El Patio De Pepa (PINCHOS Y TAPAS)

: pepa tortilla

Tapas Bar Of The Month

Nestled in the heart of the Barrio del Carmen and just a stone’s throw from La Lonja…you will find the newish ‘El Patio de Pepa’, which serves tapas and pinchos with your wine, beer and spirits. This is Mediterranean food with Latin touches.

It is set in a 19^th century building and the interior is nicely spruced up, whilst still retaining its character. Check out the attractive ceramic tiles that cover the bar as well as the distressed brickwork and wooden floor. There is also a view by the window, with high chairs, that allows you to watch the world go by.

The ‘Pepa’ team are a cosmopolitan and upbeat bunch with Spanish, Mexican, Polish and Cuban members cooking and serving. Indeed, Spaniard Barbara Amoros was a competition winner on the TV programme ‘Top Chef’. All of their produce is fresh from the nearby Mercado Central. At ‘La Pepa’ they like to provide you with “a perfect combination” of tapas or pinchos with your wine and beer or premium Gin’n’Tonics.

Their tasty tablas include cheese and ham choices. You can enjoy artistically presented pinchos with prawns, vegetables, chicken and ham options. The bar’s tostas include sardine, ham & tumaca and the Valencian speciality of ‘esgarraett’, which are red peppers with cod. Their tapas ‘raciones’ include anchovies, croquetas and grilled octopus. Their choice of dishes with fried eggs is wide and include meat, vegetable and fish choices.

The sultry night we went along, we had fun chatting to the amiable staff at the bar and picking and choosing from the octopus tapas served on wood platters and the chicken pinchos on offer. We also experienced their distinctive ‘cazon’ which is the Andalusian speciality of shark. Top marks for their crunchy croquetas with cheese and almonds! Throughout the evening, we savoured the quality & presentation of the dishes. This included the filling, fried egg vegetable dish being served in a sweet little casserole dish. We unwound with 2 Gin’n’Tonics, one citric fruit Hendricks and the other a Strawberry Gin with ‘Fever Tree Mediterranea’ Tonic water. With Cubans on the staff, they include a former cocktail manager from Havana and serve excellent rum from their country and are experts with Mojitos! This really is a fun night out for tapas & drinks in the historic centre…