Encasa, Lane Cove

Encasa in Lane Cove is an outpost from the much loved original on Pitt Street in Sydney CBD. We started with the ​Marinated white anchovies with toasted sourdough. The anchovies were XL in size and very flavorsome, with strong hints of lemon.

Marinated white anchovies served with toasted sourdough

One of my favourite tapas dish is croquettes and Encasa's version with jamon Iberico had the perfect crispy outside and creamy inside. 

Jamon Iberico Croquette $12

There's a whole section of the menu devoted to pickled tinned goods which I found intriguing. We ordered the Tinned razor clams, as it's not something that is easily available.  The dish arrived with its packaging intact - in case you like it, you can pick it up at the small deli at the front of the restaurant. I think I prefer my razor clams freshly cooked, but the quality of the tinned version was surprisingly good.

Razor Clams $21

Another interesting dish was the Octopus carpaccio with mustard ice cream, which was one of the specials of the day. The flavours of octopus and mustard surprisingly went well together, though the carpaccio was a little icy and not as tender as I would have liked. 

Octopus carpaccio and mustard ice cream $18

We finished off the meal with Pork cheeks and potato puree. The puree was delightfully smooth and creamy and the pork cheeks simply dissolved in my mouth. A wonderfully moreish dish.

Pork cheeks and potato puree $20

Encasa is always reliable for a good Spanish feed and it's great to have one north of the bridge.