This new branch of Tapas Revolution is the third from chef Omar Allibhoy but his first standalone restaurant and it’s landed with a bang in the center of Shoreditch. Sat on the lively Bethnal Green Road, it adds a Spanish twist to the extensive culinary offering of the area. The Tapas bar is spacious with a warm and lively atmosphere, well imitating the Tapas bars of its home country, with a casual dining feel but excellent authentic food. You can pitch up at the bar, which suits single diners or couples, but there are also a variety of tables scattered around the restaurant, where you can cosy up in booth like seating or gather round tall tables on high stools.
Tapas for me, reflects the coming together of people to enjoy good food and good wine, which Tapas Revolution emulates nicely. They’ve created an atmosphere in which one would want to stay all night, enjoying their small plates of delicious Spanish food and washing it down with large glasses of red.
The menu is divided into meat, fish, vegetables and small nibbles, which made ordering simple. We decided to get a selection from across the board. Plates flew out of the kitchen at speed, delicious plump gambas, bathed in oil and garlic, jamon croquetas and pimientos de padron disappeared almost as soon as they hit our table. This soon followed with deliciously pink lamb skewers, tortilla de chorizo, patatas bravas and a beautiful flank steak with a pepper tapenade. The meat was exceptionally tender and the seafood was very fresh. Alongside this, we finished a carafe of Rioja, which went beautifully with the Spanish flavours and spices.
The food was as it should be; hearty, colourful and packed with the Spanish flavours of garlic, paprika and chilies.
Dessert was Torrijas, a wondrous Spanish bread and butter pudding, with a pillow-like consistency and a crunchy glazed topping. I’ve had a few of these in my lifetime and I can comfortably say this was one of the best.
The staff were charming and full of smiles, happy to make recommendations when you need them. Our visit to Tapas Revolution was extremely enjoyable and it will certainly be top of my list when looking for Spanish food in London. It’s yet another valid piece of evidence that Shoreditch really does have everything.
www.tapasrevolution.com
