Salt House Tapas

If you’ve never visited an independent tapas restaurant before, then make it a priority to do so. NOW. We assure you that you haven’t tasted tapas if you havent veered away from the chain restaurants.

Cutting edge, modern, urban and always busy – Salt House Tapas, in the old Bishop of Liverpool’s residence on Hanover Street is the real deal. Both a Charcuteria and a Tapas Bar, choose from either a seat in the restaurant or hop onto a stool near the bar and order cocktails to go with delicious cuts of the finest Iberico ham.

Quirky, rustic touches bring Spain right to the heart of Liverpool and tapas is served exactly the way it should be. You order a variety of dishes and they come to the table as and when they’re ready.

Rustic, quirky touches

Originating in Spain, tapas are snack or appetiser size portions of a wide variety of dishes. Everything from meatballs to calamari to chorizo – the idea is to order a range of dishes to share between friends and to encourage conversation whilst everyone digs in!

The menu is vast and it is really difficult to narrow down which dishes to order as the descriptions make everything sound irresistable. To help you make the decision easier, the menu is divided into categories such as Meat, Fish, Charcuteria and Breads.  After ordering a round of Berry Bellini’s we made our selections.

Sauteed Baby Chorizo with Orange Blossom Honey was the stand out dish in our opinion. Whole baby chorizo sauteed in the most mouth watering tangy honey – even when all the chorizo was gone, we continued to dip other items into the honey. We couldn’t bear to leave any!

Sauteed Baby Chorizo with Orange Blossom Honey

Iberico Ham Croquettes were fat, crispy and creamy inside. The creamy potato mixed with the smokiness of the ham all enveloped in a piping hot crispy exterior left us ordering an extra portion.

Iberico Ham Croquettes

Sizzling Prawns cooked in Garlic, Chilli and Olive Oil were perfectly cooked. There is nothing worse than rubbery overcooked prawns! They were light and fresh and the flavour of the garlic, chilli and olive oil complemented them perfectly.

Sizzling Prawns in Garlic, Chilli and Olive Oil

You didn’t think we were going to stop there did you ;-)? Bring on the dishes! Next up was the Chargrilled Peppered Fillet Steak with Potato Rosti and Red Wine Jus. We are very specific with our steaks and let us tell you, this one was cooked perfectly. The knife slid through the steak like it was butter and the chargrilled flavour added that extra touch.

Chargrilled Peppered Fillet Steak

The other stand out dish was the Deep Fried Monte Enebro Goats Cheese with Honey and Red Beetroot Crisps. The goats cheese was deliciously creamy and one stab of the fork allowed all the gooey goodness of the cheese to come oozing out. The beetroot crisps were a nice touch and provided a nice contrast in texture.

Deep Fried Monte Enebro Goats Cheese

Here is where we had an argument – or debate we’d rather say! Do we go for our old favourite Patatas Bravas or try the Potato Tortilla? In the end the traditional Fried Potatoes with Bravas Sauce won. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside – the cubed potatoes were generously coated in a rich tomato sauce. An old favourite done extremely well.

Fried Potatoes with Bravas Sauce

So next time you fancy some tapas, PLEASE PLEASE bypass chains such as La Tasca and head down to Salt House. We can’t see anyone being disappointed here!

Busy, bustling atmosphere

What is you favourite tapas dish? We’d love to hear from you!

LAS IGUANAS

A trip to the cinema to watch the latest chick flick, Safe Haven (recommended if you’re fellow lovers of achingly romantic weepies that feature a hunky leading man ;-), was followed by some Latin American tapas at Las Iguanas in Liverpool One.

Describing themselves as a ‘Latin American’ restaurant, they certainly have the ambience spot on. Busy and bustling but at the same time intimate, you can’t help but feel comfortable here right away. A bar serving delicious cocktails greets you as you walk through the door and the open kitchen is visible from every table.

Having previously visited South America, we can testify that Las Iguanas has brought all of the best elements of the regions restaurants to Liverpool. Although part of a larger chain, the quality of the service and food seems notably higher than the mass produced fare often found at other chains.

Voted as one of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2013, the staff certainly seem to really enjoy their jobs and this comes through in the form of attentive, professional and friendly service.

After taking in the surroundings, there was only one thing to do – grab a cocktail and get delving into that menu! The cocktails are grouped into regions so choose from a Passion Fruit Caipirinha from Brazil, a Daiquiri from Cuba or a Peachy Pisco from Peru.

The thing we loved most about the eclectic menu was the fact that as well as serving main meals, there was the option of ordering tapas. This was great as we got to try a range of different dishes instead of filling ourselves up on just one! Las Iguanas even have Happy Hour Tapas where 3 dishes can be ordered for just £13.80.

Gambas

Our first dish of Gambas arrived and certainly matched its description of ‘Greedy Whole Prawns, split and cooked in a Garlic, Lemon and Chilli Sauce.’ The prawns had their shells still on so if this makes you a little queasy be sure to ask for them to be deshelled in the kitchen first! Plump, juicy king prawns were swimming in a yummy marinade of garlic, lemon and chilli and fresh hunks of bread were perfect for mopping up all of the surplus sauce.

Calamares

Calamares – Whole Baby Calamari sliced and coated in crisp crumb cassava, served with creamy aioli were light, crisp and had some tentacles thrown in there as well for added texture and bite. The creamy aioli provided a lovely cooling dip for the hot battered calamari.

Having a penchant for all things dance inspired, we just HAD to order the Cha Cha Chorizo! Smoky Pork and Garlic Chorizo, braised with Onions in a Red Wine, Tomato and Smoked Jalapeno Sauce was so so tasty.  The chorizo was so tender; melting in the mouth and the sauce was incredibly rich, tangy and had the perfect balance of flavours. Hallelujah for the chunks of bread to mop up the remaining sauce (anyone else seeing a theme here ;-)?)

Cha Cha Chorizo

This feast wouldn’t have been complete without sampling one of the delectable sounding quesadillas. A crisp, piping hot Quesadilla filed with Guajillo Chilli Mushroom, Truffle and Gooey Brie provided a flavour combination we have not tried before in a quesadilla. The mushrooms gave an earthy texture and the brie, although gooey was not plentiful enough. The addition of more brie (oozing out of the quesadilla as you bite into it) would’ve taken this dish from an 8 to a 10.

Guajillo Chilli Mushroom, Truffle and Gooey Brie Quesadilla

Our favourite dish of the night was the Pato Taquito. Rich shreds of Roast Duck and Caramelised Onion rolled in a Flour Tortilla and chargrilled, with a Spicy Cranberry Salsa. This tortilla was amazing, the duck was juicy and meaty and the caramelised onions and spicy cranberry salsa added a fruity tang. Unfortunately this is where the fabulous meal hit a bit of a road block. Halfway through eating the Pato Taquito, one of us pulled out a thick black hair which was wrapped up in the tortilla. We are aware that this happens and are not here to be critical about the restaurant as everything was great apart from this little slip up.

Pato Taquito

One word to the waitress and she apologised profusely and took the dish away. The manager also came over and apologised and offered to get us a replacement dish. By this point we had already eaten all of our other dishes and were full so this wasn’t necessary and they kindly took the item off the bill.

Other than that small incident (which was handled courteously and professionally), our meal was a great success. If you are looking for a casual spot for dinner, a restaurant with a bustling vibe and warm energy or delicious cocktails and Latin specialties, you won’t go far wrong with Las Iguanas.

http://www.iguanas.co.uk