Sometimes the nicest people you meet are strangers. This is what happened to me last Thursday night when I went out my friend Fiona, who insisted that I try a tapas place that she couldn’t stop raving about. I trust her judgment, so I made my way to Salvador & Amanda. Tucked away just behind Leicester Square tube station, it was here that I was reminded about why my opinion matters – but I’ll get back to that in a jiffy.
Firstly food discussion. Fiona told me that she had never had scallops, so I took it upon myself to make sure that we rectified this immediately. Nobody should go without trying a scallop in their life, and on this occasion they were good. Juicy, sweet and meaty, with a kick-ass unidentifiable sauce. Actually all the food was good here, but some of it was great. I particularly liked the Spanish Omelette, the Prawns with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chilli (I actually think I ordered the Shell on prawns, I’m not adversed to the shell removal, but the prawns I got were fab too) and the Chorizo, the spice balance was Goldilocks worthy – just right. The Chicken wrapped in Serrano Ham was moist – not sure how I feel about using that word – not a showstopper though and the Albondigas meatballs were good, but my Dad’s family recipe is better. Hey I could be biased.
What I would watch out for here is the Sangria, especially the Blanco, it slips down like fruit juice it’s so dang drinkable. This one is fresh, clean tasting; imagine sitting at an awfully posh garden party with the smell of juicy peaches and lemons wafting through the air and… Well actually this might have been going on in my head – we shared a litre of the stuff so we were pretty happy by the end of the evening! And I haven’t even told you the best part yet.
So on my way back from the bathroom, I saw that Fiona was talking to the couple next to us. Just a note the couples tables are quite close together so if your not a fan of this, I would recommend asking for a booth or sitting closer to the bar. It transpired that the French Canadian couple were in London for a week, somewhere they had dreamed about coming for years, and they wanted our advice on where best to eat. Turns out that Fiona and I are pretty good food advice givers, and the couple were so grateful for our help that my confidence to write this blog skyrocketed. With so many blogs out there, sometimes I feel like mine may get lost in the bloggernet and I may as well be talking to the wall. But you know what if even one person – my friend or a stranger – can find something useful, inspiring or exciting then I’ve done my job properly.
I left feeling satisfied and decidedly full – we squeezed in dessert. I had the Churro’s with chocolate sauce and Fiona had the Almond tart, both were delicious evident by the fact I almost forgot to take pictures of them due to my chowing down so quickly! Price wise, its variable as it depends on what dishes you pick (usually they start at around £5) and how much you eat. So there you have it: great company, great food and a kick up the backside.
Speaking to this couple also made me realise I want to go to more London based restaurants this year, any amazing places I should try?
Levanah
xoxo
