I don't want to share my tapas!!! (La Tasca (Newcastle))

Member Name: Lools_24

Product:	La Tasca (Newcastle)
Date:	14/05/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great food and choice of dishes

Disadvantages: Service can be slow

After walking past La Tasca on the Newcastle Quayside for a number of years about a month ago Mr Lools and I decided that we would pay the restaurant a visit. Actually the main reason that we decided to visit La Tasca was that we had a 50% off voucher. My boyfriends sister and her partner were visiting so we thought we would get a good deal due to the saving that we would make. La Tasca is a nationwide chain of Spanish cuisine restaurants specialising in tapas and Paella.


****Location****

The restaurant has two entrances. The "back" exit is from the multi-storey car parks. The front entrance is the entrance that we used. This leads from the Quayside facing side of the restaurant. The restaurant is close to the Millennium Bridge on the Quayside on the Newcastle side.

At the front of the restaurant there is an outdoor area where you can sit to eat or just to have drinks. As it was rather cold when we visited we opted to sit inside.


**** Restaurant ****

Despite it being quite bright and sunny outside the inside of the restaurant felt rather dark. The décor has a Spanish theme with deep yellow and orange painted walls, painted in a way that makes the paint looked aged. The floor is tiled with dark terracotta tiles. There are huge gothic black metal looking lights hanging from the ceilings.

The restaurant is split onto two levels a floor level and a raised level about 1 metre higher than the floor level. There are a number of tables in the restaurant of different sizes both circular and square, however the tables are not crammed together so there is plenty space to walk between tables.


**** Service ****

The restaurant was reasonably busy for a Sunday night as it was Easter bank holiday about three quarters of the tables in the restaurant were occupied.


We were shown to our table as soon as we walked through the door and as soon as we were seated we were given menus and drinks orders taken. The drinks took about 15 minutes to arrive. After around 20 minutes a member of staff came over to take our food order. Our waiter was very helpful suggesting how much food that we would need (we ordered extra as the men in the group have huge appetites). After ordering the food we waited another 25 minutes before it arrived. 45 minutes after entering the restaurant does seem like a long time but we were not in a rush. If I was restricted by time I would probably have been more concerned.

The staff were very friendly; both those that served food and drinks as these were dealt with separately but were only too happy to help. The drinks service was probably a lot quicker than the food service


Overall the service was pretty average. If the restaurant was busier and all tables full I imagine that the food and ordering process would take a lot longer and be less than satisfactory.


****Food****

If you have not been to La Tasca before the menu can be quite confusing as there are a lot of dishes to choose from. The staff however are happy to help you ordering and can assist in letting you know the portion sizes and how many dishes you are likely to need to order for the size of your group.

The menu is quite extensive and includes both tapas and Paella.

The tapas is split up into different types:
Chicken
Meat
Fish
Vegetables
Salads

Within each category there are about 5 or 6 different tapas dishes. Price of dishes vary the meat, chicken and fish dishes are priced around £4-5 . The vegetable and salad dishes priced at around £3-4 per dish.

We ordered about 18 dishes in total a variety of the different types of dishes. Each small dish is was enough for all four of us to have a large spoonful to try. The chicken and meat dishes were fantastic, the meat was lean and flavoured enough but not so the flavours were overpowering.

My favourite dishes that we ordered were Brocheta de Pollo (Skewers of chicken breast, red pepper and paprika), Buey Al Jerez (Rib eye steak, with potatoes in a rich sherry sauce) and Pescado Blanco Frito ( White fish in San Miguel batter with garlic mayo).

The menu also clearly labels all of the vegetarian dishes and all of the gluten free dishes.

My only complain was that there was hardly enough room on the table to put all of the dishes that we ordered.

It is also possible to order a large dish of Paella to share. Paella is available for £19.95 and apparently this enough for 2 or 3 to share as a main dish. I cannot comment on this as we did not order a large portion of Paella to share.


The drinks are also priced quite reasonably. In addition to regular soft drinks and alcoholic drinks like wines, beers and spirits La Tasca serves sangria; in keeping with the Spanish theme. A pitcher of traditional sangria costs £11.95. A single glass of sangria is £3.15. From this you will get 4 large glasses out of this. We ordered (two) jugs of white sangria (made with cava instead of red wine) which is £16.95 per jug. These are smaller glasses and you will get 8 glasses from a pitcher



**** Price ****

The overall bill came to £64 for 4 people with the 50% off. We felt for the amount of food and alcohol that we had ordered this was extremely good value. We ordered two jugs of white sangria which was £16.95 per jug. In addition we also ordered 2 glasses of wine, and 3 bottles of beer. The drinks total probably came to half of the £120 bill (the cost without the discount). I actually think even for £128 for a meal for 4 people and a number of drinks each was still extremely good value due to the amount of food we consumed and left the restaurant with very full stomachs.



*****Would I go back??*****

Definitely! I really enjoyed the food and the overall dining experience. If I get can my hands on another 50% off voucher that would just be an added bonus. I have been for tapas before at el Torrero in Newcastle. La Tasca wins hands down for the dining experience in comparison but the food is probably not as good as el Torrero. But its difficult to call a favourite on the two however. Overall a great restaurant and food for, families, couples and groups.

Summary: Spanish chain restaurant on Newcastle Quayside