El Rincon de Rafa - Manchester

Manchester's dining scene is often characterised by one of three things:
1. Big and flashy
2. Chi chi, overpriced, faux vintage tea room
3. Cheap and nasty;
and there's not much room for anything else. Unless, that is, you know where to look...

There's a critic's favourite if you can find it, a moody tapas place located down a maze of backstreets off Manchester's Deansgate - at the weekend a booking is essential and you need a map or a local guide to find it. Having not been here for a very long time (and being a little worse for wear the last time), I thought it best to pay them a visit.

Located underground, El Rincon looks authentically rustic - dark woods, white walls and there's legs of ham hanging up at the long bar. Seated at our table we were overlooking an authentic old style refrigeration counter reminiscent of an 80s sandwich shop; but at least it gave us a good view of tapas being taken out and freshly cooked.

Moody and rustic - El Rincon's interior (refrigeration unit out of shot)

The menu's long, with an added list of 'specials' and then hand-written daily specials at the bottom of that. Scanning down it's obvious that El Rincon is rooted firmly in traditional style British tapas - there's the typical Serrano ham, battered prawns and tortilla with the odd unusual (for the UK) dishes thrown in. Unlike Evuna, which is only a stone's throw away up the road; there's no premium hams, no twists on traditional dishes and no regional specials.

Thinly sliced Serrano ham

Prawns with a garlicky sauce were large, soft and juicy, the batter was feather light if ever so greasy and the accompanying sauce had a good old punch of garlic. Battered hake was also exceptionally well cooked, again the batter was a little greasy and you could taste the oil this time, but there was no garlic sauce to save it - just bought in mayonnaise.

Greasy prawns and hake

Fillet steak in red wine had a tinny, livery taste and a fabada of haricots with morcilla and pancetta was thin and watery, plus it lacked the advertised porcine delights (indeed only one piece of each was evident). The patatas bravas were slightly soft and again there was that light slick of oil to them, but the sauce  was deep and screamed sun drenched plum tomatoes, plus had a good old kick to it. Pinchos stole the show - soft and sweet with a fresh, lively salsa on top that sang out from the more mediocre offerings on the table.

Patatas bravas - bringing some sunshine to Manchester

El Rincon's pared back interior and pared back cooking means you're not going to be wowed with culinary creativity or Michelin type magic, but the food's reasonably priced and you get a big portion for what you pay. The service was excellent; friendly staff were happy to get us what we wanted even if the boy was constantly ordering new dishes left, right and centre. The food arrived quickly, even though El Rincon was full to bursting, coming out in traditional 'when the dish is ready' style rather than all at once.

Pinchos with a  lovely fresh salsa on the top

I'm not sure, as a 'critic,' I'd call it a favourite or that I was that happy with the food; however for a night out with friends who don't want something extra special or usual Manchester high prices, then it's just the ticket. At least there's no pretence here and you don't get stung for the average quality food as you would in most of Manchester's other eateries.

Price for seven tapas, basket of bread, two beers and a large glass of house red - £54.60

Food - 5/10
Atmosphere - 7/10
Service - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10

Total - 26/40

Go again? Maybe with a group of friends who just wanted a lot of reasonably priced food, but I'll go elsewhere to get my culinary kicks.

El Rincon de Rafa, off St John's Street, 244 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4BQ - 0161 839 8819

Evuna - Manchester

I recently entered Evuna with trepidation; not because I was dining with the father-in-law, more for the fact that I've had some decidedly dodgy tapas in the past, some of which has been served to me at Evuna. But buoyed by recent good experiences (see Charango and Salt House Tapas), and the fact that the father-in-law was paying, my hopes were as riding as high as my spirits.

Evuna with thanks to lep.co.uk



Evuna is decked out in dark wood, evoking the romance and passion of Spain - it's quite easy to imagine a fiesty senorita turning down her matador lover in one of the broody corners of the restaurant. It's a lively place, lubricated by plenty of good wine and the darkness of the room only adds to the mystique. The bar features prominently as you enter; an important thing seeing that Evuna is Manchester's premier Spanish wine importer.

We were eating early enough to qualify for the lunch special (3 tapas for £10, Mon-Sat 12 noon-6pm), but decided to order mostly from the larger tapas menu, which offered far more variety. The specials of the day were roasted pork belly and braised ox cheek - both were ordered by myself as they sounded delightful and the boy had ordered nearly everything else off the menu anyway.

Unlike previous visits (I should mention previous means at leats two years ago) where food has been disappointing; the dishes this evening were very, very good. Notably the pork belly with it's crispy crackling and fruity breadcrumbs adding both a contrast in texture and a good foil for the salty, fatty cubes of porcine delightfulness. The ox cheek was delivered in one of the thickest sauces I have had, with a good punch of beefy umami leaving your tastebuds screaming for more.

The patatas bravas were fragrant with fennel, giving it a sweet yet lively taste that complimented the many pork dishes on the table. The Iberico Bellota was from a good quality, well sourced ham - the sweet nuttiness emanating through each generously marbled slice. The plate of ham was expensive, but it was a good sized portion and worth paying extra for the quality.

Iberico Bellota - yum yum

Thankfully most dishes sang to us that evening, the only bum notes were the dishes we had ordered off the special lunch menu - the tortilla was so bland I can't even think of any words to describe it and the chorizo in vino tinto was overly oily and a bit bitter.

There's one aspect where Evuna outshines everything (even the wonderful belly pork cubes) and that's on the wine (they are a well-respected importer...). The waitress guided us through the comprehensive wine list and chose a bottle that not only complimented the dishes we had ordered, but our wallets as well. When that wine was out she suggested a very agreeable alternative and allowed us to try before buying.

Evuna knows its stuff; their produce is well sourced, the staff are very knowledgeable and helpful and most of the dishes that come out of the kitchen grab your attention with their big punches of taste, clever layers of flavouring and generous (for tapas) portions. For a place that's got wine at it's heart, it's also a hub for good food, relaxed eating and reasonable prices.

Ps - If you love the wine you're drinking, or just want a really good bottle of Spanish wine, Evuna has a licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the property - the prices are also cheaper than the bottles you drink in house so you can carry on your party at home for less!

Pps - Evuna also holds wine tasting nights and other Spanish themed events - check out the website for more info.

Price for eight tapas, one lunch special (3 plates), one bottle of cava, one bottle of wine, one pudding, two PX sherries and three coffees - £158.27

Food - 8/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10

Total 31/40

Evuna, 277-279 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EW - 0161 819 2752 - enquiries@evuna.com - @Evunamanchester

http://www.evuna.com/