London: If you're in
Fulham, there's a fabby tapas bar called the Blue Orange
on the High Street. It's run by a young couple - she's from
Cordoba, he's from Italy and she does all the cooking -
wonderfully. We had calamari, the most authentic tortilla I have
tasted outside spain, mushrooms filled with chorizo and manchego,
gambas in garlic and fabulous albondigas. Really friendly,
cosmopolitan place with lost of Spanish, Italian and French
accents heard about the bar.
MG, Birmingham
Scotland:La Ducal,
Cowdenbeath, Fife
A popular and well established eaterie on the high street of
Cowdenbeath, a former mining town in Fife. Small wooden tables
jostle for space amid Spanish décor.
Regulars are here for quality tapas cooked by the Spanish
owner/chef and his team. Tapas portions are sizeable and cover
the basics well - tasty Albondigas (meatballs) in a rich sauce;
the squid was so good we had a second order straight away, and
chorizo in cider was a treat. My two fellow diners had steak
which they pronounced excellent. The main courses veer
eclectically between Spanish, Italian pasta and pizzas, which is
clearly the owner's way of covering every taste that might come
through the door.
The wine list is not extensive but quite sufficient and
thoughtfully chosen, with the most expensive bottles around £16.
For three people and one bottle of wine plus mineral water we
paid a reasonable £61 plus service. The neon-lit kitchen is
visible via an arch in the restaurant which brings to mind many
Iberian holidays. An unexpected gem in this part of the world:
many diners were clearly regulars so this may be one secret they
don't like to spread too far! Fergus, Fife
