It was our 11 year old’s request that he’d really love to try tapas that led us towards Tapas Revolution on St Lawrence Street (just opposite My Small World) in Bath one cold December evening. We were all too keen to encourage this new found enthusiasm for something other than pizza and sausage rolls, and anyway, we hadn’t been out together as a family in ages, so a treat was on the cards.
The first signs were excellent with a very warm welcome and a hearty “Ola” from the manager, before being shown to our table. My wife is a real tapas hero so in no time she was explaining the different dishes available, with a suggestion that we go for a couple each and then add more if we fancied it.
With coca cola for the children, an apparently gorgeous sangria for my wife and a glass of Spanish red for me, the dishes soon started turning up, with the children keen to give it all a go.
The first round of arrivals saw croquetas de jamón (deep fried cured ham and béchamel croquettes), paella, chorizo a la sidre (spiced Austrian sausage roasted with cider, calamari, tortilla and berenjenas fritas (just gorgeous fried aubergines), all on small dishes and spread out to share and enjoy.
The croquettes and chorizo immediately proved a winner with the children, while we grown ups were absolutely taken with the aubergines and chorizo. It was so great to enjoy a meal that didn’t rely on books and colouring sheets to keep the children interested. Instead we chatted about which dishes were our favourites and which we would like to try next.
By the time the alitas de pollo a la miel y limón (marinated chicken), albóndigas en salsa (beef and pork meatballs) and pan cote tomate (toasted bread with garlic, tomato and olive oil) had arrived, we were making up our own suggestions for future dishes and planning a family holiday to Spain to try tapas in its natural surroundings!
OK, not all of the dishes hit top marks with everyone – the sauce with the meatballs, for example, wasn’t a massive favourite, while the calamari was left very much to me to finish – and that was fine with me. However, generally the meal saw very little but empty dishes left on the table and my youngest proclaiming, “In my eight years that the best meal I’ve ever had.”
Of course, then there was the pudding menu, and while a few of our party were happy to leave it at the main course, the younger boys were keen to try the churros with chocolate while I felt obliged to give the brownie with poached red berries and almond walnut a go.
With the prices per dish generally ranging from £4.50 to £7.95, it works out at around the price of a standard restaurant’s starter/main course/desert combo, albeit with a lot more variety.
Did we like our visit to Tapas Revolution? Completely – good food, excellent waiters and funky atmosphere all combined to a really enjoyable family night out. And we’ve heard that Tapas Revolution will soon be introducing some festive additions to the menu, including roast turkey breast wrapped in Serrano ham, baked aubergine gratin and roasted potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and alioli. It will make a pleasant change to roast turkey!