Friday Night Tapas at Pata Negra

The end of our first full week in the new flat and with most of the boxes disposed of I felt safe to leave the confines of unpacking and head out to be sociable. Wuthering Bites had invited me to try Pata Negra with her and as no one can resist tapas, I gladly accepted. Pata Negra, the fancy Spanish cousin to The Ox and The Milk Thistle, has quite a big space to fill.  Lunch runs from 12-3pm where you can purchase 3 tapas for £10, if you arrive after 3pm pintxos are available at the offer of 3 and a glass of sherry for £7, until they run out. 

pintxos on display

pintxos upclose

I was ushered to a high table for two with a stool and a window seat. I chose the window seat which for a short person was a bit of a mistake as there was nothing to rest your feet on so I almost slipped off my unstable perch several times.  I digress. I ordered a very quaffable glass of Spanish red whilst Sarah went for the strong gin and tonic made with their own Pata Negra gin and garnished with rosemary. Food wise we decided to order the signature 36 month hand carved pata negra ham, obviously. We also picked tortilla, chestnut mushrooms with red wine garlic & rosemary, chorizo cooked in cider with a poached egg and breadcrumbs and the slow cooked pork shoulder.

Verdict? Good. Not quite my favourite tapas in Bristol, let's call it my second favourite because it does have a very tasty selection. If you visit Pata Negra for one reason, let that reason be the ham, it is the jewel in their crown. Number one for ham in Bristol I would stick my neck out and say it. Melts in the mouth and is full of a luxurious rich flavour, yes like angels dancing on your tongue.  I also really rated the chorizo cooked in cider with poached egg and breadcrumbs, really tasty, should have ordered some bread to mop up the juices with.

I would say that the tortilla was too solid. Sounds like a strange thing to say however when Javi, our Spanish friend, came round the other week he bought a home made tortilla and stated it always has to be soft towards the centre. This is something that can be easily rectified however. Also I would love to see croquettes on their menu in the future ham or salt cod they are still one of my favourite tapas dishes.

So if you fancy an afterwork treat check out Pata Negra, although the space is bigger than most traditional tapas places, you can get some great dishes here, they particularly excel at meat so be sure to sample as much possible. To see what Pata Negra has to offer check out their rather fancy website.

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.

A Saturday Evening at Bica

The other weekend on the evening after booking our wedding venue and munching through some of the best chips ever at the Plume of Feathers, Jamie had organised dinner at Bica a bistro on Cheltenham road. Boca specialises in Brazilian-Portuguese cuisine. On a Saturday evening they have live music to play you through you meal, we were treated to some wonderful Bossa Nova, a particular favourite genre of at least three members of our party so they were very happy indeed.

Freshly squeezed orange juice

Though the weather was rainy, as it had been all day, it felt rather like being on holiday inside with the soft lilting music and the warm atmosphere. The restaurant itself had only one large group of about 12 and our table of 7, this was probably because we were dining a bit later than normal at 8.30. Although the menu does have some Brazilian and Portuguese dishes on it it also has a good selection of tapas and for fans of neither they also have burgers and breakfasts for the morning. Also has a pleasingly large cocktail menu for a restaurant.

Rich decided to choose several dishes of tapas for his dinner whilst I went for feijoada, the Brazilian national dish. Feijoada is essentially as stew made from beef, pork and beans but there are so many recipes and ways of making this dish out there that there is no standard traditional set recipe. I have had it twice now and neither tasted like the other.

Feijoada

Calamari with chipotle mayonnaise

patatas bravas

smoked ribs

Food arrived after around 20-25 minutes which was better than I was expecting for a larger party. My feijoada was clean tasting with the beans and veg, the flavour was smoky but subtle. I enjoyed it but I think it could have done with more meat, if you research recipes for this dish they all contain a lot more meat which I think would have thickened the sauce a little more. But most importantly the flavour was very good and pretty filling. The calamari were really tasty, the sauce that was brought to dip them in did not seem to be what was described on the menu. It was very limey possibly with some avocado but it was hard to tell, it was tasty it just didn't taste of chipotle.

peri peri wings

The best tapas dish was the ribs, the meat fell off the bone and was well flavoured, although the calamari come a close second. The patatas bravas were a tad disappointing, I could have done with a bit more seasoning. On the whole I was impressed by the food at Bica the atmosphere was particularly warm and inviting, it brightened up a dreary evening of more terrible weather, their Portuguese custard tarts help you forgive most things.  To get yourself some artificial sunshine head down to Bica for a Caipirihna and a shot of Joao Gilberto and pretend you are in Rio. Check out the menu and live music dates on their website. Upcoming blogs will be on Nomu on Whiteladies and London restaurants Maroush and Bone Daddies. 

Friday Evening Tapas at Brace & Browns

Sarah had organised a little meet up, seeing as it had been so long, and Brace and Browns on Whiteladies was chosen. Brace and Browns offers up a large range of tapas dishes most of which have their origins in British cooking but fused with other countries, such as Italy, Japan and France. Our group of 9 were sat in the upstairs part of the bar and given menus to paw over. 

Each tapas is £4.75 which for most of the dishes is pretty good value, however when you consider that some of these items are salad or chips it becomes less good value. Having said that Rich and I chose 6 tapas to share between us we picked; mozzarella and tomato salad, the mini burger, truffle chips, mini fish and chips, pork three ways and a mixed mushroom dish with parmesan and polenta.

the first board to arrive

our board, a work of food art

This was definitely the most beautifully presented tapas I have ever seen, each board that arrived at our table was a picture. Rich and I were starving so we eagerly tucked in. The burger was the first to be tackled, and it was juicy and flavoursome with a sort of horseradish crossed with thousand island dressing on the top. Sadly this is was the best tapas on our board of the night. The ideas were there but most of the dishes suffered from either over cooking or under seasoning. The black pudding for example, that came as part of the pork done three ways was so hard it took a lot of effort to cut through and the pork medallion lacked salt.

pork cooked three ways

We also found some of the food a little cold, which could have been down to the fact that the presentation had taken so long. It was slightly disappointing that the taste did not live up to the presentation because it did look so good. I think these are problems that Brace and Browns can overcome because some of the dishes were promising and would be even better with some tweaking. Other than the burger my favourite taste was the bright forest green apple puree that came with the pork, best apple sauce I've ever had, so full of flavour I would love to be able to replicate it.

The tapas here has potential so would definitely return after a few months to see what is new. After Brace and Browns we checked out the replacement for The Colour Inn. Charlie's Bar is thankfully mostly unchanged, I was a big fan of The Colour Inn, so was pleased to know I could still go there for the same quality of cocktails. Thoroughly recommend the gingerbread martini it's heaven in a glass.

an old fashioned

To find out more about Brace and Browns visit their Tumblr for a menu and for updates on the latest cocktail mixes and music nights at Charlie's Bar visit their Facebook page. Next blogs will be on curry at the Clove, from Rich and our trip to Boca Bistro. 

Farewell Tapas at Bravas

Last Tuesday I had arranged to have a farewell dinner with my friend Elly, someone I have known since I was four,  who was leaving Bristol for London. Elly is a big fan of all things Spanish, having spent some time living over there, so she chose Bravas for her farewell meal. This was my first visit to Bravas, shockingly, and even though we showed up before 7 it was already pretty busy. We found a spot in the window and swiftly ordered two glasses of red and some bread and olives to help us decide what tapas to pick.

It was difficult to restrain ourselves from not ordering everything on the menu it all sounded so delicious but in the end we picked five dishes to share and sat back to wait somewhat impatiently as the smells of food around us only increased our hunger. The tortilla with aioli was the first to appear swiftly followed by the  Zamorano cheese with membrillo and patatas bravas, you couldn't not order bravas whilst dining at Bravas after all.

Tortilla with aioli

Patatas Bravas

Zamorano cheese with membrillo

From these photos I don't think I need to tell you how good these tapas were, but I will. The tortilla was rich and creamy, improved even further by the wonderfully fresh tasting home made aioli. Zamorano is a sheep's milk cheese from Zamora in Spain and is very similar in taste to Manchego, the membrillo, or quince jelly that it was served with topped off the richness of the cheese very nicely indeed. The bravas were served as large slices of potato, like thick crisps with a tomato and pepper sauce this was different but it was just as nice in my opinion.

Iberico pork cooked on the grill

white beans with leeks and fino

It was hard to pick a favourite, but if pushed I think I would say it was the Iberico pork, cooked on the grill. They were the most tender and succulent pieces of meat I have had in a long while, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, from what I could tell, it melted in the mouth with barely a couple of chews. I was glad we chose an unfamiliar tapas dish, the white beans with leeks and fino was wonderful, slightly sweet which went perfectly with the leeks. Elly and I could not resist pudding there were four choices all as delicious as the last but eventually we settled on the truffles and the rice pudding.

Rice pudding

Rice pudding is a real guilty pleasure of mine but one I rarely indulge because most people I know don't like it enough to share with me. When I make it for myself I often flavour it with brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, always cinnamon, I am a total addict. Bravas really stepped up to the plate with their rice pudding, it was flavoured with orange and nutmeg and was the ultimate in comfort food. The truffles were as good as they looked but you definitely only needed one each as they were very rich and decadent.

It was a perfect send off for Elly with all the food being superb. It made me anxious to return to Bravas as soon as I can, and I would urge you all to do the same, except then there would be no room for me. The food was so good I feel I want to keep it for to myself. Booking is definitely advised for more than two people so check out their wine list and sample menu on their website.

A Friday Evening at La Tomatina

It had been raining all week in Bristol, almost continuously, and Friday evening was no exception. I left work and dodged the many puddles to go meet Elly for tapas at newly opened La Tomatina, at the bottom of Park Street. I had booked a table for 5 as I was expecting our Australian friends, who had come down for a weekend visit from London, and Rich was going to bring them down later in the evening.

Damp and with weather blues, I waited for Elly at a table near the patio doors, watching everyone trying to dodge the never ending downpour. Once Elly arrived we decided to order a couple of dishes to go with our drinks as we chatted and waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

Croquettes, Calamari and Patatas Bravas

Chicken and Blue Cheese Croquettes

We ordered cod croquettes, patatas bravas, calamari and chicken and blue cheese croquettes. By far the chicken and blue cheese croquettes were the best thing about the whole evening, food wise. They were crunchy on the outside and wonderfully creamy on the inside. The cod croquettes were alright but no way near as nice as the chicken ones. It would be nice to have some traditional ham croquettes on the menu either instead of or as well as the cod ones. The patatas were pronounced tasty if not quite as spicy as we would have liked, but I have tasted so many different patatas over the years there is no hard and fast rule as to how they should come out.  I found my calamari portion very plentiful for the money but the calamari itself was a little rubbery and lacking in flavour.

Once everyone else arrived we ordered more beer, of which there is a fairly good selection of Spanish lagers  some of which I'd not seen in other Bristol bars before. We then ordered a couple more tapas each, mostly meat based and got stuck into the drinking. On the whole we agreed we liked the atmosphere of La Tomatina it was cosy, relaxed and had the reassuringly familiar sound of Gypsy Kings on in the background. Elly who has lived in a couple of Spanish cities agreed that tapas bars were more enjoyable when they threw themselves into the Spanish feel and culture as well as the food, I tend to agree.

Cured Meats Board

Chorizo with Butter Beans and Shallots 

Patatas with Tomato and Alioli

The patatas again were tasty and the potatoes nice and crispy rather than being soggy, it's nice to have the option of alioli on the menu as well. The cured meats board was good too but as long as you are buying high quality produce you can't really go wrong here. So far so good.

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Braised Pork Ribs in Tomato and Herb Sauce

Our main gripe with La Tomatina came with the seasoning, particularly with the meat dishes above and the calamari. As Kathryn remarked, the meatballs were of a good texture but they just seemed to be really bland the same goes for the ribs. It could have possibly have been an off day because it is obvious from some of the dishes the food can be very tasty. I was just very aware of a lack of salt or spice in the meat, Spanish flavours are bold and full on and with some tweaking they will have it right with the rest of the dishes. 

Bristol has a lot of tapas venues around at the moment and if it wants in on the competition fixing these little problems will be simple enough and I look forward to sampling those croquettes again as they were the jewel in their tapas crown.  La Tomatina is a good addition to the bottom of Park Street, if any sun actually comes our way this Summer it will be a nice way to while a few lazy hours in the afternoon. It is good value for money, some other tapas venues have very random portion control which can lead to unexpected hunger pangs, none of that here thank goodness. To check out their menus and upcoming events go to their website.

Chorizo Baked in Wine

After a mini discussion on Twitter with various foodies I reveal the recipe I made for my chorizo baked in wine tapas dish. This will be a relatively short post being that the recipe is, although not a long one, a very delicious one!

You can use either chorizo ring or whole mini chorizos, this time round I used both as they take on the flavour in different ways. So if you de-skin and chop the chorizo ring into chunks no smaller than 2cm, I find that smaller pieces tend to dry out in the baking process otherwise. You will also need a ceramic or Pyrex baking dish rather than a metal one.

After chopping the chorizo add between half to three quarters of a bottle of Spanish red, enough to almost cover the chorizo. I then add 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped into strips and scatter around the dish. Add a couple of shakes of paprika and thyme and you are good to go. It should look a bit like this:

Chorizo Baked in Wine

Bake it for about 40-50mins on 180-190 with fan or you can go lower for longer if you fancy, for a more intense flavour, I have baked it for up to 2 hours before. When it comes out it should have dropped about half the liquid level and the chorizo should be much darker, see the photo below the chorizo dish, right.

The Final Product (surrounded by other tapas dishes and empty plates)

Admittedly this isn't the best final photo, We all dug in quite enthusiastically before I got a chance to take a picture. Your guests will not be disappointed serve with crusty bread to mop up all the meaty wine juices and you will be in tapas heaven. Let me know how you get on with this recipe if you give it a go. Later in the week we shall have a report from Joe from the Social Smokers barbecue team giving us an update of his very meaty weekend. Plus the upcoming report of my lunch visit at Hotel du Vin with Bristol Bites.

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