Dinner At Pedro's Casa In Kendal, Cumbria
Published On Thursday 27 Jun 2024 by Sticky Beak
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Yet again, His Nibs and I were on the road; and once more, we were combining his day job with our favourite past-time: dining out. Our first stop was to Kendal in the Lake District, where we were staying overnight before The Man had a meeting the next morning and then we were onward-bound to Edinburgh.
We were staying at The Shakespeare Hotel (no prizes for guessing the inspiration for the room names!), an independent venue in the heart of the town – perfect for exploring. Our room was lovely and spacious, which was perhaps as well as His Nibs seemed to have packed everything but the kitchen sink...and that was excluding his work kit!! Seriously, whenever we go on holiday, his suitcase weighs the most, despite me having all the lotions and potions in mine, and Fledge packing at least 3 outfit changes per day for the ‘gram! Anyway, with everything unpacked, and having had a quick freshen up, it was time to head out for dinner at Pedro’s Casa. Pedro’s is a Mexican-inspired venue, with a relaxed Tapas-style approach to dining, so we were really looking forward to it.
Lively, bright spice colours provide a splendid backdrop for the rest of the decor; not least the plethora of Sombrero’s suspended from the ceiling! Yep, Pedro’s certainly injects a hefty dose of sunshine and personality into its premises, that’s for sure. Upbeat music keeps the ‘feel good’ vibe going and, combined with the wonderfully friendly staff, it got me and The Man in the mood for an evening to remember...fingers crossed the food and drink managed to deliver.
Unusually, we opted to have a bottle of wine to go with our Tapas, and it was a tingingly crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region that caught our eye. Our server also brought out some water for the table, which she offered before we requested it. Another nice touch was the explanation of the Pedro’s way of dining when it was ascertained that we hadn’t dined here before.
We’d spied Padron Peppers (£4) on the ‘nibbles’ section of the menu, so they quickly got ordered, along with Humitas - a South American Sweetcorn dip that’s served with Tortilla Crisps (also £4). As you might expect, both dishes came served in vibrant platters; team Pedro’s certainly embody the phrase ‘live life in colour’! The contrast between the crunchy Tortilla chips and the super-smooth Humitas made for a brilliant sensory experience in the mouth, and we both remarked how tasty the spiced up Sweetcorn was. Hiding underneath the Tortilla crisps was a bed of fresh, peppery Rocket which provided another layer of flavour, as well as a pop of colour. Having not had this before, we’d certainly have it again. The Pimientos weren’t quite so fab, though. There was nothing wrong with them, and the sea salt seasoning was bob on, but the skins hadn’t been blistered enough, so they weren’t as sweet and soft as they perhaps could have been.
You can’t come to a Mexican restaurant and not have Tacos or Burritos, so both of those dishes got ordered pronto-Tonto! The Taco dish was a Honey and BBQ Chicken variety (£8), and the trio of minxes were served in a proper holder so that they kept their shape until picked up; each one was a decent size too, though at first glance they looked on the smaller side. The sauce that coated each piece of moist, tender breast meat was marvellously sticky with a beautiful balance of sweet Honey and smoky BBQ notes. Contrasting the soft Chicken was crisp, cool Lettuce and finely sliced Red Onion, making this a really nice Tapas morsel.
If you fancy something a bit more substantial, you could happily order the Mole Chicken Enchilada (£13) for one; as it was, we opted to share this as part of our ‘smorgasbord’ dining evening. The pair of Enchiladas were filled with plenty of the 5-Bean mix, Chicken and gently spicy Mole sauce, and topped with oodles of melted cheese that formed those luscious strings as I prised them apart. All the flavours in this dish burst in our mouths with the Mole’s Chilli element leaving a gentle kiss at the periphery. When we’d finished the meal, we looked back and concluded that this was perhaps our favourite Tapas dish.
Having recently had Pork Tenderloin in a Tapas setting (at Tu Casa in Cambridge), we thought we’d have it again. At Pedro’s Casa it was on the menu as ‘Cerdo Con Mostaza’: grilled Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Spinach and Mustard Sauce, £8. A decent-sized portion, the Pork had been cut into cubes and been grilled to achieve a dark brown, crisped outer. I must admit, I wasn’t bowled over by the Pork, some bits were a bit over-cooked for my liking and they didn’t melt instantly on the tongue. However, the sauce was absolutely blinding! There was an exquisite synergy of cream and mustard that sang to our souls, and the Spinach had been wilted perfectly.
Our final Tapas dish was Salt and Pepper Squid, £8. The Squid (when you got to it) was still beautifully soft with its characteristically delicate flavour, but the batter - whilst nice in itself - was far too thick and dominated the dish. This was a real shame because the batter wasn’t at all greasy, and with a bit of tweaking this dish could’ve been so much more. Sour Cream and Sweet Chilli dips came in separate, dinky pots and they both added extra elements to this offering.
We both said that we’d come back to Pedro’s Casa if we returned to Kendal because the premises were clean, the staff really lovely and intrinsically the food was good. On this basis, Hot Wings are awarded... but, as teachers often say, there’s scope for improvement with certain aspects of some dishes. It’s definitely worth visiting though, I’m obviously been uber-picky!!
To book a table call 01539 722332 or visit the website www.pedroscasa.co.uk and hit the ‘table reservation’ button.
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