Food Review: Tapas Revolution Grand Central Birmingham Summer Menu

Tapas is such a great dish to gather around. A table full to bursting with small, delectable plates of yum should only be shared with great friends.

I was invited to try out the new Summer menu at Tapas Revolution in Grand Central, Birmingham and invited along a relative to join me for some summer bites.

Located in Grand Central, Tapas Revolution is the brainchild of Omar Allibhoy, Spanish chef, cookbook author and a regular on our TV screens.

This talented Spaniard opened Tapas Revolution Birmingham back in 2015, and it is often busy after work as people drop by to try out tapas, sangria and cocktails.

Settling into our booth with a view, we were able to take a peek at the cocktail menu first and went for some fruitier options to start with. We ordered the Passion Fruit and Marzipan Batida and Blood Orange and Cherry Royal.

With an entirely separate gluten free menu, I was pleased to see that many of the dishes on the main menu are perfectly fine to eat for gluten free guests.

With this in mind, we decided to order dishes that were suitable for both of us including the Marinated Beef Skewers with Spicy Sauce (Pinchos morunas con mojo picon), Paella Valenciana, Tiger Prawns in garlic and chilli oil (Gambas al ajillo), Black Rice with Prawns and Squid (Arroz Negro) and of course Patatas Bravas.

The dishes were brought out quickly, and as they were ready, which meant we could tuck into dishes whilst they were hot.

My favourite dish had to be the black rice paella; a combination of salty flavours and meaty pieces of squid, the flavour balance for me was just right.

The classic paella was also delicious, and the prawns were a good sized portion too. Patatas Bravas was well cooked but not burnt, with enough sauce to cover each piece.

The prawns were heavy on the garlic, but still very enjoyable and a good portion.

Finally the beef skewers. The sauce was for me a touch too spicy but still delicious.

By now it was time to order another cocktail! This time we went for matching martinis, I for the Espresso Blanco Martini and my relative, the sparkling Rose Margerita.

I could enjoy the Tapas Revolution version of the Espresso Martini any day of the week, but I probably shouldn't!

A few hours hours later, we left Tapas Revolution feeling very satisfied. The service we received was excellent, extremely friendly and the restaurant has a great laid back, post work vibe. Our dishes were all satisfying and I'm pleased with what we chose. Next time, I would perhaps have had another dish or two depending on how hungry you are.

There are a number of offers worth checking out too, including the £9.95 lunch deal, half price Sangria jugs and two-for-one Gin and tonic's from 4-7pm, Sunday-Friday.

Thank you to the team at Tapas Revolution for a great meal!

Event: El Borracho De Oro Press Dinner

Spanish food has always been somewhat underrepresented in the city of Birmingham. However, El Borracho De Oro is a new Spanish tapas bar and restaurant in town. Opened over a year ago, it has shamefully taken me this long to take a trip to the Birmingham restaurant.

I visited the restaurant for a press dinner on a balmy evening, where it was only right that we started the evening off outside; the perfect spot for an ice cold sangria. I picked a white Sangria for a change and sipping this outside on the grassy terrace felt particularly European.

Don't fancy sangria? There's a huge selection of wines by the glass, as well as wines by the bottle, beers, spirits and cocktails. 

Proudly boasting that everything on the menu is Spanish, authentic and fresh, the menu is a mix of tapas of every variety. There's a great choice of cheese, bread, ham or jamon of course and even an egg selection. 

We were offered a selection of tapas to try by Emma, the owner of the restaurant, who ensured we were able to try a variety of dishes to get a feel for the menu.

To start, we tried the cured meats selection (£10.50) and cheese selection (£8.95) along with a few nibbles in the form of breadsticks and almonds. Expertly sourced, the jamon was salty and perfect with booze, and the cheese varied and rich in flavour. I especially loved that the cheese was served with quince paste, an absolute favourite of mine and something that is particularly hard to find.

For the rest, there was also bread topped with tomato (£4.50), croquettes of cheese and ham (£4.50) and fried courgette flowers stuffed with cod (£8.50).

Next, I dived into plates of fresh mussels (£7.50). Served in a rich buttery sauce made of hazelnuts, paprika and white wine, these were the highlight of the meal for me. As much as I couldn't taste the nuts, the sauce, named fisherman's sauce, was heavenly and easily scooped up with the shells.

The others also tried the chicken cannelloni Barcelona style (£8.50) before the Iberian suckling pig, deboned and glazed served with an acid apple puree (£9.95).

Finally, there was churros for all, and I enjoyed scooping up the chocolate sauce alone!

All the dishes we tried were pretty reasonably priced, with the vegetarian tapas coming in at a great price for dishes that were so beautifully and carefully prepared.

Everything we tried had so clearly been made from scratch, and the sauces in particular were testament to this. So much time and care as well as expertise goes into crafting these small plates of morsels, and each dish had a personality all of its own.

I'm waiting to find an excuse to go back as there are so many other dishes I'd love to try. The staff were also really good at telling me which dishes were gluten free, so I'll be back to try a properly gluten free feast!

Have you guys been to El Borracho yet?