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This restaurant review was undertaken on
Saturday 13th June 2009.
For those of you old enough, you may recall many
years ago the sudden influx of tapas style restaurants and bars
along High Streets throughout the country, especially London.
Tapas was the ‘in’ thing and many people set out to make their
fortune and open new establishments. Their aim was to attract a
trendy crowd of people who wanted to eat lots of different
dishes quickly whilst enjoying a drink either at the bar or
seated in the restaurant. Several of these restaurants, for a
number of reasons did not survive, apart from of course – La
Tasca, who opened their doors in 1993 and who now run some
seventy restaurants throughout the UK. What’s the secret of
their success? We paid them a visit to try and find out.
Décor
The restaurant has a very Spanish feel – even the
back wall was imported from Spain. With minimal lighting and
with dark furnishings this is a cosy restaurant that puts you in
the mood to relax. The tables are quite close together but
unlike many restaurants, this actually works well as you are
still able to have a private conversation in a bustling
atmosphere.
Food
My partner loves olives and duly ordered a
helping of these whilst worked through our choices of food. If
you’ve never tried La Tasca, their staff will happily explain
how their menu works. The amazingly fresh olives went
particularly well with our choice of wine (Pinot Grigio –
continental as well as Spanish wines can be found on the menu).
We started with the Berenjenas Fritas, crispy
fried aubergine slices, served with a blue cheese dip. I am sure
aubergines will not appeal to everyone reading this, but these
were delightful. These are not easy to prepare but they were
spot on – amazingly tasty and extremely moreish. We also ordered
the garlic bread with cheese and garlic lovers, these were very
heavily seasoned – just the way I like them!
You’ll find a whole host of dishes to choose from
for your main course but we were attracted to what seemed
incredibly value for money. For just over £26 we opted for the
Chef’s selection of tapas. No fewer than 8 individually prepared
dishes giving you the chance to sample a wealth of flavours.
When these were served, our table became a sea of colour and we
could not wait to start. Visit La Tasca’s website for a complete
breakdown but here were some of the highlights. Alitas De Pollo
– marinated chicken wings. These were meaty and I was impressed
with how much meat there was. Pollo Con Salsa – chicken breast
and sliced mushrooms in a rich sherry cream sauce. This was our
favourite dish and it did not last long! The sauce was
delightful. Gambas Gabardina – deep-fried king prawns in a light
crispy batter, served with roasted garlic mayonnaise and fresh
lemon. I was impressed that this arrived just as described. The
very large prawns were covered in an almost delicate batter and
with a generous helping of mayonnaise. Patatas Bravas – fried
potato with spicy tomato sauce. I’ve highlighted these from the
dishes we ordered simply because they were cooked so well. The
powerful sauce did not make the potato too soggy and these
proved a great accompaniment to all the other dishes. Paella
Valenciana – paella with chicken and mixed seafood. The only
problem with this paella is that you will want more. I wish we
had ordered another side dish of this. Our only minor grumble
was that the salad was so large. There is a tendency for many
restaurants to serve large salads in order to make it look like
you are receiving a bigger meal. This did not really make sense
to us because with seven other dishes, there was plenty of food
on offer and the salad looked misplaced.
La Tasca is a restaurant where you share food and
the above choice really is what makes La Tasca so appealing.
It’s fun sharing, especially when the food is so good and this
was easily exceeding my expectations.
Service
Your food will be served quickly at La Tasca. We
were not complaining as we were hungry! I liked the way the menu
was explained to us and how, despite the fact that the
restaurant was packed, the waiting staff had time to check we
were happy with our food. Our waiter was spot on when
recommending the aubergines to start and served us with a
genuine smile throughout.
Atmosphere
The “trendy” people I mentioned at the start of
the review were certainly evident throughout a busy restaurant
and the young crowd’s chatter almost drowned out the Latin
music. We really enjoyed eating our food in these surroundings
and we’ll be back soon.
In conclusion, La Tasca may be a chain
restaurant, but their management have clearly made their mark in
ensuring they send out their food to the highest possible
standards and offer a personal service – something many chains
fail to do. |
