On a sunny Sunday in South Croydon, nothing sounds more appealing than enjoying the taste of Spain, couple that with a family meal to celebrate a birthday and you have the recipe for a perfect weekend afternoon.
A group of seven adults (and Little Bit) met at 1pm at the large Spanish restaurant, situated on the High Street in Croydon. Its difficult to miss the place, with its bright blue awnings spanning four units. Inside, the restaurant is clean and brightly tiled, transporting you immediately to the Mediterranean, if only for a couple of hours. Unlike some tapas places with similar decor, the acoustics in the restaurant were good without lots of echo, an important factor for one of our party, who despite a mild hearing difficulty was able to hear everyone around the table. The toilets had clearly recently been refurbished and,we were pleasantly surprised to discover, had a changing table in both the ladies and gents, meaning that Mummy didn't immediately have to be on nappy duty!
The staff were polite and friendly, happily responding to the enthusiastic waving of Little Bit and chatting happily to her as they passed on their way to other tables. There was no designated children's menu but our waiter was happy to recommend tapas dishes that other families had ordered, although on this occasion we ordered a selection that Little Bit was happy to try suitable parts of.
While we perused the menu we shared a bottle of Torres Esmeralda, a Spanish white combining a blend of Gewürztraminer and Muscat grapes. It's a very fruity wine, with noticeable touches of apricot, very pleasant as an aperitif, although my husband found it too sweet and fruity for him and stuck to the on-tap Estrellas. The menu had a wide range of choices, including hot and cold tapas and offered meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. A sign on the wall suggested that they could cater for dietary requirements and I'm sure if diners called ahead they could accommodate most needs.
One of our party chose to eat from the a la carte menu - their melon and parma ham was a generous portion - which immediately made me jealous, and the sauce from their monkfish stew was delicious when I managed to steal a dunk with a piece of baguette.
The rest of us shared a few tapas plates between us, including:
Calamares a la Romana - This is a family favourite anyway, but was well cooked, with a light crispy batter. It was definitely a hit as we had to order a second plate.
Ensalada Mixta - The mixed salad had all the contents you would expect (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, olives) and some you might not, notably artichoke hearts and a single, slightly limp spear of asparagus. It was undressed, which was great as it meant Little Bit could dig in.
Gambas al Ajillo - Another popular choice in our family, so we were pleased with the generous portion (around 15 medium sized prawns).
Chorizo Fritto - This was a rich dish of sliced chorizo cooked in wine. A few slices were a good addition to my plate, but I wouldn't have wanted much more than that. Given that, it was a good dish to share between six of us.
Pinchos de Pescado - The monkfish and prawn kebab was smothered in a tomato sauce but still managed to be fairly bland. The rice was well cooked but nothing exciting.
Albondigas en Salsa - The meat was pleasantly herby with good depth of flavour. The sauce with them wasn't, to my palate 'spicy' as described, and Little Bit happily tucked in to a few pieces.
Chanquetes - The whitebait was lightly battered, crispy and saltily delicious. Its a rare treat for me, and one that I relished. The garlic sauce served with this and the calamares was creamy with a good whack of garlic - glad that both my husband and I both indulged!
Arroz con Pollo - The rice was nicely flavoured, and the chicken thighs well-cooked. However there were some small fragments of bone in the dish that caught some of our party by surprise. I'm happy to eat chicken off the bone, however I'm less keen on broken up bones as they can be harder to spot.
Tortilla Espanola - Tapas wouldn't be tapas without a Spanish omelette and this one was light and delicious. It was simply flavoured with potato and onion and was my daughter's favourite part of the meal.
Patatas bravas - Always my favourite, this dish successfully maintained the balance between having enough sauce and the potato not getting too soggy. There was a pleasant kick of chilli, but not enough to deter the members of our party not fond of a bit of heat.
All the tapas dishes were large portions and the six adults sharing were able to have good sampling of each dish, and return to their favourites for a little more. We ordered a second plate of calamares having finished the other plates, and only had a short wait (around 5-10 minutes) before it arrived at the table.
The desert menu offered a good choice, although it did appear that very few (if any) were made on the premises. I had a piece of chocolate mousse cake, which was pleasant although not particularly mousse-like - the texture was quite dry and crumbly. It had some cream-filled choux pastry inside, which didn't make a great deal of sense and didn't add a great deal to.
We rounded off the meal with coffee and tea before enjoying a sunny stroll home.
All in all, we had a great, and substantial meal in bright airy surroundings. The generous portion sizes meant that the restaurant offered good value for money, and the regular flow of trade suggested the restaurant was popular in the area. I would definitely return again to sample some more of the menu, either with friends or family, and there is already talk of a family party in the future. I can't wait!
