There is very little on the menu in Salamanca that I wouldn't eat, my horizons have also been broadened by the Tapas Trail which I've attended for the last three years. I've had the opportunity to taste some wonderful things that I might not have ordered for myself!
Salamanca has a beautiful dining room, it's light and sunny. There's a mix between new and vintage furniture which makes you feel like you might in a Spanish home. There's an air of North Africa about the place too, this is reflected in the tiles dotted around the restaurant and the colours of the paint work. Overall there's a a distinct holiday feel about the place. I've always hoped that they would somehow manage to commandeer the adjoining car park of St Andrew's Church, now a tourist office, and put some tables out there, it hasn't happened yet but I live in hope!
I wouldn't mind sipping a San Miguel out on the terrace (or car park!)
On our most recent visit we ordered seven dishes to share. We probably should have only ordered six! I keep forgetting that Irish tapas are more substantial than their Spanish counterparts!
I love patatas bravas. Maybe it's an Irish-potato connection, I don't know, but no Spanish meal is ever complete without them in my opinion. These ones were good, nice crispy deep fried chucks of potato with a fiery tomato sauce. Just how I like them!
I've had fantastic calamari and I've had the worst calamari in the world. The ones in Salamaca sit closer to the positive side of the scale! The crispy outer layer is just verging on being dry but still tasty. The calamari inside is chewy but not tough.
For me the pork belly was the best dish we had. The chewy caramelised surface hid a lovely luscious gooey meaty layer. It went perfectly with the pureed chickpeas.
The meatballs are M's favourite, his "must have" tapas. These were good, nice tender meat with a rich sauce. We were impressed that the sauce was different from the one on the patatas. We've noticed a number of places use the same sauce and I think this is kind of lazy.
We loved the blue cheese and the pear in this salad but found the overall dish to be slightly boring. Perhaps it just didn't contrast well with the strong flavours of the other dishes we ordered. Don't get me wrong though, we cleaned the plate!
And finally the pan catalan. It was totally superfluous. We really shouldn't have ordered it! It did taste lovely but a whole heap of carbohydrate on top of what we had already eaten was of no interest to us!
Service throughout the meal was great. I'm guessing here, but, I think some of the staff are Spanish? With the decor and the foreign staff, coupled with the fantastic weather we'd been having at the time of our visit, it really did feel like being on holidays!
We are not short of tapas restaurants in Dublin and the newest on the scene, Tapas de Lola, has proved a huge hit with Dubliners. While I like checking out new and wonderful places I also like returning to the familiar comfort of what I know and love. Salamanca will be getting my business for some time to come I think!
Salamanca
St Andrew's Street
Dublin 2
01 6774795
http://www.salamanca.ie/index.html
