Rating:
In a Word:
Sangria
Cuisine:
Spanish/Tapas
Appeals To:
Those poor lost souls shopping in the Trafford Centre, young and old, families and those trying to recapture a hint of their summer holiday whilst in a vast shopping mall.
Costa del Trafford
A visit to the Trafford Centre tends to remind me why I avoid it. Crowded, fractious kids, even more fractious parents, queues, buggies, false Italian grandeur…
But it does house some pretty good food chains. Oh and Selfridges. Suck it up Charlie.
La Tasca is slightly hidden away from the crowds – in the classier section of the food court. You can comfortably avoid the hordes queueing for their burgers and subs, and the stressed parents seeking a seat in the lower half of the Orient.
My blood pressure is grateful. Though the glass of Rioja also may have helped.
The Starters:
La Tasca offers a great tapas range, but for starters one of their best options is the sharing platter – Manchego, fat black and green olives, cured meats, fresh slices of jamon and fresh bread. There’s a little of everything and some gorgeous rich olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dunk your bread in.
We also ordered my addiction, pimientos de padron – fried green peppers sprinkled with sea salt. Allegedly one in every ten is said to be spicy, but I’ve eaten plates full and yet to spike my taste buds.
I know it’ll happen. One day when I least expect it.
The Mains:
Tapas, tapas everywhere.
We tried to be restrained as I always want a little bit of everything. Then I can’t finish it. Then I get cross. Then I hand my plate over to the husband so he can eat it.
I do not like this.
What I do like, are crisp crumbed jamon croquettas, with their creamy ham spiked béchamel filling. And boquerones, delightful little fillets of anchovy, very different to their over salty tinned cousins.
The pig’s cheeks were tender and sweet, sitting casually on top of some thin cut fries and the Andalucian gambas pil pil were perfect, oily, spicy prawns, I love getting my fingers messy picking shells off to get at the sweet seafood.
My favourite veggie dish was the chargrilled vegetables – asparagus, French beans, lots of smoky flavour served with chick peas, red onion and spinach. The plate had to be forcibly removed so I had room for dessert.
The chicken con crema with spinach and mustard sauce, and almonds was bloody gorgeous too. The chicken thighs fell off the bone in surrender, the sauce rich and creamy, finished with the sweet bite of the nuts.
The Dessert:
Ahh the indulgent bit of the menu. La Tasca have recently added some new desserts to their menu, including a waffle with chocolate and caramel and a churro style cheese cake. It smacks a little bit of Pizza Hut and their need to get kids as high on sugar as possible, and change good Spanish style desserts into something more American.
Having said that, I then went for the Catalan version version of a crème brulee, the Crema Catalana. And, like a child, I got excited when Julie also brought a lighter to light it at the table. Sometimes all it takes is a little alcohol and fire to get me giddy.
The husband on the other hand can live without the drama and went for the trenza, which means braid in Spanish and is a braided pastry filled with nuts and a few raisins and garnished with fresh fruit and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
It’s surprisingly light, I almost expected something more like a baklava, but what we got was much lighter, less sugary, but lovely.
The Service:
Was fabulous. Our waitress Julie didn’t realise we were there to review until it came to the bill, so we were confident that anyone who visited would get the same great service. Little things made us take note, staff swooped in to replace a piece of cutlery someone dropped, to get drink refills just at the right moment, all the things that can easily be taken for granted.
Value for Money:
With tapas it’s easy to get carried away, order too many dishes and gasp at the bill afterwards in horror. Despite our greed, our bill remained very reasonable, especially given we had a full three courses and the Trafford Centre is a relatively closed market.
La Tasca still, after all these years, offers great family friendly dining at a reasonable price and the chance to reminisce about how many sangrias you drank last time you were on the Spanish coast. It’s not going blow you away with overt authenticity and fine wines, but after a hard days shopping, when you want a spot to hide away from the crowds, who cares?
The Details:
The Trafford Centre
Peel Avenue
Stretford
Manchester
M17 8BN
Tel: 0161 749 9966
Web: latasca.com
Email: enquiries@latasca.co.uk