Bath Food Review – Tapas Revolution
Posted on: 2017-06-26
Our rating:
Incredible tasting tapas worthy of competing with the best restaurants in Bath
Earlier this month the much-anticipated opening of Tapas Revolution finally happened, and all the foodies of the city rejoiced! Well we definitely did, and we were invited to review the brand new restaurant in Southgate. It’s the seventh restaurant in the chain and is owned by Spanish chef Omar Allibhoy who started making desserts at the age of four! He has been on many TV programmes and has been praised throughout the media, so we couldn’t wait to get our hands on his tapas…
Greeted by one of the happiest and friendliest waitresses I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, we were seated in a comfy corner and I looked around in awe at the interior. Apart from being much bigger than I imagined it would be, the inside of the restaurant is decorated beautifully and almost looks like you’re in a Spanish home. With tiles around the open kitchen, potted plants and dried salamis hanging on the walls, it had an authentic feel to it.
The enthusiastic staff were keen to help us with recommendations if we were stuck, and told us that three to four tapas dishes each is normally enough to fill you up. We opted for three each and we started off with 24-month dry-aged Iberian ham which is hand carved to order (£9.50), and we had this alongside a dish of Castillian ewe’s milk cheese served with quince jelly (£5.75). A perfect light start to the culinary journey and the flavours were outstanding. The ham was paper-thin, had an amazing bright red colour to it, and a slight nutty taste to it. The mellow cheese was delicious with the sweet quince jelly and it was such a big portion it could have been a starter for three or four people.
Following this we tried the deep-fried Ibérico ham and béchamel croquettes (£4.95), and grilled Spanish rice black pudding served with apple purée and piquillo peppers (£5.95). The croquettes were hot and gooey in the middle, with lots of flavour, and the black pudding was interesting as it had a meaty flavour which contrasted with the sweetness of the apple purée (£5.95). When one dish finished another one was brought to us, and next up was crispy fried aubergine with a spiced honey and thyme dressing (£5.50). This was my favourite dish, as the almost sickly sweet dressing went so incredible well with the crispy aubergine, which wasn’t soggy at all and could have been mistaken for a dessert because it was that sweet. Then our last savoury tapas dish was crispy pork belly with sweet and spicy sauce (£5.75). The pork was perfectly golden and crispy on the outside, and the sauce had a strong taste of cinnamon, which was pleasantly surprising.
Last but not least, dessert. I went for one that was unique to this Spanish restaurant – Torrija. Torrija is a caramelised brioche bun served warm and soaked in custard (£5.25). Yes it tasted as good as it sounds. The caramalised top was like the top of a crème brûlée that you had to crack to get into the soft custardy centre, and the warm brioche bun that it was all sat on was so filling; the ultimate comfort food. My dining partner went for a more classic rum and raisin ice cream which tasted home made and was served with a lovely shot of sherry wine (£5.25).
With a bottle of rosé between the two of us to wash it all down with, we were pleasantly full and didn’t even want to leave because all of the staff were so lovely and we felt so comfortable. Several new tapas places have opened in Bath within the last six months so there is a lot of competition for Tapas Revolution, but after experiencing all of these new tapas restaurants ourselves, we know that they can offer outstanding food worthy of competing against the best restaurants in Bath.
Ratings:
Atmosphere 5/5
Service 5/5
Food 5/5
Value 5/5
Address: 20A St Lawrence Street, SouthGate, Bath BA1 1AN. Check out Tapas Revolution's website here and find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Article by:
Born in Bath, Safia has lived on the outskirts of the city her whole life. After studying journalism in Bristol she now spends a lot of her time searching for new things to see in Bath and soaking up the beautiful culture. You're most likely to find her sipping a soya latte in a lovely little independent cafe! Call Safia on 07468 516375 or email editor@365Bath.com.
