Tonight I caught up with Mike, Marie, Matt, Aaron and Suhail for dinner before I head overseas at the Spanish Tapas Bar. I had never been there before, but thought it would prove to be an entertaining evening. Located in the busy Brunswick Central, the Spanish Tapas Bar does not strike you as a very different restaurant from the outside. It, like many of Brunswick Central’s other tenants, have tables both outside and in, but considering Brisbane nights have proved a little chilly recently, we opted for a table inside.

The restaurant does serve several types of mains, but it was more fun and definitely more social to order a variety of different tapas to share. The menu has a great selection of both hot and cold tapas and several platters that reduce the difficult choices you have to make when selecting which tapas to order. Between the six of us, we had a really large variety of tapas including several different croquettes and empanadillas, calimari, sardines, chicken and lamb kebas, fried spanish cheese (Queso Frito), Spicy Potatoes served with Aioli and a traditional spanish potato and chorizo omolete. Listing them all out seems like we really pigged out, but after splitting each dish between the six of us, typically meant about one mouthful of food from each dish.

The food was excellent and there was not one tapas that I did not enjoy. The best dish for me was probably the fried spanish cheese because it had such a strong flavour and I enjoyed its unique texture, combining the gooey insides and the crisp outer shell of the tasty cheese. You are unlikely to walk away from the Spanish Tapas bar completely stuffed unless you order a main (such as the Paella) or plenty more tapas, but you will definitely walk away marvelling at the wide assortment of flavours that you had just consumed.

Details: Spanish Tapas Bar
Found on: 455 Brunswick Street (Brunswick Central)
Contactable via: 3257 3138
Highlights: Great variety of many different tapas that were all very tasty. It was also quite refreshing to have a tasting of Sangria as you were seated. The tapas comes out quite quickly after ordering.
Room for improvement: The restaurant’s ambiance did not feel strongly spanish, and the wait staff’s attentiveness to the table after you have ordered could be improved.