Tag: tapas

First day of holiday- deliciosa cena a la Regata

2:30pm. I’m sitting on my bed listening to Oldies songs, daydreaming. Don’t Stop Believing just came on, reminding me of all the laughs we had learning to sing it at the Staff Choir with Dan years ago, it goes on and on and on and on…

Tomorrow this time I’ll be arriving in Bordeaux. The excitement will probably keep me awake most of the night but all worth it and my week off work wouldn’t have kicked off better.

Day one started with a lazy morning, delicious dinner at La Regata, and drinks with great company.

I was meeting a friend for dinner and I really fancied Spanish Tapas. My Spanish friend Santi as a fellow Mediterranean food lover recommended La Regata down at Town Quay, ‘If you want authentic Spanish food, that’s the place to go’.

I’m now in love with this place. Colourful, traditional and warm decor, the friendliest, most attentive service probably in Southampton, the waiters came over to check on us a couple of times as well as the manager, the lady at the reception even remembered my name (it’s all about the personal touch) and the food was delicious!

I struggle with choice, so deciding which tapas to have was not an easy task. But my food partner for the night and one of the lovely waitresses made it very easy.

We went for six tapas: Queso de Cabra (Grilled goats cheese on toast, topped with caramelized onions and balsamic dressing), Pollo al Chorizo (Chicken cooked with chorizo in a light tomato sauce),  Cerdo Crujiente ( Slices of  grilled crackling pork belly, served with a spiced apple sauce),  Arroz Espanola  (Saffron rice with meat and seafood), Gambas Regata (King prawns cooked with chorizo in garlic oil) and Albondigas (Beef meatballs in a tomato sauce).

And I tried their Sangria (my beer lover friend had a classic San Miguel, I think, don’t take my word for it).
Spanish tapas

 

All the tapas, not surprisingly were delicious. Flavoursome with just plenty of herbs and spices, as it should be, freshly prepared and very filling. And my sangria was just perfect.

We struggled to finish them, but that’s maybe because we both chatted too much.

I can’t believe I’d never been to La Regata before until yesterday. I genuinely can’t wait to visit again and try more of their scrumptious dishes. Needless to say, I’d definitely recommend it. Local, independent, authentic Spanish restaurant, friendly service and great atmosphere.

Now time to pack for my French mini adventure!

Namaste

Eleni

Italian Tapas Friday

Happy Friday!

Thank God is Friday. This week has been emotional, busy, full of ups and downs, exhausting.

I’m glad we decided to try Enoteca, the Italian on Bedford place.

The perfect way to celebrate the end of the week.

My lovely friend Jaba recommended this little gem a while ago and today Jamie, Sheba and I gave it a go. I pass by it every day on my way to work and back but is usually quiet so I didn’t think much of it but I’ve heard the best and it has excellent reviews with my all time favourite one: “Just had the Tiramisu. Like angels tap dancing on your tongue. The lamb and the prawns were legendary too. Good work chaps!(Rob Pratt via Facebook)”

Enoteca (the word Enoteca comes from the Greek word Οινοθήκη, which means “wine repository” but is used to describe a special type of local or regional wine shop that originated in Italy) is a small, family run restaurant in the city centre and the menu includes antipasti, sharing platters and tapas.

We love sharing and we wanted to try as much as we could, one of my favourite things to do when eating out, so we had the cheese platter, the griddled lamb cutlets, Arancini (fried breaded risotto balls filled with mozzarella and Nduja salami) and the torta rustica (A filo pastry tart of ricotta, spinach, artichoke).

Everything was delicious! Jamie doesn’t usually like lamb but he loved it at Enoteca! And I personally loved the decoration and the homely feeling, especially their pretty patterned plates.

 

Italian Tapas
Cheese platter

We could not leave without trying the tiramisu after the glorious review above. And it didn’t disappoint. Light, fluffy cream, sweet, coffee infused lady fingers. I could have 10 of these little pots.

Tiramisu
Tiramisu

Thank you Jamie and Shebz for our lovely lunch today. One to remember!

I’m definitely going back again to try the rest of the menu and their wine. Needless to say, is now one of my favourite lunch places in Southampton. Great, delicious food, decent prices, fast service, friendly staff and local, independent, cute little restaurant.

I hope more people get to know and try it and support it, it will be a shame if it closes down because of the big, chain competitors.

I don’t get paid to write about any of these places, this is my honest opinion and hopefully this comes across through my posts.

Have a lovely weekend, however you are spending it!

Eleni