Friday 10 March 2017

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution

The most recent restaurant to open at Intu Eldon Square Gey's Quarter is Tapas Revolution, the seventh of Omar Allibhoy's Spanish restaurants to open in the UK. To celebrate I was invited along to a special beer and tapas pairing evening hosted by Omar to learn more about his new restaurant in Newcastle.

Tapas Revolution is a Spanish Bar, Café and Restaurant that transports you to a sunnier climate as soon as you walk through the doors. With Spanish music filling the restaurant, beautiful Mediterranean inspired decor and delicious smells it's not long before you feel like you're on holiday rather than in Newcastle!

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution


Tapas Revolution is definitely one of the more authentic feeling chain restaurants that I've been to, so much so, calling it a chain feels like you're doing it a disservice. Listening to Omar talk about the delicious ingredients sourced from Spain, how his favourite dishes are created and the love and care that goes into designing each restaurant to make it different it's clear he is passionate about bringing great tapas to the people of Newcastle.

The evening began with an introduction to some of the beers available at Tapas Revolution. Before the evening I'd always associated Sangria as the drink of choice with Tapas but Omar explained that beer and tapas is hugely popular in Spain and the two very much go hand in hand.

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution
Our main course was served with two Estrella beers, the 0.0%  which was very light and refreshing with a smooth and long bitter aftertaste (perfect for a non-beer drinker like me!) and the Estrella Galicia 4.7% which was light in body with a medium alcoholic warmth.

With our dessert we had a very special 1906 Black Coupage 7.2% with the roasted aromas of malt and coffee and a slightly sweet kick with delicious flavours of liquorice and cocoa.

Now, I'm really not a big beer drinker, but with my tapas I was pretty surprised how easily I was drinking the beer. I would even consider enjoying a beer with my tapas again (although the cocktail menu did look pretty tempting!)

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution - Beer


Our food feast began with four tapas dishes to share between us which quickly covered our table. As a foodie nothing makes me happier than seeing a great spread of food and it seemed my dining companions agreed as we all eagerly grabbed as much as we could fit on our little colourful plates.

My favourite of the evening was the Pan de la casa (£4.25) - toasted bread, topped with tomato, garlic sauce and serrano ham. There's most definitely no ladylike way of eating this beauty - it's best enjoyed without a care to how you look or what ends up hanging out of our mouth. It was so delicious!

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution


Next up we enjoyed the Tortilla de Patatas (£4.50) - classic Spanish omelette with free range eggs, potato and onion. Never really my favourite tapas dish but it was most certainly one of the best that I've tried.

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution
One of the biggest hits of the night was the Croquetas de Jamon (£4.95) - deep-fried Iberico ham and bechamel croquettes - which disappeared from their little dishes at great speed.  These little balls of heaven were so moreish it took a lot of self control not to just pinch the whole dish and keep it to myself.

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution


A first for most of us, the Pulpo a la Gallega (£6.95) - steamed octopus with potatoes and pimenton paprika - was a dish we were all very curious about. I wasn't sure if I'd be a fan of octopus but was pleasantly surprised, definitely one to try if you've not before.

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution


Our main course finished with a huge dish of Paella de Pollo (£24.00) - Chicken, green beans and chicken stock. In my eyes you can't really go for tapas without paella and this one was perfectly prepared and tasted just as good as the paella dishes I've enjoyed in Spain.

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution


I'd never usually think to order a dessert after eating all that tapas but our evening ended with a little taste from the sweet menu. Torrija  - caramelised brioche bun soaked in custard and served warm.  It may not look terribly exciting (it's very hard to photograph believe me!) but wow this little treat was a dream and the most perfect end to our evening.

Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Tapas Revolution
I loved my first visit to Tapas Revolution and am looking forward to sharing it with Simon very soon as I know he's going to love it!

Anyone else made it to Tapas Revolution yet?

We enjoyed a complimentary night.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 
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