Spanish Wine Pairing and Tapas at Harvey's

Last week we were invited to sample the new Spanish menu and wine matching at Harvey's Cellars. We had not been to Harvey's in over 2 years and felt that it was well worth another trip there. Since our last visit Harvey's adopted a Creole spin to their tapas menu, which is not something I have seen before. However for this visit they wanted us to try out an authentic Spanish menu with wines to match.  What is nice that since our last visit, they have changed a few things and made the decor a bit to make it feel warmer and more welcoming. 

Heading into the back part of Harvey's we sat up to one of the giant barrels.  First we were brought a Bristol cream sherry over ice with a wedge of orange and some imported olives marinated in a closely guarded secret recipe, there was heat, citrus and they were wonderful.  This was closely chased by a selection of cured meats and passata, which was matched with a Macabeo Chardonnay. We were advised by our Spanish guide that spreading passata on the bread then topping with the sliced meat was how they did it in Spain so not one to shun food advice we dived on in.

pork loin and chorizo cuts

The passata was an excellent edition to the bread and cured meat standard tapas dish, it really brought out the flavour of the meat but also freshened it up so it cut through the richness.  After hoovering this up we were served a tortilla and some ultra smooth gazpacho with a quail egg and shredded Serrano ham on top, apparently this is traditionally eaten with the tortilla.  The tortilla was soft and creamy and the gazpacho was a heavenly substitute dip for anything to be honest, perfectly chilled for hot summer evenings. 

tortilla with gazpacho

egg mayonnaise with fresh bread sticks

mixed croquettes

Once we were poured a generous glass of rich Cabernet Merlot and had it's origins and matching notes explained, more dishes appeared all of the same excellent quality.  The egg mayonnaise type dish was given a kick and a fresher taste with gherkins, capers and spring onion, apparently this is popular for lunch on a Summer's day as it is chilled and not too rich. There were some tostadas topped with marinated peppers, onions and topped with fresh tuna and anchovy which would have been perfect on holiday for snacking with a glass of wine.  

The three types of croquettes, cod, mushroom and ham both smooth and crunchy were all equally delicious. I was particularly impressed by the seared octopus with salt and paprika, so smoky and meaty it definitely surprised me how good this tasted.  Obviously no tapas meal would have been complete without some baked chorizo and our final dish was chorizo baked in cider which was once again wonderful, salty and yet slightly sweet.  

We finished the meal with a selection of Spanish cheeses with nuts and home baked crackers, not just your standard manchego but some more unfamiliar ones to sample.  For our dessert we were brought some almond cake and a glass of Spanish Cava, much tastier than normal Cava, which I tend to shun in favour of Prosecco.  The cake was wonderfully light and the almond flavour worked perfectly with the poached pear in wine that came with it.

seared octopus with paprika

A selection of pre-dessert Spanish cheeses

almond polenta cake with wine poached pear

The Spanish menu at Harvey's is exquisite, full of new dishes I had not tried but now definitely want to eat again. The menu paired with wine is £35 per head which is such great value, Rich and I were struggling by the end of the meal.  I do think they should offer these dishes as part of the main menu at all times, the food is worth being available at all times it is that good. This menu is not for the fussy as we were not sure what dishes to expect, you basically will be up for enjoying the surprise.  To find out more about this menu and the other food Harvey's serves check out their website.  This tasting menu was offered complimentary by Harvey's but you can see by the high standard of food this did not impact this review,  I would have paid for this in a heartbeat, one of the nicest evenings we have had out in a long while.

Tapas and Cocktails at Harvey's Wine Cellars

I pass by Harvey's Wine Cellars nearly every day on my way home from work. Ever since I spied the barrels outside I have been very curious, a curiosity that was heightened when I discovered they would also be serving tapas. Readers of this blog may already be aware of our fixation with these Spanish delights.

With a cocktail fanatic friend coming back to her home town to visit we thought this would be the perfect opportunity for trying somewhere new. Harvey's specialises in sherry, cocktails and wine so if you like beer you do have a limited choice, but Rich was pleased that they had one of his favourites, Asahi, on tap.

The cocktail list is enormous there is even a dedicated section to sherry cocktails, particularly using Harvey's Bristol Cream, imported and then bottled in Bristol since 1796. The cocktails were right up my street particularly the Kipling, the base of which was Disaronno which is probably my favourite liqueur of all time. The list is extensive so  there will be something for all cocktail palettes here.

We ordered some tapas to soak up some of the alcohol, I was pleased to see a good selection of classics on the menu such as patatas bravas, chorizo baked in wine and my favourite, ham croquettes. The latter are my absolute favourite tapas dish, I lived off of them when we went to Madrid and each one was sheer perfection. I have attempted making them myself a few times with a block of Serrano ham from Arch House Deli, taste wise the results have been spot on, but with out a deep fat fryer it is hard to get them to stay in their shape. So if anyone close by fancies some ham croquettes in return for a go in their fryer let me know!

Calamari with Aioli and Ham Croquettes

Chorizo Baked in Wine, Patatas Bravas and Chorizo with Morcilla 

The tapas themselves were really good, my personal favourites were the chorizo with morcilla and the ham croquettes. The chorizo with morcilla was wonderfully earthy, rich and indulgent it practically melted in the mouth. The ham croquettes were creamy with the meaty saltiness you get from hams like Serrano. The patatas were light with a slight kick. The only let down food wise was the hummus. We were brought some lovely bread and olives to enjoy and some hummus to dip. The hummus was very bland indeed and added nothing to the meal.

 However my main complaint about the tapas was the portion size. Everything was a bit on the small side compared to our trip to The Old Bookshop, where everything was amazing tasting but with generous portions and the 3 for £10 deal price. At Harvey's you definitely would need at least 5 or more dishes per person to keep the hunger wolves at bay, which would definitely rack up the price.

Hummus and Bread

The live music in the back area was a very nice touch, we had some lilting jazz and bossa nova singing floating out across the bar area, this definitely adds something extra to the venue and is worth visiting for. I did find the decor a bit soulless and formal the almost bare magnolia walls, black rectangle tables with big black leather chairs made it seem a bit too restauranty. Tapas to me is more about the informality of getting together for drinks and some snacks, it is what Spain is all about, making a big deal about socialising.

I think Harvey's could be very good if it tweaks a few things like the use of space and make it feel more welcoming and relaxing, because the drinks and food are very good. The service was excellent, friendly table service that did feel like we were on a cocktail bar stool with the attention to detail and smiles all round.  Harvey's will make a great addition to this area of Bristol and I look forward to seeing how it grows and improves on it's already good base.

For a peak at the upcoming events, cocktail, wine and tapas lists visit their website here