La-la-la-la-Tasca! (La Tasca (Chelmsford))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	La Tasca (Chelmsford)
Date:	23/06/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great food, superb atmosphere...

Disadvantages: A little pricy, not much choice for veggies...

Having seen some of the other La Tasca restaurants (such as the one in Colchester), I must say that the Chelmsford one is an unqualified delight!

What is first noticeable about the Chelmsford one is the veranda outside that many of the other La Tasca restaurants do not have - it creates an atmosphere that, at least for myself and my girlfriend, made us want to get stuck into some tapas and fine Spanish wine right away.

What struck me next was the service - it was great. It's a nice touch that most of the people there were seemingly Spaniards, but they were all very friendly and offered to help with pronunciation if we couldn't quite say any of the orders. The service itself also was faster than they estimated which is always a plus. I would affirm that for a nice Summer's day, La Tasca is just the right place - sitting outside or just near the window I found quite serene and relaxing.

The rest of my review will simply discuss the meal myself and my girlfriend had, and how reasonable everything was:

We started with a shared plate of bread, garnished with peppers and some lovely tomato sauce. It was a filling starter, and whilst we ate that, some fine Spanish wine was brought out, which cost about £15, with other Wines going up to about £50. The wine, which was the cheapest on the menu, was nice and light.

One initially allarming aspect of their menu is the paella - they were all listed as costing up to £23.99 each! My friends praised the place for being cheap and offering a "tapas to share" for £10, but I could not find this on the menu, so if they were telling the truth, it was poorly advertised. Anyway, we decided to go for some tapas instead of paella, as it offered a few more options to my vegetarian girlfriend (although the selection was still rather small). For a meat-eater, however, there is plenty to choose from. They recommend ordering 3 or 4 tapas dishes, so I decided on 3 (meatballs, chicken and rice, and mushrooms).

The dishes cost between £3-5 each, and whilst quite small, are very filling. I struggled to finish the third dish and felt very filled by the end of the meal, so it seems no less reasonable than anywhere else you might eat ultimately.

For dessert, we had chocolate sundaes with cream and a strawberry in, and allow me to say, it is probably the finest sundaes I have ever had! If you go, I firmly recommend you try it. There was also an excellent deal where you could order a liquer with your desert at a reduced price of £5.99 all included, so we went for that, and it was a nice compliment to the dessert.

Our bill, consisting of a bottle of wine (£15), a starter to share (£5), 5 paella dishes (£23), 2 liquer drinks and a sundae each (£12) came to a total of £55. It's not the cheapest night out for students on a budget like we were (although we were extravagant enough to buy a bottle of wine!), but I recommend enquiring to see if there are tapas to share deals at your local store. I thoroughly praise the service, which was extremely pleasant, friendly, and speedy. The atmosphere was lovely and everything looked great. I would be wary if you are a vegetarian and fussy, because there are very few options. Otherwise, it's wonderful.

Summary: Friendly and fast service. Lots of choice if you're a meat-eater!