Viva La Vina!

When the weather is like it is at the moment, eating in the city can feel like being on holiday at times. Windows and doors wide open to the hustle and bustle, happy sun-kissed people; it’s a million miles from the bleak grey city we might be known for.

Throw in a jug of sangria, excellent tapas plus some live flamenco music (with impromptu dancers) and you really do feel like you’re in a hectic plaza in the centre of Barcelona.

This is how I felt last night at La Viña on Deansgate. A more upmarket version to sister restaurant La Tasca, La Viña is everything you want from a Spanish night out and let me tell you why.

We walked in having booked a table a few days ago to a very busy restaurant with live music bellowing throughout. All diners were immersed; either trying to sing along, clapping or even dancing in some cases.

The decor keeps up with this atmosphere; tanned walls, big barrels for tables and had the hallmarks of a bona fide Basque bodega. The staff were all very friendly and genuinely seemed to be happy to be there, I can’t blame them to be honest though; it was one big party.

Our waiter Omar was very informative and went through the specials, and suggested we started with the Aceitunas Especial. He vanished only to return with the best (and biggest) olives I have EVER eaten. Direct from Seville, these Gordal olives were meaty, salty – the perfect start.

We were ravenous so ordered a good selection of dishes and settled into the environment drinking a lovely smooth bottle of full bodied Pablo Old Vine Garnacha which went with the following dishes splendidly.

Like most British tapas restaurants, everything comes at once – the only difference from Spain where things come stage by stage. We had ordered plenty and had tried to get a balance of meat, fish and veg. These included Brochetas de Chorizo y Gambas, Tortilla de Espárragos, Patatas Pobre, Croquetas de Jamón, Slow cooked Pork Cheeks and an Ensalade de Tomate.

For me, the star dish was the chorizo and tiger prawns. Helped along with some of the rich sun-dried tomatoes from the salad and you had a seriously good little canapé going on. The torilla was also a tremendous dish; creamy, light and great with some greens from the asparagus – delicious. If you’re still flying the pulled pork flag, you need to try the pork cheeks here. Confit meat with a very rich pedro ximenez jus, it was the equivalent of a BBQ sauce and even came with homemade crisps!

Somehow before we knew it, we had cleared our plates and were ordering more food – this time from the dessert section. Two Catalan dishes which stood out were the Cinnamon Churros with a rich, thick chocolate sauce and the Crème Catalana (which was their Postre del Día). Such a nice way to end a fantastic meal and suggest you all try them both.

I’ll be honest with you; I was expecting a Trafford Centre style faux Mediterranean restaurant with textbook dishes microwaved within an inch of its life.....but here, here I was bowled over by the authenticity. The waiters were Spanish, the entertainment Spanish, the ingredients from Spain – it was the nicest Spanish meal I’ve had since my visit to Bilbao earlier this year.

If you can’t get to Spain this weekend, I suggest you pick up the phone and book a table at La Viña instead.

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Posted: Friday 26th July 2013
ID: 3463 - 1021