If it was feasibly possible we would all just eat out every night, wouldn't we? or that just me?! I love every aspect of going out for food, from the social interactions to the delicious food itself, or maybe I just have a thing for being waited on. The most sociable meal I believe you can go out for is Tapas. Spanish food is positively delicious and the fact it's not frowned upon to order multiple dishes is a winner in my eyes. The hubby and I have loved Tapas for years, ever since we started dating it has been one of our go-to choices for a meal out and we are very rarely disappointed. Weirdly Tapas is the one meal that we always seem to have our deepest life/relationship conversations, is it the romantic setting and sharing of food? or just lots of red wine, who knows.
We were recently invited along to Tapas Revolution in Newcastle and, seeing as we have tried every Tapas restaurant in the city centre at least 20 times I was excited to try this new addition to the Spanish eatery scene. I want all of you to fall in love with Tapas as much as I have so what better way than breaking it down to simply 5 reasons why you should.
1.Variety
If you are not familiar with the concept of Spanish tapas, it is very different to your standard restaurant, instead of having one starter and one main course, you chose from a variety of smaller dishes and usually pick around 3 or 4 each, which means you can end up trying a lot more dishes then you usually would. Most Tapas restaurants can be really overwhelming if you have not been before. They can have long lists of food and you just don't know where to start, what I really liked about Tapas Revolution is the menu it simply laid out, it is clearly categorised into Nibbles, Meat, Seafood and Vegetables so you know what you are getting.
Each dish has its Spanish name and then an English description of what you are getting. We decided to go for 7 dishes and tried and pick a few from each section of the menu to get the most variety. The food was delicious and felt very authentic, my favourite dish was the Paella and the chorizo cheese bread. I wasn't so keen on the mushroom dish as the egg was a little overcooked for my liking. What you want from Spanish Tapas is bags of flavour and Tapas Revolution didn't disappoint on this front.
Due to Tapa's nature of being lots of small dishes, it is absolutely perfect to share especially with a loved one, which takes me onto the second reason you should fall in love with Tapas.
Each dish has its Spanish name and then an English description of what you are getting. We decided to go for 7 dishes and tried and pick a few from each section of the menu to get the most variety. The food was delicious and felt very authentic, my favourite dish was the Paella and the chorizo cheese bread. I wasn't so keen on the mushroom dish as the egg was a little overcooked for my liking. What you want from Spanish Tapas is bags of flavour and Tapas Revolution didn't disappoint on this front.
Due to Tapa's nature of being lots of small dishes, it is absolutely perfect to share especially with a loved one, which takes me onto the second reason you should fall in love with Tapas.
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| Paella de pollo |
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| Croquetas de jamón |
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| Suquet de pescado |
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| Huevos con champiñones y trufa |
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| Pinchos morunos con mojo picón |
2. Sociable
In any other restaurant environment I am very much on the wavelength of Joe from Friends "Kelly doesn't share food" however this all changes when tapas is involved. To me there is something romantic about Spanish food, choosing the dishes together and sharing food. You talk about the food and what is nice while you eat, lots of "oh you need to try that" or "have you tried some of this one yet?". Tapas is as ideal for 2 people as much as it is ideal for 10 people and Tapas Revolution has set menus which takes out some of the decision making, resulting in more time to eat the food drink the sangria and chat all night long. What I love about Tapas is you can add dishes anytime, so if you are eating and fancy more or have a little room left for something else, it is totally acceptable to just order as you go, they never rush you.
3. Feels like you're on holiday
Spanish restaurants have more of a holiday vibe than Italian restaurants in my opinion. Most of the Spanish tapas places I have been to try and be authenticly Spanish, from the music to the decor and quirky finishing touches. A true testament to a good restaurant is escapism, meaning while you are sat in that restaurant, do you forget the outside world? forget where you are or what problems are happening in life and just relax and...escape. Tapas restaurants do this for me. That's why when I saw Tapas Revolution was opening inside Eldon Square shopping centre I was a little dubious whether I would get that same feeling. What I will say is that I was aware we were sat in the shopping centre but it really didn't ruin anything, the atmosphere was still authentic and we were able to easily relax.
4. Chorizo, Chorizo and more Chorizo
Well, the title of this reason explains itself really. Spanish food uses Chorizo a lot and it is just so tasty. For anyone that doesn't know Chorizo is spiced, cured and smoked pork sausage and has to be one of the greatest food creations of all time...ok I might be getting ahead of myself but it is delicious. Two dishes we ordered at Tapas Revolution had chorizo in them and if I had the way I probably would have ordered everything that had chorizo in it. Chorizo just brings an extra depth to a dish so even if it is just an ingredient in a larger dish or the main ingredient itself, you will never be disappointed in the amazing spicy sausage.
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| Pan mallorquín |
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| Huevos rotos |
Sangria and red wine need I say more
So you have fully submerged yourself in the world of Tapas, how do you round off the experience to make it 100% authentic... Sangria of course. Sangria is a fruity drink made up of wine and...well...fruit. It is so refreshing and perfect accompaniment to Tapas. My top tip is to start with a jug of Sangria and then move onto a bottle of red wine. I am getting excited just thinking about doing this again, lots of tapas all over the table a beautiful Spanish red in hand. I need to book up asap.
We ended our meal sharing a liqueur coffee. I am not a big coffee drinker so didn't want a full one to myself. As this is a Spanish restaurant rightly they only serve Spanish coffees, and on the recommendation of the extremely lovely and helpful waiting staff we ordered the Carajillo which is an espresso with a shot of brandy (25ml) and flambéed lemon zest
We ended our meal sharing a liqueur coffee. I am not a big coffee drinker so didn't want a full one to myself. As this is a Spanish restaurant rightly they only serve Spanish coffees, and on the recommendation of the extremely lovely and helpful waiting staff we ordered the Carajillo which is an espresso with a shot of brandy (25ml) and flambéed lemon zest
That's all my reasons why you should fall in love with Tapas and also why you should get down to Tapas Revolution. Do you love Tapas? let me know in the comments below.
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