cooked tapas; pig’s cheeks that were extraordinarily tender. They came with a jus and root vegetable puré which worked really well with the cheeks.

I will definitely come back to La Bodeguilla. The menu was a good mix of traditional tapas and more exciting ones and everything we had was cooked really well. It’s not as easy at it seems to cook simple food perfectly.

La Bodeguilla, Carrer de Sant Jaume, 3, 07012 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

Two favourites in Palma revisited

Published on October 21, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

During the last few years I have come to love Spanish cuisine. In London there are plenty of authentic and nice tapas around, at Barrafina, Barrica and the Saltyard group for example.

Palma has plenty of nice restaurants and it was especially two I couldn’t wait to go back to; Tast and Puro Chef.

On Saturday we had lunch at Tast in the middle of the town centre. There are cold pinxtos at the bar to pick yourself and warm pinxtos and tapas on the menu to order. Further in there is a proper restaurant serving more filling maincourses but I prefer the all day bar menu. We ordered some pan con tomato because the neighbouring table had some and it looked amazing. And it was. Of the cold pinxtos we had crab mayonnaise with smoked salmon, white fish with pickled pepper and fried quail’s egg and beef with tomato and mayonnaise. The marinated camembert (looks like a fish tartar) was the only one we didn’t like – the others were amazing! From the menu we ordered a crab and gulas (mini eels) gratin each (so so good!), a kebab with monkfish, king prawn and peppers and a mini toastie with the local sombrassada sausage and cheese. All great!

I like the fact that Tast is unpretentious, nice but not fancy and that the food is consistently good. Everything is well-cooked but simple and you can pop in for a proper dinner or just a glass of wine and nibbles. The wines, by the way, are very good and very reasonably priced!

Tast, C/ Unión, 2, 07001 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Another afvourite is Puro Chef in Santa Catalina. Here they take pinxtos to gourmet level, serve nice tapas, proper maincourses and puddings. I never seem to be able to order anything other than the amazing gourmet pinxtos and a few tapas to share.

The jamon iberico croquetas were the best I have ever had (and I have sampled my fair share). They came out piping hot, were incredibly delicate and creamy and of course the flavour was spot on. How they were able to deep-fry anything so soft is a mystery to me! The amuse bouche was a creamy concoction with tuna and eggs served on sourdough. Of the gourmet pinxtos we both had the scallops with paprika purée which was delicious. Laura had the anchovies and lime toast full of salty goodness that she really liked and I couldn’t help but order the crispy suckling pig with Spanish sauce that I fell in love with last time. And it was just as delicious as I remembered. But the star of the evening was a brand new pinxtos the waitress recommended to us. Octopus with potato foam. It was utterly amazing. The foam was rich and light at the same time and had the most amazing flavour and hidden underneath were pieces of wonderful octopus.

Puro Chef, c/ Sant Magí 66, Palma De Mallorca, Spain

Pinxtos and tapas in San Sebastian, Spain

Published on September 22, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Pinxtos are extremely popular in The Basque Region and in the Old Town of San Sebastian there are plenty of pinxtos bars to choose from, each with their own specialities.

Our first night in San Seb, after the Mugaritz lunch, Caroline and I were still very full around 10pm but we decided to ignore those signals and have a few pinxtos just because we wanted to. We started slowly with one each and a glass of wine. Carolien had the one with mini eels and I had the one with crab, mayonnase and smoked salmon.

After a little breather we had another one each. I couldn’t resist the jamon and Caroline had the grilled squid with ink. Two pinxtos each was definitley enough and I’m so glad we did as I loved the atmosphere in the Old Town bars. The place we went to this evening is called Ganbara, and one I was desperate to try because a famous Swedish TV chef went here with the owners of Arzak when he was visiting San Sebastian.

The second evening we did a proper pinxtos bar crawl, starting at Baztan. Caroline had the sausage wrapped in bacon and the morcilla (black pudding) with pickled peppers.

I had a yummy mini burger (great idea!) and cheesy courgette with ham.

Apparently you just throw your serviette on the floor after your meal, but I struggled to do that. It makes sense in a way; the bars are packed and the staff have enough to do collecting dirty plates and glasses that collecting napkins isn’t a priority and it is easy to just sweep the floor after service. But still…

Next we went to Casa Vergara where we had the local slightly sparkling wine Txacoli which we really enjoyed together with some pinxtos; mini eels in smoked salmon, anchovies and green pepper and a marinated mussel.

At Casa Alcalde next door to Casa Vergara, we had one last pinxto with morcilla, fried quail’s egg and baked cherry tomato. Yum!

We had a look at plenty more pinxtos bars and some places seemed better than others (the ones we went for). Some had piles of deep-fried whatever and didn’t appeal that much to us.

Our last day we went back to Ganbara and had lunch in the restaurant. We started with a plate of wonderful jamon and the local equivalent to padron peppers, these were less spicy, but tasted very similar otherwise.

For the maincourse Caroline had the trio of cod which was rather interesting but not amazing. The one with the brown sauce was less tasty but the other two were quite nice.

I had local gambas, big juicy prawns, that were fried and served with olive oil and lemon. Super simple and delicious!

We went back to Ganbara one more time before leaving for the airport. It was early evening and because they had just stopped serving lunch it was quite bare with pinxtos on the bar counter but we could order from the menu. The pig’s trotters with mash, above, was sadly not amazing. I love pig’s trotters but these were too fatty for my liking.

The croquetas with mushrooms and jamon were delicious though and so was the fried foie gras.

We finished off the meal with octopus and squid. I had the cold marinated octopus that I love, so soft and delicious and Caroline had the grilled squid with ink one last time. Despite a few let downs (the pig’s trotters and the cod) we loved Ganbara! All the other food we had here (and it was quite a lot) was great, the staff super friendly and the all the pinxtos super fresh!

Ganbara, San Jeronimo Kalea, 19, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Baztan, Calle Puerto, 8, 20003 Donostia – San Sebastián, Spain

Casa Vergara, Kale Nagusia-Calle Mayor Kalea, 21, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Casa Alcalde, Mayor Kalea, 19, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Lunch at Barrafina, Covent Garden

Published on July 22, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Barrafina, one of London’s best tapas restaurants, have opened a second restaurant conveniently located two minutes away from my office and with more seating than in the original restaurant on Soho’s Frith Street.

The new restaurant also consists of a tapas bar with full view into the kitchen behind it so you interact with the chefs during your meal. I love that set up and the fact that this new restaurant is more spacious so if you’re waiting for a table you’re still comfortable.

I went here with two colleagues and we all had some input on what to order so it is a real mix. The first dish to arrive were the crab croquetas which were very nice!

The pan con tomato was also really nice and not too wet.

But the star of the show was definitely one of the day’s specials; langoustines with tarragon butter. They were absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection!

We also had the classix tortilla, which might not look very special but it is the best one I’ve ever had (including those in Spain). It was filled with plenty of caramelised onions and wonderfully creamy.

Grilled asparagus with Romesco sauce and pecorino was another delight.

As well as the incredibly simple yet perfectly executed salad of various tomatoes, fennel and avocado.

The food is simply prepared here but the produce is so good it would be wrong to serve it any other way!

Barrafina, 10 Adelaide Street, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HZ

Santa Catalina and dinner at Puro Chef, Palma de Mallorca

Published on May 14, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Our last evening in Palma I wanted to check out the Santa Catalina neighbourhood, just west of the town centre. Around five years ago this area was a bit run down and it started transforming itself into a trendy neighbourhood with lots of restaurant and bars. The vibe is similar to London’s Soho (bar the sex shops) or New York’s NoLIta but smaller. I really liked this cosy part of town and it felt much less touristy than central Palma.

We walked around looking for a nice restaurant and maybe a bar to have a drink before dinner. The choice of both restaurants and bars was wide with both Indian, Japanese, Lebanese and of course Spanish.

Outside this cool painted bar people were drinking on the pavement, just like in London.

We found a cosy café/bar/casual restaurant where we had a glass of wine and were offered homemade poppadums and mango chutney before heading a few doors down the street to Puro Chef for dinner.

Walking past earlier that evening the German article in the window, about the gourmet chef, caught my eye and after looking at the menu I was convinced we’d experience some great cooking here.

The nice looking menu was divided into different sections; one with gourmet pinchos, one with tapas to share, another with main courses (quite a few with Italian influences) and of course another with puddings. We were seduced by the pinchos and started there and they were so lovely we didn’t really branch out into maincourses or tapas (bar one).

The amouse bouchen was fried Globe artichoke with foie gras which we loved. Just a hint of foie gras and crispy on the outside.

The potato with prawn and tartar sauce was amazing and beautifully plated.

Perfectly cooked scallop with potato and bell pepper purée with root crisps was another hit – so delicious!

The only tapas dish we tried was the prawns (surprise) that were dipped in batter and deep-fried until crisp. The shells were so soft we ate it to not miss out on the crispy goodness. These were lovely too, but not as good as the pinchos!

The pig’s trotters with fried quail’s egg and pickled pepper were full of umami and utterly delicious!

These croquetas with morcilla and peppadew peppers served with pear jam were magnificent. The croquetas were of the perfect consistency; a soft and gooey on the encased in a crisp coating. And the sweetness of the pear worked well with the heat from the peppers.

Fried cod with mayonnaise and herb oil was also very good.

But these crispy pork rolls were to die for. Crispy, porky little rolls with some shredded vegetables and bathed in the most delicious sauce we had to order quite a few of these!

We really enjoyed our evening here! The interior is modern and laid back, the waitresses sweet and very helpful and the chefs eager to impress. Not only were they good at creating interesting flavour combinations, they also had the techniques down, everything was cooked to perfection.

I expected good food in Palma and I am glad I got to have so much of it. And I utterly adore the modern tapas (which we see a lot of in London too); small plates created with classic ingredients but with some kind of added twist. Both Tapa Negra and Tast serve similar dishes in Palma and these three (Puro Chef included) restaurants really stood out as my favourites.

Back in London since two weeks I still dream of the amazing pinchos, WHERE can I find some here?!

Puro Chef, c/ Sant Magí 66, Palma De Mallorca, Spain

Dinner at Tast, Palma de Mallorca

Published on May 8, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

We ate at a few really nice restaurants in Palma, and Tast was one of our favourites! My friend Anna recommended it and it was also mentioned in a few articles I read on restaurants in Palma when I researched the trip. I had high expectations and was not disappointed one bit.

Well, the waiter was a bit stern to begin with, but he warmed up to us, and to be fair he was super busy running the bar area all by himself.

The bar area with its high tables and stools is open all day while the restaurant with normal tables further back opens at 7.30pm. We really enjoyed sitting in the busy bar area looking at what other people were eating and to some extent watching the world go by outside when not concentrating on our food.

All the cold pinchos are kept by the bar and you just help yourself to the ones you want and pay per plate at the end of the meal. A great concept as you can start immediately if you’re starving like I often am.

The menu was a mixture of warm pinchos, different types of scewers and tapas to share.

We mixed all kinds of food and ate and ate as it was so delicious! The cold pinchos were great to start and we really liked the ones with roast beef and creamy crab salad and smoked salmon (above).

Pinchos with pimiento, smoked white fish, fried quail’s egg and tapenade.Delicious!

As you can see we had rosé and Iberico loin; less fatty and drier than the ham but also delicious!

One favourite among the warm pinchos was these with crab gratin and mini eels (what looks like grated cabbage is indeed tiny eels). So good!

The pig’s trotters with quail’s eggs were delicious too but lacked a little bit of oomph.

Fried camembert with cherry sauce also went down a treat and the people at the table next to us liked to look of it so much they came over to ask which dish it was.

I love croquetas and these classic ones with jamon were to die for!

Naturally we also ordered some fried prawns with garlic and parsley. They were nice and daddy adored them but I found the other things we ate more exciting. We had a lot more food than what’s pictured and enjoyed every bite. The patatas bravas here were a little updated with only one spicy sauce but absolutely delicious!

We ate and drank until we were almost too full to move and had a lovely evening. Tast is relaxed and inviting and the food amazing! I could easily eat here once a week without getting bored and that is a good review indeed.

Tast, C/ Unión, 2, 07001 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Dinner at Tapa Negra, Palma de Mallorca

Published on April 30, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

The first thing I do before going away is to research restaurants. Because for me, nothing ruins a good holiday like bad food. And usually the bad tourist trap food is quite pricey too, which makes it even worse. I resent paying for food I can cook better myself but will happily pay quite a lot for good food. Anyway, that’s me and that’s why I spend time reading travel guides and restaurant recommendations online.

Tapa Negra was mentioned in several British articles (but in no Swedish ones) and as it was close to our hotel and open on a Sunday I decided we’d go here the day we arrived to celebrate daddy’s birthday.

It wasn’t fancy but not too casual either and the food was very good! The menu offered a mixture of cold and warm tapas, small plates (much like at Opera Tavern in London) and a few main courses to keep everyone happy.

My dad loves prawns, so the gambas with garlic and chilli were a given. Really good!

We of course had some pata negra (jamón ibérico) too, ham from black Iberia pigs bred on acorns. I think you can convey from the picture how delicious it was!

We also had a chicken scewer with incredibly moist chicken that came with grated fried potatoes. Simple and delicious!

We also had patatas bravas (you can spot some on the plate to the left) and they were really nice, olives bread and a mini burger that was totally yummy.

We also ended up with some pan con tomato that we actually didn’t order but were happy to eat and pay for (it’s the Spanish version of bruschetta with tomato pulp on garlicky crostini) and also had a crostini topped with coldsmoked cod. Daddy passed on it but mummy and I really enjoyed it. In fact we enjoyed everything! It was high quality on both the produce and the cooking.

Since it was daddy’s birthday we shared a bottle of nice cava with the food (Juvé y Camps 2009) and after all that food we could only muster two puddings to share. We had the grandad’s pudding, which was like a more set version of a crème caramel with a thicker caramel sauce, and some vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was very good and the pudding alright, but maybe not as nice as all the savoury food we had.

Highly recommended but requires an advance booking, easily done on their website.

Tapa Negra, Ingeniero Gabriel Roca 29, Palma de Mallorca, Majorca, Spain

Patatas bravas

Published on November 21, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

I often cook Italian or French food but very seldom (if all) Spanish food, although I love to eat it out. I don’t know why this is but here is my first proper attempt to change that.

My brain (and gut brain) work in mysterious ways and one day last week I just had to make patatas bravas. Maybe it was because I try to eat more potatoes and less bread or just because I got a craving. Who knows…

I did some research and then made my own version and although not perfect it was a good attempt. I used Rick Stein’s approach with par-boiling and frying the potatoes which was nice, but next time I will try them deep fried.

Although tasty, I thought it looked a little sparse to eat the patatas bravas on their own so I fried some chorizo and padron peppers to go with it, two things I can never have too much of.

When I finished off the leftovers the next day I simply added a fried egg. Delicious!

Patatas bravas, serves 2

4-5 large Maris Piper potatoes

oil for frying

Tomato sauce:

1 garlic clove, pressed

400 g chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp chipotle paste

smoked paprika

salt, black pepper

Allioli:

1 egg, at room temperature

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 garlic clove, pressed

approx 300 ml mild olive oil

some lemon juice if needed

salt and pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Par-boil in salted water until just softened, approx 5-7 minutes. Drain and fry in oil until golden brown and soft (or even better, deep fry until golden brown and soft in the middle).

While the potatoes are cooking, make the sauces.

Tomato sauce: Fry the pressed garlic in some oil in a non-stick sauce pan. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to the boil and cook until it has thickened. Season to taste with salt, pepper, chipotle paste and smoked paprika.

Allioli: Mix the egg, sherry vinegar and garlic in a blender. Add 1 tsp oil and beat. Then add the rest of the oil in a trickle while beating. Add salt, pepper and maybe some lemon juice.

Season the potatoes. Serve by smearing tomato sauce onto the plate/serving bowl. Add the potatoes and top with allioli.