While on a visit to Portsmouth, I visited a chain of Spanish tapas bars in the United Kingdom known as La Tasca. It is the first I have heard or seen of them but made good sense since I was travelling with a friend, and what better way to have a meal than to share a variety of tapas.
We had:
GAMBAS GABARDINA (MADRID)
King prawns, dipped in special-recipe San Miguel batter and fried until crisp.
GAMBAS AL AJILLO (ANDALUCÍA)
Butterfly king prawns, saut?ed in a chilli-&-garlic infused oil.
CROQUETAS DE MANCHEGO (TOLEDO)
Hand-crumbed with three-month-aged-Manchego cheese and fresh spinach.
EMPANADAS DE CARNE (GALICIA)
Filled with minced beef and regato cheese.
CHORIZO & MORCILLA (CASTILLA Y LEÓN)
Simply sauteed on the plancha with Spanish black pudding, peppers and onion.
HOME-MADE BEEF BURGERS (CATALUÑA)
Two fresh mini home-made beef burgers.
Thought the food was good, it wasn’t anything out of this world. Chains like this are identifying niches in food and restaurant markets, but not really delivering anything new. It is a safe bet but don’t expect to taste anything unique or out of this world.