A Tapas Feast and Warm Welcome at Mustard, Heanor
Whenever we are lucky enough to be invited to share a new venue’s journey, we then strive to support it however we can. Mustard, in Heanor, is a fab little café/bistro run by husband-and-wife team, Andrew and Taya, and they welcomed us with open arms to try their breakfast offering last year. It was delicious, and you can fill your boots with the deets, here: 👉 Mustard Heanor breakfast review.
On another occasion, we tried their marvellous Scotch Eggs aka ‘GourmEgg’, which definitely need to be on your radar if you haven’t tried them before! My personal favourites are the Caramelised Onion and Fruit Pig Black Pudding ones, His Nibs likes the Nduja type, and BB loves her the classic variety; they are all superb, though.
Anyway, it was early December 2025 (when His Nibs and I popped in to grab some ‘picky tea’ bits for our annual foray to Darwin Forest Holiday Park) that we got yapping to Andrew and Taya, and they said that they were starting to do Tapas evenings in the run-up to Christmas. Well, my little lugs flapped at this nugget of information and that lightbulb in my bonce lit-up as the penny dropped that I could come and discover this with my extended flock as a belated birthday treat! Not that I need a reason to eat out, but two readily came to me: one, (as mentioned) to celebrate my birthday, and two, everyone needs something to look forward in the dark days of January, don’t they?
Fledge had volunteered to be taxi service for the night, so we didn’t have to worry about how much we had to drink, alcohol-wise. BB and myself immediately ordered a couple of fruity French Martinis (2-4-£15), The Man had a bottle of Hawkstone lager, and TBW had a bottle of Camden Pale Ale. With drinks sorted, it was time to select our feast for the evening from the great range of Tapas on offer at Mustard.
To kick things off, we had a mixed platter of Cheese and Meats (£12) and some Welbeck Bakery Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia and whipped Butter (£4.50). The Focaccia was lovely and airy, with that glorious Olive Oil blast that was paired with bright Rosemary hints and bold Garlic – this certainly got the juices flowing. More of this bread was on the Cheese and Meat Platter, along with some Mixed Olives, slices of Manchego Cheese, wafer-thin Parma Ham, and piquant Chorizo and Salami. There was certainly plenty of meat to tuck into, even for the four of us!
After that, the rest of our Tapas came in pretty much one-go and we did say to Andrew that it would maybe be better to stagger the warm dishes out a little more so that they don’t go cool when there’s lots of them out on the table. If you like Calamari (£8 each – we had two portions), you will love the light, crispy [salt and pepper zhuzhed] batter that surrounds each tender ring of seafood at Mustard, and there was no trace of oil or greasiness to sully the taste of the Squid on the palate either. The lovely Lemon and Garlic Mayo was creamy and light, and didn’t overwhelm its delicate partner element.
Chunky Patatas Bravas (£4.50) provided that brilliant partnership of nutty, earthy Potato cubes and a tantalisingly good, spicy Tomato sauce that really grabbed our taste buds’ attention! Just as punchy was one of the ‘specials’ that night: Chorizo cooked with Honey and Red Wine (£5.95); the thick slices of Chorizo were zingy and spicy, but Andrew ‘cooled their jets’ by adding sticky, sweet Honey and bringing depth with the addition of reduced Red Wine. This was a superb dish.
His Nibs is a fan of ‘Hash’ dishes, especially a Corned-Beef one, so he ordered the Nduja and Potato one at Mustard (£7), which comes with Aioli and a softly-poached Egg. Both The Man and The Bolton Wanderer got stuck into this comfort food dish in double-quick time, but Bestie and I managed to snaffle a bit of the moist Hash and the creamy, rich egg yolk. The Aioli was distinctly Garlicky, which pleased me no end – one of my pet-peeves is wishy-washy, barely there Aioli: you might as well just say it’s Mayo and be done with it. Aioli is a bit like a cuppa; give it some welly and commit to it, don’t produce something that’s ‘a hint of’! Thankfully, Andrew and Taya don’t faff about.
I would’ve liked some more of the Aioli, or even a freshly made Tartare Sauce, to go with the Spanish-style Smoked Haddock, Potato and Spring Onion Omelette (Tortilla, £7), as I think it would just give this dish a smidge more ‘oomph’. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious as was, but I’d have liked something more – but that’s just me!
All four of us like Arancini, and BB and I love Mushrooms, so the Mushroom and Truffle variety at Mustard (£5) was always going to be a stand-out dish for our group. Under a fantastically crisp outer were fluffy rice grains pimped with a double-whammy of darkly earthy notes from Truffle oil and Mushrooms. Something so simple was transformed into an extraordinarily superb Tapas dish at Andrew’s hands – if you go for Tapas at Mustard, please do go for these delights.
Well into our feasting, it was time to order more refreshments: enter a bottle of Shiraz (£26) and a bottle of Pinot Grigio (£24). Both wines paired perfectly with the Tapas, though it had been a toss-up between the Shiraz and a Malbec for TBW and myself – both of us agreed that the Shiraz did shine brighter on this occasion. Andrew and Taya might not have the largest wine list in the area but, I tell you what, with selecting ones that pair with their menu so well they don’t need to; top marks, guys.
Being top-tier carnivores, both His Maj and TBW had spotted the Slow-cooked, sticky Beef Brisket with Creamy Mash and Chimichurri (£8) as soon as we’d been making our choices, and when the two portions came, all our nostrils were twitching at the tempting aromas that were carried on the tendrils of steam from the meat! Melt-in-the-mouth shreds of Beef released their deep flavour over our tongues, aided and abetted in their irresistibility by ridiculously smooth, buttery Mash and a herbily bouncy, clean-tasting Chimichurri.
Indulging themselves even more, the chaps heartily scoffed the Maple-glazed Pigs-in-Blankets, remarking on how delicious they were. There’s something marvellous about dinky Sausages snuggly wrapped in meaty Bacon rashers, isn’t there? I think it’s because they are indelibly etched into our collective British psyche as a morsel to enjoy at Christmas [in particular], and so have such a positive memory attached to them. Whatever, here at Mustard in Heanor, the savoury meats are balanced exquisitely with the sticky, sweet complexity of its Maple glaze – nom nom nom!
Bestie Bird and I savoured the Cheesy Leek and Ale Rarebit on Sourdough Toast (that was actually more akin to a good old ‘doorstep’ piece of toast), saying that this was soft and moreish in the mouth. The robust, deep Cheese was ramped up beautifully by the hint of hoppy Ale and grassy Leek, making this a great twist on a classic suppertime morsel. There was a really super mix of traditional Spanish and British Tapas dishes on offer here; truly something for everyone.
Our tummies were very happily stuffed as we took our last mouthfuls of food, and His Nibs gave Fledge a call to say that we were ready to come home. Whilst we waited for her, BB and I began to sip the last contents of our wine glasses and The Man and TBW asked if Irish Coffees could be done? Taya stepped up to the plate, saying “I make a mean Irish Coffee” – confidence? I like it, lady. They weren’t hollow words, either; the men remarked that “Oooft, this isn’t mucking about” as the Whiskey’s heat introduced itself as it slipped down their throats.
They say time flies when you’re having fun, and the minutes had effortlessly slipped by whilst we’d been in the friendly, capable hands of the Mustard, Heanor team. Hot Wings very happily given for the Tapas offering – we’ll certainly be back!
To book a table for Breakfast or Tapas, call 01332 683428. You can follow all the latest ‘tea’ on Facebook via ‘Mustard Heanor’ or over on the ‘gram @mustard_heanor, and don’t forget about @gourmegguk, either!
Mustard is closed Monday-Wednesday; opens for Breakfast Thursday -Saturday 8am-Noon, and for Tapas Thursday & Friday 5pm-8pm, and Saturday & Sunday 2pm-8pm. The bar times are 5pm-9pm on Thursday, 5pm-10pm on Friday, 2pm-10pm on Saturday, and 2pm-9pm on Sunday.
All Prices Correct At The Time Of Publishing
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