Restaurant Reviews: Tapas the Test
Roll up to any self-respecting wine bar in Perth these days and you're guaranteed to find tapas of some description on the menu. For the uninitiated, tapas are small tasting plates that have their origins in Spain and are now all the go. Better still, tapas are suited to all types of pockets because of their varied prices. So considerate in this bleak economic era. It was time to dig a little deeper.
Andaluz Bar
Andaluz is a beautiful space with beautiful food, yet I sat there feeling a tad perplexed. There were rich, inviting Chesterfield lounges cosying up to an open fireplace. There was nouvelle cuisine-style tapas fare, and there was Aretha Franklin singing her lungs out on the sound system. Los Gentlemen's Soul Club? Heterogenous styling out of the way, the only sore point remaining was that we didn't get to score one of the opulent booths tucked away in their own little niches.
The tapas dishes we chose were sublime. They were sophisticated and complex with long, mouthwatering descriptions, which always bode well with me. We chose four dishes, starting with a tortilla Espanola ($8) - thick cubes of potato topped with fried egg, which was good and hearty. Chargrilled asparagus, quail's egg and tarragon aioli ($9) followed, with the asparagus spears blanched and quickly grilled and the itty-bitty quail's egg gently salted and semi-hard boiled. The tarragon aioli was subtle and tangy, making it a beautifully light dish. Next up were twin towers of seared scallop atop a Berkshire pork cheek confit, with an exquisite sauce of Alvear PX wine and muscatels ($9.50). Our last dish was eight hour braised venison and creamed portobello mushroom empanadillas ($9.50). All excellent value, considering the amount of time and love that clearly goes into each dish. Yum.
Lamont's Wine Store
Kate's latest offering is Lamont's in Cottesloe, and it has already become a Mecca for the local well-heeled pashima set. Naturally the emphasis is going to be on the wines, with a staggering 250 varieties offered on a rotating basis, but the tapas menu, although more Australian than Spanish, does well to keep its end up. The marron dusted with pepper and garlic dust $15.50) was a big hit at our table, as was the cod croquette ($10.50), but I couldn't quite get past the price of a solitary scallop - $7.50 - no matter how succulent it was. Despite not getting much bank for our buck, the dishes were exquisite and, as with all of Kate's food, well-balanced in the flavour and artistic departments. Although I have to admit, the jewel-like macaroons flown in from Paris (see above pic) were my personal faves.
The Imp Cafe & Bar
Being a stone's throw from my house, I quite badly wanted to like this place. It throbbed to a Melbourne beat and was always pumping when I passed by. Alas things are not always as they seem.
The proffered olive is like the proffered water: you tend to assume it's gratis. When said olives were offered while I waited for my friend, I made the same sad presumption and got nailed $7 at the end of the night. A bit, dare I say, impish. Mind you, on arrival it was the size of a small tureen. Anyway. When my friend arrived ("What's with all the olives?!") we ordered crocodile cakes with yoghurt (4 for $12), beef and pork gyoza with an Asian dressing (4 for $12) and a warm lentil salad with coppa ($11).
The croc cakes sounded more exciting than they actually were and, other than the occasional Thai kick of lemongrass, were simply too bland while the accompanying minted yoghurt seemed to be sans mint. The warm lentil salad was a major hit - generous and perfect for a chilly winter's eve, with the coppa mixed through it giving it a real lift. A perfect combo. The gyoza were too strong - the tiny parcel of meat was far too spiced, which my heartburn thanked it for.
But all is not lost, there are several big ticks for The Imp too. Everything on the menu is made in-house and there are lots of gluten-free and vegan dishes on offer. The atmosphere is lovely and inviting. Brekkies are big 'n hearty. So are desserts.
Pata Negra
Star Anise's David Coomer has finally been able to fling open the doors to his new venture. David's former sous chef, Matt Stone, spent time in Spain last year checking out the local tapas fare and the menu is as about as authentic as it gets.
Along with the rest of Perth's foodaphiles, we had nabbed ourselves a table barely before the black wall paint had dried. We were given complimentary olives (ahem) and sampled the beautiful hand-packaged smoked almonds. The house-smoked octopus 'escabeche' (pickled marinade) ($14.50) was next, a slow-cooked delight that had been pickled in a Forum cabernet vinegar and dished up in a cute preserving jar. The jamon iberico, variously imported from Spain and local sourced, was sublime. And at $300 a kilo - hello - so it should be. The mussels, Manzanilla and jamon ($16.50) were also a winner, with surf and turf fighting for supremacy in a preserved lemon-laced broth. For mains we went with the Pata Negra fabada (stew) - ham hock, duck confit, chorizo and lentils ($36 for two). Pata Negra's food has a distinct Moorish theme running through it, and this dish was a great example of those strong, Arabic flavours.
The flavours at Pata Negra are big and gutsy, just what you'd expect from a Spanish pintxo. Add a glass of Marques de Riscal and you could be in Barcelona.
