Restaurant Review: Cafe Andaluz

With La Tasca seemingly offering a permanent 50% discount on food, could any other tapas bar beat it? I hoped so, because whilst La Tasca is great value, the quality of the food has much room for improvement. So it was with great hope and expectation that I arrived at Cafe Andaluz on George Street, having salivated over the menu a few times whilst waiting for a bus home.

Wine List

OK, we've already established that if you want a cheap tapas night, go to La Tasca. Which is just as well, because the wine here ain't cheap. £18 for a house wine, Siglo crianza, which you can buy in the shops for £7, is expensive. I think La Tasca offers the same wine cheaper (but they don't have their list online so I couldn't confirm this). Other than that the list is limited, but offers a really good selection of styles, including a priorat at £55 and some gran reservas. No vintages are mentioned on the menu, so you'd have to ask to be sure of what you are paying for.

Food

There were six of us in total, and we polished off 2 set menus and a couple of other dishes between us. A menu for two is recommended, but you'd have to be seriously hungry to finish all that between you. The choice was excellent though, and the food fantastic.

From the start, when we were served fresh bread, great olive oil and olives which were so tasty I found myself eating the black ones (which I usually don't like), I knew exactly why I would be coming back here rather than returning to La Tasca - the food is delicious!

We then tucked into a vast array of dishes, including mushrooms in wine and garlic sauce, tiger prawns, tortilla, very spicy patatas bravas, and very smelly goat's cheese and marmalade.

Dishes to highlight for me included the chorizo and the battered chicken. But the star dish of the evening, selected on a friends recommendation, was the chorizo and black pudding - this is a very rich dish, so best shared between a few people!

Overall Rating

Cheap food or great food? Limited menu or a choice including some dishes you certainly won't have tried before? Crammed tables or a bit more space?

The atmosphere at both La Tasca and Cafe Andaluz is equally as good, but the food is infinitely better at the latter establishment. Now I know why the food is always discounted at La Tasca - I'd rather go out less often and pay more. Cafe Andaluz is my new tapas destination in Edinburgh, and I can't wait to go back!

La Tasca - Great Value Tapas

3 months since the last post - what can I say? I've been working hard, doing a bit of running, and sadly, not eating out. All this is about to change though. In the next few weeks I'll be eating at Tail End (acclaimed chippy - can it live up to the hype?), Cafe Andaluz (I've just heard great things from a friend so am very excited), and Wok & Wine.

The more observant amongst you may have noticed that there are no high end dining nights out here ... I'm dropping hints with a view to going to 21212 (I can only hope).

In the meantime, I visited La Tasca last week with the in-laws, so a quick review.

I love tapas, but I haven't tried too many restaurants in Edinburgh recently, apart from La Tasca - see my review from earlier this year.

The Tapas Tree always used to get good reviews, but didn't impress me too much. So far (and this may change soon) my favourite has been in Newcastle - El Torero. It's been a few years since I've been, but if you're in the area I'd recommend giving it a try. La Tasca, for me, has always been good, serving all the favourites and doing a reasonably good job. What elevated this visit for me was that all food was half price (again). If you want to keep abreast of offers on national chains like this then www.vouchercodes.co.uk can send you a weekly email with all the best offers (not just restaurants).

Wine List

Pretty standard list with a good range of value wines and beers. I especially love the cava (!) and the sangria.

Food

Nothing adventurous, nothing spectacular, but pretty tasty and great value. All the usual favourites were there: meatballs, croquettes, prawns, calamari, chorizo ...

Overall Rating

Needless to say the place was filled to the brim. We were on a small table, but all that made us do was order the tapas in stages, which is a good thing. At half price you can't go wrong: 8 or 9 tapas, 2 bottles of wine and a tip for £60. I would highly recommend it for a relaxed meal with friends.