Barrio
In England, tapas can apparently be from any country in the world, and you invariably have to pay for it. Utter bollocks. In truth, it can only be from Spain and it should be free.
Walking the backstreets of Granada with my brother, we propped up the bar after a busy day of hardcore sightseeing. We’d created a simple yet effective system that dictated for every cultural activity undertaken, we would reward ourselves with the proportionate amount of cold beers: small statue equals one beer, vast monastery that takes hours to absorb – four beers. The first drink arrived accompanied with olives, the second with some marinated anchovies. By our sixth we were offered chorizo sausages in a sticky cider sauce. All free. This is the traditional way of serving tapas – to keep you firmly grounded at the bar.
Sadly, tapas can’t be free in England, it just wouldn’t work. But the prices at Barrio on Sherwood High Street are good, and it’s most certainly authentically Spanish.
I learned a good tip from another tapas restaurateur – don’t order everything you fancy at once. Take your time. With this in mind, we started with a couple of seafood dishes. I use the frittura (£5) as my barometer for a good chef, it’s on virtually every tapas menu but can vary wildly in quality. Barrio produces the good stuff – soft, fleshy squid rings and whitebait in a light batter, topped with crispy squid tentacles. The cod fritters (£4) were also lovely, flavoured with finely chopped peppers and plenty of parsley. In an accidental fish-n-chips moment we’d ordered the patatas bravas (£3) too, served crispy and topped with a lovely homemade alioli.
We refreshed our wine glasses, chatted a bit more and ordered some meat and vegetable dishes. Their albondigas (£4) are excellent, coated in a rich, herby tomato sauce. My favourite dishes of the evening had to be the baked rice topped with chorizo, black pudding and ‘el barrio’ sausages (£6) and Huancayo style potatoes (£5) – boiled potatoes with a creamy, spicy, scotch bonnet sauce (£5). As an ambassador of true Spanish tapas, I questioned how scotch bonnet could be justified, but it’s all good as the dish originates from Peru, which the Spanish colonised in the 1500s. Phew.
Book a table, order slowly, drink lots of wine and dream of what it might be like to live and eat in Spain. Ash Dilks
584 Mansfield Road, NG5 2FS. Barrio on Facebook
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