Sometimes, however hard I try, my weirdness/eccentricity just comes out, and one such occasion was on a recent re-visit to Tapas Madrid in Ashbourne. Props to TM’s manager, Mark, who had reserved a table for us both inside and outside (I love a forward-thinker), and fair play to him for thinking that we’d opt to dine al fresco…except we didn’t! I don’t do well with flying critters or being overly hot when I’m eating so, if you give me a choice, I will always go indoors.
Tapas Madrid has a beautiful outdoor area, decked out with colourful, parasol-covered tables and comfy seating. Dogs are welcome out here, and there were several of them with their humans that had decided to take advantage of the warmth and sunshine; you can’t beat kicking off the weekend with a chilled drink and tasty Tapas, can you? Having got over the shock of us choosing to head inside, Mark showed us to our favourite table that is tucked away in the corner.
It's been nearly a year since our last visit to this venue, and it was every bit as chilled and laid-back as we both remembered. In fact (brilliant chaos, excepted), the vibe reminds us of one of our favourite places, Olive Moroccan Restaurant in Belper – high praise indeed, let me assure you. Mark soon got us sorted with drinks: glass of Red Sangria for me, and a pint of San Miguel for The Man. I know, usually I would have a glass of wine, but what says ’summer’ more than a glass of fruity, wine punch?! It needs to be said that Mark does make a mean one, too.
The Man and I love it when a team just ‘gets’ us, so we were giddy with happiness when Mark said “shall we just feed you, rather than you specifically order dishes?”. Needless to say, that was right up our alley, and so the feasting began.
First up was the Queso Manchego (£10) from the nibbles section of the menu, and this consisted of TM’s own homemade bread topped with slices of Manchego Cheese and a bowl of Balsamic-drizzled Spanish Green Olives. The bread was absolutely delicious, with a gorgeous bounciness to it and a hint of sweetness that complemented the Manchego really nicely. Bringing a good zhuzh to the mix were the plentiful Olives and their bold, tangy flavour; this mix of characteristics was superb and got the meal off to a flying start.
On our previous time at Tapas Madrid we had had the pleasure of eating the Ham Croquettes, and this time around they had tweaked the offering to be a Salmon variety (£7.50). The outers of the trio of fat Croquetas were sublimely crisp and crunchy, with no trace of oil or grease left to sully the delicate flavour of the fish-and-potato filling. In contrast, the inners were kitten-soft and beautifully flavoursome; between you and I, these were quietly addictive! Served with a delightful Aioli, whose allium notes were clean and bright, this was a classic Tapas offering.
His Nibs and I have worked our way around a Tapas menu more than a couple of times, so we like to think that we’re fairly au-fait with most of the dishes, but we’ve never encountered ‘Remolacha, Miel Y Queso’ (Beetroot, Honey and Cheese, £7.50). Thankfully, Mark speaks mainly in Spanish to you (with the English as needed) so The Man hadn’t twigged that we were about to be tucking into Beetroot – can you imagine the horror??!!! I actually love this colourful root vegetable, so I was eager to see what it would be like having been soaked in Honey for a couple of hours prior to being griddled (bang tidy, FYI). Putting on his big-boy pants, His Nibs gamely tried a bit of the veg, bread and cheese and, wouldn’t you know it, actually liked it! So, the moral of the tale here is: ‘don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!’. The earthiness of the Beetroot is lifted beautifully by the sweetness of the Honey, and more of that pillowy, homemade bread soaked up the liquid as you cut into the dish. Honestly, give this a whirl; you’ll be pleased you did.
Everyone knows that Pork and Apple are a match made in heaven, so the Salchicha a la Sidra (Sausage in Cider, £7.25) sounded as if it would be a beauty. A sizeable bowl was filled with small Sausages (no repeat factor either, which is a massive bonus), sliced White Onions and the most mouth-wateringly aromatic, Cider ‘sauce’, and there were slices of that phenomenal bread to mop it up with. The sweet, fruity Cider balanced the seasoned Sausages super-smoothly, and the Onion added a fab bit of texture. It goes without saying that there was some serious dunkage going on – though it just about killed us, having to wait a couple of minutes for both sides to soak up every bit of liquid! Simple, but oh-so-good.
Paella is much-beloved in Spain, so it seemed only right that we tried the [cooked-to-order] Seafood Paella at Tapas Madrid. Recently, The Man has come around to the charms of King Prawns, and will even go so far as to have a couple of Mussels if they’re cooked into something. In this Paella, there were Mussels, plenty of smaller Prawns as well as lots of meaty-textured King Prawns, and Squid rings of all sizes could be seen throughout the sunny-hued rice grains. Before serving, Mark laid a sturdy wooden log on the table, to protect it from the heat of the hefty Paella pan…and it was hefty; we were certainly going to have our work cut out here!
Chef had seasoned the rice perfectly to lift the flavour on the palate, but had been very mindful of the other elements. Amongst the Seafood were Onions, Peppers and sweet Tomatoes, as well as a hint of Garlic; our taste buds were whirling with the multitude of flavours that washed over them. What I really liked about the Paella at TM in Ashbourne was the fact that a single person could order it: often, the minimum amount of people for Paella is two. As well as the Seafood variety, Tapas Madrid offer a Chicken and Chorizo, a Mediterranean Vegetable and a Mixed Paella: prices range from £18.50 - £21.50 for one person, to £35 - £44 per couple. Without exception, the Seafood was all cooked to keep it soft and tender and, yes, His Nibs did have some Mussels.
By now, our little tummies were full to the gunnels but, as we all know, there was still that magic space reserved for dessert. Crema Catalana was our choice of sweet treat, and we were grateful for it being lighter than its French cousin. The key differences are that the Spaniards use stove-top heated Milk, rather than the Gallic method of cooking the double cream-based dessert in a bain-marie, though both still have that irresistibly thwackable sugar crust that shatters when hit with a dessert spoon. Topped with halved, fresh Strawberries, this dessert was just the ticket with which to conclude our feast at Tapas Madrid.
Tapas Madrid also have a couple of offers that I need to draw your attention to: 3-4-2 Lunchtime Tapas, Mon-Fri (exc. Bank Holidays and School Holidays) until 4pm, and Bottomless Tapas. The Bottomless Tapas is available any day and on Friday and Saturday until 4.30pm; priced at £45pp this offer begins with you ordering 2 Tapas and a drink, ordering more once you’ve finished. Rinse and Repeat ad infinitum for 90 minutes! Three of the Tapas carry a surcharge of £1.50 i.e. the Pork Ribs, Salmon Croquetas, and Gambas Pil Pil, though I think that’s fair enough.
Hot Wings happily given to this marvellous Ashbourne restaurant again. To book a table, call 01335 368816 or visit www.tapasmadridashbourne.com and hit the ‘book a table’ button on the top left corner. Closed Sunday, TM opens Mon-Thurs Noon-9.30pm, Friday-Saturday Noon-10pm.
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