“8 HOURS” baked tomatoes in sweet Oloroso - what a dish!! @ Cambio de Tercio-Tendido Cero-Tendido Cuatro-Capote & Toros.

I went to Cambio de Tercio the other night after work with Andy and experienced some really unique and exciting dishes!! 

Since the opening in 1995, Cambio De Tercio has concentrated on Modern Spanish cuisine.

The restaurant is located on Old Brompton Road, the nearest tube is South Kensington.

The interior of the restaurant is bursting with personality. 
Filled with bright colours and huge Spanish paintings which look really effective and bold on the vibrant walls.

Andy had been here before and hadn't shut up about it. He knew exactly what to order but we also went for a few wild cards too. He had not stopped going on about the '8 hour Tomatoes' so these were definitely on our list!

We sat down to eat at 7pm and by 7.30 the restaurant was totally full! I really loved the buzzing atmosphere, it seemed like this was the place to be......and it was :)

We started off with two glasses of house Cava which was refreshing and exactly what you need after a long day at work. 

And then we were on to the wine :)

Andy chose this and assured me I would love it.

It was really beautiful, we have similar tastes in wine.

Happy times, bring on the food :)

We started with this -

The famous deconstructed Spanish Omelette from EL BULLI (El Bulli was a Michelin 3-star restaurant in Catalonia, Spain. It was voted one of the best restaurants in the world but is now closed)

Think warm gooey cheese omelette .....but that doesn't do it justice. It was soooooo delicious and different and YUMMY. 

Next we had .....

Sardines marinated in sherry vinegar, Arbequina olives, baby gems and Martini Rosso jelly.

This was a wild card. It didn't amaze me. 

It was too strong in flavour but it gave the wine a real kick! 

And now the dish I had been waiting for..........

8 hour Tomatoes!!! 

Baked tomatoes in sweet Oloroso - Oloroso ("scented" in Spanish) is a variety of fortified wine.

WOW

DREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAMY!!!!

I was in a good place :)

It tasted like a kind of sweet tomato jam, each mouthful just melted in your mouth!

What a great idea and such a unique 'signature dish' to promote the restaurant.

I will be going back for more very soon!!!! 

Next up, one of my favourites! 

I was really looking forward to this and it did not disappoint.

The octopus was juicy and just perfect :) but ooohhhhh the sauce!!! The cheesy, potato sauce was amaaaaaaaaazing, similar flavours to the El Bulli dish.

Time for some MEAT........

Grilled lamb cutlets!

They were tender, pink and bursting with flavour.

And to finish our Spanish journey......

Crispy Serrano ham Croquettes, thyme and tomato sauce.

Andy was full up so I ate them ALL!!!!! Soooooo goooooooooooood, really appealing to the child within :)

What a FANTASTIC meal!!!! 

I couldn't manage dessert but we were given complimentary chocolates which were HEAVENLY.

I also ate all of these so as you can imagine it finished the meal off well!

You can really take your time in a restaurant like this, each course is exciting and full of different and exciting flavours. That's what is so lovely about the Spanish style of eating.

If you like Spanish food you MUST check this place out!!

http://www.cambiodetercio.co.uk/cambio-de-tercio/en/

Tapas time at El Pirata

A few weeks ago I was walking around Mayfair and I stumbled upon a restaurant which was hidden from the main streets. I was immediately intrigued as it was standing alone, tucked away amongst the glam of Mayfair.

I loved the inside lay-out  as it looked really cool and interesting. The walls were covered top to bottom with art work from Miro and Picasso which gave me the feel this place was packed with culture.

                       

As I walked closer to check out the menu I noticed it was Spanish Tapas, great I LOVE Tapas and hadn't been to a really good Tapas restaurant since Barcelona.

Could this place provide a Spanish retreat.....which we all need in January!

El Pirata Spanish restaurant in Down Street exudes Mayfair style. Matías Costa/©ICEX

When I got home I looked up the restaurant and read the reviews, they were fantastic and lots of people had commented on how authentic the food was and how it was very reasonable and NOT your average Mayfair prices.

This was a real hidden gem that I had not heard of before but I had to go and see for myself.....

I booked us a table for the following Saturday night.

I was really excited to see what this new find had in store for us, I love discovering new restaurants and love it even more when they deliver!

After banging on about it all week to Andy, Saturday finally arrived.

The restaurant is located about 5 mins from Green Park tube, it's secretly located in the back streets which immediately makes you feel like you're going somewhere really special and unique.

As we entered we were greeted by a loud, bubbly, Spanish manager who welcomed us in a very friendly manner, he asked us if it was our first time there.

We explained it was and he smiled, as if to suggest we were in for a real treat and a good night!

         

          So far so good! 

          Drinks at the bar first?

          Oh yes, I was looking forward to  a nice cold glass of cava :)

          I ordered the house, it was very refreshing and light.

The bar staff were really friendly and even said we could eat on the bar if we would like.

I looked around and saw a few people were and thought it's a great idea if you wanted a few casual drinks and dishes.

Scanning the restaurant more it became evident of the lovely mixture of clientele this place attracted, lots of nice couples, some groups of friends, a few families and there was a birthday dinner happening down stairs. I loved the spiral staircase leading down to the lower level, the dynamics of the restaurant gave it a very buzzy atmosphere

We both absolutely loved it, but we were yet to try the food....

After our drinks we were shown to our table, it was a great table, exciting views from both sides, don't you just hate it when your facing a wall!

Our waiter came over and introduced himself.

We asked him to recommend a bottle of wine for us. 

As we drink mainly French reds we explained we didn't  know much about Spanish wine and the waiter pointed out a Pinot Noir for us which was around £30, it was nice of him to not recommend a really expensive wine as some waiters do. 

The tricky part about Tapas is choosing the dishes as there are so many and they all sound delicious!

We both picked out our favourites...

I chose - 

Octopus brushed with olive oil and paprika , 
deep fried medallions of monk fish, 
marinated chicken skewers with chorizo 
and aubergine stuffed with vegetables & topped with cheese.

Andy chose -

Chicken livers in white wine & onion sauce, 
meatballs, 
prawns in olive oil, garlic & dry hot chili peppers 
and then we both decided to try the baby eels in olive oil, garlic & roasted potatoes..

Yes we ordered way too much food, as we always do, but it was our first time there and we wanted to try everything. Next time we will definitely order less.

Each dish was seriously TASTY, we were really impressed. It was at the standard you would expect in Spain.

The baby eels? Delicious! I was a little apprehensive but they were yummy, nice and salty. 

We took our time and the waiter brought out 2/3 dishes at a time.

The wine was OK, nothing amazing but it went well with food....at 14% we were both pretty tipsy by the end which is when a cheeky dessert was required :)

 I had fried banana served with honey and ice cream and Andy had creme brulèe with a crunchy caramelised top.

They were both gorgeously sweet and really hit the spot after our meal.

We had so much fun and really enjoyed ourselves, I will be recommending this place to everyone and going back very soon to try more dishes!

They also do a dinner set menu at either £16.35 per person or £20.95 pp, depending how hungry you are.
I think that's excellent value for money.

Check out the website and get booking :)

http://www.elpirata.co.uk