Date Night - Tapa

Martyn and I had our January date night a couple weeks ago now but with trips to see family up north and down south this month has flown by! We finally made it to Tapa down at the shore, I'd been recommended it by friends at work months ago and had a peek at the menu which is very vegetarian friendly.

Warm welcome at Tapa

It was nice to have it on a Sunday night as I had time to get ready instead of my usual after work rush. I wore my new (to me) vintage style navy with polka dot hearts dress on it, I picked it up in the Cancer Research shop in Tollcross on Friday on my way to Martyn's office. It from Tu at Sainsbury's originally and I nabbed it for £3.95! I paired it with a wee red belt and my red cardigan for our evening out.

We headed down to Tapa for 7pm, it's not too far from the flat and just of Henderson Street. We were welcomed into a quiet restaurant and asked where we would like to sit, we chose the corner near the window and a radiator. Tapa is tastefully decorated, very simple and clean with flowers and candles on the tables.

Our waitress came and took our drinks order and explained the menu to us. I ordered a lovely glass of a tempranillo and we settles on the suggested dinner set menu as which is £25 a head but includes most of the items we fancied and had been recommended. To start you get bread with pesto, hummus and oil and vinegar, a selection meats and cheeses. Followed by a green salad, crispy aubergine drizzled in honey, patatas bravas and two choices of tapas each. I chose the asparagus spears and the avocado and chickpea salad and Martyn picked the chorizo and the chicken skewers. It also included a trio of deserts each but we'll get to that later.

They were very vegetarian friendly at Tapa and served the meats and cheeses starter on separate platers for me, yes I did share some of the cheese with Martyn... The pesto was unbelievable, so fresh and bursting with flavor and I love oil and balsamic with fresh bread, although the bread did resemble a pair of boobs when it was presented to us!

Boob bread! 

It was at this point in the evening I was treated to a surprise guest! My boss! I work in a school and just as the plates from our started were being cleared my ears perked up as the recognisable tones of the school Principal wafted through the door. My instant thoughts where 'No it can't be...' and 'Quick! Look busy'. Then because I had smiled and waved the waitress seemed to think it was a good idea to seat him on the next table. He came over and I introduced him to Martyn, had a wee bit of chat and he joked that he hoped we had just finish because having your boss next to you can kill the romance, I pointed out that we had just finished our starters and at that point he asked the waitress if they could move tables. It was nice to see him and for Martyn to put a name to a face but I was also relieved he decided to sit elsewhere.

Not long after our that mains arrived, first the green salad and the aubergine, then the patatas and asparagus followed by the meats and avocado salad. The aubergine was delicious crisp and sweet, the patatas bravas were lovely and rich and the asparagus spears were perfectly cooked and complimented with roasted yellow pepper salsa and cherry tomato jam. My highlight was the avocado salad, the chickpeas were tasty and crunchy and the avocado was creamy and soft with crisp salad leaves and almond slices and topped with balsamic glaze and sesame seeds - I would go back for the salad alone! Martyn loved the chorizo and the chicken skewers too. Everything was tasty and fresh.

Delicious crispy aubergine 

Once we had consumed all that it was time for desert! The set menu included a trio of deserts that turned up on a saucer, there was lemon cheesecake in the espresso cup with a chocolate bonbon and pistachio macaroon on the side. The cheesecake was beautifully creamy and sharp in one spoonful, the chocolate bonbon was a dark shell filled with smooth ganache and the macaroon was perfect with a crisp shell and gooey chewy center. Martyn had never had a macaroon before and seemed to think he'd not like them, he tried to give it to me but I made him try it and he loved it (I was a little gutted because pistachio one are my favorite).

Our Tapa experience was amazing, I would totally recommend popping down to the shore to check it out. We're already trying to find excuses to go back!