Tapavino, Circular Quay

Hidden in a laneway in Circular Quay is Tapavino, a charming Spanish restaurant. As I stepped in, for a moment, I felt like I was in one of the tapas bars in Barcelona or Madrid. Everything on the menu sounded delicious so it was hard for my friends and I to decide what to eat. The wine list is extensive to say the least so we asked the waitress to help us with our selection.

We started with the Braised chicken, tomato salsa and paprika mayo. The meat was perfectly tender and the sauce was incredibly tasting without overpowering the chicken. 

Braised chicken, tomato salsa & paprika mayo​ $18

The Blood sausage ​is served with manuka honey and walnuts. It was again packed with flavour and had the right hits of sweet and salty.

Morcilla (blood sausage), manuka honey, walnuts $14

The Braised chorizo was a hearty dish, served with a side of sourdough which came in handy to soak up the wonderfully thick tomato sauce.

Braised chorizo, black olives, romesco de tapavino, pan de casa $20

Tapavino's menu features an entire section devoted to jamon. We decided to go with the Jamon, mushroom & black truffled tart with shaved manchego. The tart was hidden under a generous pile of beautiful, melt in your mouth jamon. The flavour combination of jamon with truffles and the manchego cheese was incredible. I could have happily devoured the whole dish. 

Jamón, mushroom & black truffled tart, shaved manchego $17

For dessert, we couldn't go past the Chocolate terrine, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. The terrine is very rich and the olive oil and the sea salt flakes complemented the intensity of the chocolate flavour beautifully.

Chocolate terrine, olive oil & salt flake $12

The Dulce de leche tart was accompanied by a generous dollop of cream. A simple dessert flawlessly executed, definitely worth saving room for.

Dulce de leche tart $12

I highly recommend Tapavino if you are a fan of good Spanish food and wine. Servings are generous and the atmosphere is unpretentious and has a definite buzz to it.