Tapas Revolution, baby of Spanish Chef Omar Allibhoy has been open a while now in Birmingham’s Grand Central. We’ve been a couple of times, and always enjoyed decent food and drink.
I was excited to learn that recently, Tapas Revolution has collaborated with the award winning Cocktail Trading Co to create a new cocktail menu of classics with a Spanish twist, so was very happy to pop along for a meal and try a few of these out.
Joining forces, Tapas Revolution and The Cocktail Trading Co have created 6 new cocktails which have been added to the Birmingham menu. The collaboration features classic cocktails with a Spanish touch, using an array of typically Spanish spirits, wines and ingredients including Larios gin, Cava, Pedro Ximénez, Spanish brandy Veterano, blood orange, paprika and chorizo. To me these sounded very intriguing, I always like to try drinks that are just a little bit different to the norm.
Highlights from the new menu include; Blood Orange & Cherry Royal (£7.50), a blend of Larios gin, blood orange, aguardiente de cerezas, pimento dram shaken with lemon and topped with Cava and Pimento & Mandarin Daiquiri (£8.50), created from Bacardi rum, mandarin, melon and pimento dram shaken with caramelised pineapple and lime. This Daiquiri immediately stood out to me with that combination of flavours – I love tropical cocktails., so this was the one I went for and it certainly didn’t disappoint!
Also pictured above is the CEREZA Y JENGIBRE – cherry and ginger juice topped with ginger ale, one of their homemade juices which was my friends 1st drink. It’s always nice to see thought and consideration go into the non alcoholic drinks too. On on the non alcoholic note, I also tried a MELOCOTóN Y RUIBARBO – rhubarb and peach juice with subtle notes of rose water and lemon which was fantastic.
Other cocktails on offer on the new menu were a SPARKLING ROSE MARGARITA, PASSION FRUIT & MARZIPAN BATIDA and my friends choice, a VETERANO JULEP made with Veterano Brandy along with wild strawberry and pomegranate.
Obviously we needed some food to soak up some of the alcohol so we went for
- Pinchos morunos con mojo picón – marinated beef skewers with a spicy dipping sauce
- Croquetas de jamón – deep-fried Ibérico ham and béchamel croquette
- Chorizo a la sidra – spiced Asturian sausage roasted with cide
- Calamares fritos – deep-fried squid with alioli
- Berenjenas fritas – crispy fried aubergine with a spiced honey and thyme dressing
- Ensalada de tomate con queso de cabra – red and yellow tomatoes, goat’s cheese, olives and pickled red onion salad
The food was delicious, tasty and full of flavor and we were both pretty impressed. The only slight disappointment we both agreed was the calamari which was somewhat chewy and overdone. I was super happy with the aubergine and chorizo dishes which were both fantastic.
For an after dinner pick-me-up Tapas Revolution will also be offering their Espresso Blanco Martini (£8.50), made with Veterano brandy shaken with espresso, milk, dark chocolate liqueur, Kahlua and Frangelico.
Child friendly? Both my friend and I had our little ones with us, and as it was a relatively quiet lunch there were no issues with space for prams although it might be more tricky at busier times. High chairs available and the changing facilities are a short walk away in the Grand central complex. The staff were fantastic with the little ones too.
Disclosure: Our meal and drinks were complimentary, a positive review was not required.
