Tiny tapas joint with big flavours

With so many new restaurants opening in Manchester it takes a while to get round them all. So I’m a bit late discovering Tapeo and Wine, but now I have I can’t wait to go back.

It’s pretty small by Manchester standards, but that works in its favour. With dark wood and copper, and chatty Spanish staff I soon forgot I was on Manchester’s dreary Deansgate and allowed myself to be on holiday for just a while….

We were hungry, so decided to go for the tapas menu so we could share lots of bits. The sourdough we nibbled on was some of the best I’ve had for a while. Really chewy and perfect with the evoo they serve up.

I admit that I chose to visit Tapeo and Wine because I saw rabbit on the menu and it’s a favourite of ours when we go to Crete, where they cook over grills in wood burning ovens. Tapeo’s version lacked that char grilled taste but it was still really tasty and a joy to see on a restaurant menu.

The stand out dish was lobster and prawn croquettes. Blimey they were good: a gooey mouthful full of flavours of the sea. Sounds weird but works perfectly.

On a similar sea theme, the fresh fried squid was wonderfully crispy and came with a killer aioli.

Thin slices  of aubergine crisps with px sherry and honey glaze were really morish. When I could drink I was rather partial to PX, my grown up sweet drink of choice. Snaffle them while they are still hot and crisp. 

Braised Iberico pork cheeks in a Rioja sauce seemed to have been cooked for hours they were so tender. I maybe expected a bit more from the sauce but it was still very good.

As the name suggests they are big on wine, but Andrew enjoyed a couple of different beers from Estrella recommended by our waiter (including a black one which we’d never seen before)  and my non alcoholic margarita (basically a lime slush!) was served up beautifully in a copper martini glass with a proper salted rim. Even the jugs of water had fruit and cucumber in. Small details that make a big difference.

Manchester is quite spoiled for choice when it comes to food Spanish food (also love Iberica and Lunya) – a trend I am more than happy to see continue.

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