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2010-11-26
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We arrived at 6:30 for a 8pm show, and were the first customer of the night, taking up 2 seats at the end of the counter top table, but soon enough most of the seats were filled with couples and small groups of friends dropping by for a bite. Due to the limited space and the way the seats are arranged, I won't suggest coming here with more than a group of 3 or 4 or else you'll be craning your neck to hear each other. Also it's in the middle of a supermarket right next to the entrance escalator,
We started off with an Estrella beer and a Sangria, both cold and tasty, and being a weakling with alcohol, the red wine hit me less than a minute after I took my first sip on an empty stomach. That put me in a mood for carbs craving, and thankfully the staff were pleasant and accommodating, refilling our bread plate at least 5 times throughout the night (with only 2 pieces each time, it wasn't as Atkin-repelling as it sounds).
We also ordered the Pan Con Tomate, which at $20 for 4 pieces isn't a problem per se, but the measly spread of tomato sauce on it meant I wouldn't bothered had I known in the first place, since there were olive oil and vinaigrette to dip in, and plenty of sauce in the tapas to go with the bread. Perhaps the open sandwiches ($55 for 3 choices of the open sandwiches) or the regular sandwiches would have been a more interesting choice.
Then we ordered 5 tapas. My bf got the Bravas Patatas which was a good sized dish with a dollop of cream cheese and tomato sauce, but unfortunately the potato cubes themselves were a bit soggy and lacked that crispy skin. There was also the potato croquets which had melted cheeze flowing out the moment it was cut open.
Tasty, but my bf preferred the ones with a meatier filling. The vegetable stew he ordered came as a stacked mound of finely diced cucumbers, eggplants, squash, tomato and other goodies, held together with a thin sauce that didn't overpower the dish and allowed the vegetable flavours to come through. Very good with bread too.
Another of my favourite dishes of the evening was the codfish (minimal amount) with spicy tomato sauce. It had slivers of bell pepper and a hearty tomato sauce which I gladly mopped up with MORE bread.
The last dish came about 15 minutes after everything else arrived, which was the peppers stuffed with prawns. "stuffed" would be an exaggeration, as I could barely find more than 4 or 5 morsels of near-microscopic pieces of prawn folded inside 2 very softly cooked red peppers, and the rest was mostly a cheezy sauce and some onions. The garlic prawns served to our neighbouring customers looked like a much better deal.
Tap water was served without fuss, and this has become one of my markers for a restaurant that accommodates diners from all walks of life, and also shows they are not snobbish with that better-than-thou attitude. Overall, not a bad meal, and we could probably improve on it with a better choice of tapas next time, and try some of the Iberico ham too.
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