Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 97 Danforth Avenue
Website: www.tapasatembrujo.com
Type of Meal: Dinner
Tapas At Embrujo has replaced the previous Embrujo Flamenco and with it arrives a new menu with additional small plates and lower price points. Everything is meant to be shared, especially the large paellas, suggested for two but could easily feed more.
Amongst the
four paellas, we ordered the seafood ($42) which was topped with
shrimp, squid, mussels and a scallop. The rice was saucy and flavourful but
would have been even better if there was less liquid so that a crust could
develop on the sides and bottom of the pan. The seafood was overcooked and
despite the abundance of shrimp, squid and mussels it was a bizarre that there
was only a single scallop. All in all, although not the best in the city (I’d
suggest Carmen for paella), it was nonetheless a satisfactory dish.
With tapas in
their name, they certainly offer a large selection. Varying in sizes, some like
the duck confit with pear ($11) could even act as a main with the addition of a
salad. A fairly large duck leg is prepared confit style arriving tender and
flavourful. Served piping hot with a sprig of rosemary, it was an enjoyable
dish, much tastier than the other meat tapas we tried that night.
Having tried
both of black angus sirloin tapas, the steak with three sauces ($10) was the
better of the two. Four strips of beef were accompanied with sweet parsley,
Romesco and sweet mustard sauces for dipping. The end piece I tasted was fairly
tough, but my friend noted the middle portion was nice and tender. The dipping
sauces were also an acquired taste - the sweetness in the parsley and mustard
sauces were not for me, I would have much preferred something tangy or spicy
instead.
The second
sirloin dish was the steak with salsa de mostaza ($10); Embrujo’s take on steak
frites. The sirloin, served in chunks, was overdone. The fries were decent
arriving hot and crispy; however, was likely the frozen variety and a fairly
oily.
If something
fried is what you’re craving, the eggplant fries ($7) is the better choice.
Although not extremely crispy, there is a nice light crust around each piece
and a soft tender centre. Topped with a liberal sprinkling of sea salt and
served with aioli these are great for munching on. If you can save some of the salmorejo,
the garlicky Spanish tomato sauce that accompanies the bread, try it with the
eggplant as it pairs quite nicely. Just be careful on the first fry as they are
hot!
In fact, just
save the bread period. Especially, if you’re ordering the clams with chorizo
($9). A bowl of clams cooked in white wine and flavoured with spicy chorizo, the
clams are decent but the flavourful broth is the highlight. It would go so
nicely with the crusty bread – too bad we had already ran out of it.
The shrimp
with chocolate ($10) was a surprisingly good dish. Normally, fruit flavoured
chocolate is a detested combination but with the non-sweet cocoa Embrujo used
in combination with the orange juice actually was quite nice. The addition of chilies
into the dish really helped to keep everything savoury. If only the shrimp
wasn’t floured it would have been better as the crust sort of crumbled off and
became mushy.
One of our
table’s favourite dishes of the night was the quail egg crostini ($9). More of
the delicious tart and garlicky salmorejo sauce is spread on a grilled
crostini, then layer with Serrano ham and topped with a fried quail egg. The
dish not only presented well but the combination of flavours, crunch and runny
egg yolk proved to work well together.
After
enjoying a half an hour live performance (Thursday – Saturdays only), of
entertaining Spanish songs and Flamenco dancing we finally digested enough for
dessert. Sharing the flan ($6), the Spanish version of crème caramel, it’s a
decent dessert. Much denser than the other custards there's a cake-like consistency to it. But, it was well flavoured and the watery
caramel nicely sweetened.
Wondering
what “Embrujo” meant but not finding it on the internet (imagine that), I
finally wrote into the restaurant; turns out it translates to “bewitched”. The
name sums up our experience quite well – although not every dish was a hit we
nonetheless had an enjoyable night at Tapas at Embrujo. In the end, it’s the captivating
experience is what matters - our waiter was delightful, the food plentiful
& affordable and the cava/sangria/wine even more so. With the right company
and atmosphere, this adds up to a great night.
Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
