AS UK SPANISH restaurants go, there are two types; tapas bars and proper dining. Very occasionally, some combine the two and that’s what we’ve got at Evuna. A Spanish tapas restaurant which also serves main dishes and specialises in small bins of popular and unusual Spanish wines.
The ingredients for something special are there in Evuna's wine-lined walls, low, dark lighting, cute Spanish-y tables, perfect for huddling and romancing over. It’s just a shame I couldn’t always relax in the chef’s hands as I could in the sommelier's.
If you like a tipple, the wine selection is great.
Chilled Albarino is one of my favourites. It’s made on the wild coastline of Galicia and I like to think you can taste the minerals seeping into the grapes from the soil. Known for a ‘bath salty’ nose, Evuna’s house edition is like a particularly alluring fabric conditioner, all clean, swift lime notes grounded with the tang of chalk. Worth the price tag at £5.80 a glass.
If white is not your thing there are classy reds from Ribera del Duero, everyone’s favourite Rioja and a lone Monastrell. Also known as Mourvèdre in France, this chunky red appeals to fans of Malbec and Shiraz, and a great example (not quite as great at the Juan Gil they used to stock, but still good) is Aldea De Daras (£20 in, £11 takeout).
In comparison, the food lacks the cellar’s finesse.
Crostini with Spanish black pudding (morcilla) and spiced chorizo (£4.75) is a smoky, gooey stack, with a layer of pate-like stuff that’s discoloured around the edges as if left to dry or placed under the grill. It little needs a salad garnish covered in Italian balsamic drizzle. The slow braised pork cheek, with potato and carrots (£7.50, also from the tapas specials menu) is better. The soup base is made for that slightly dry, flavoursome white bread you find around the Med.
Evuna
But with the kitchen reaching for supermarket ingredients once again, we make do with dipping baguette into the sweet, aniseedy sauce. It detracts little from the fall-apart cheek, and unctuous clams with white beans (£7.90). This is peasant food as it has the potential to be, all big flavours and satisfying umami.
Light, crisp calamari overpower the table on a moon-sized plate, with a solid, home made tomato dip on the side and plenty of it. As is the case in many ocean-facing parts of Spain, seafood is the thing at Evuna.
Evuna
So it’s a shame that the Galician hake (£15.50) main with celery, potato and parsley stew is such a let down. The fish is ever so lightly crumbed and fried, retaining a good, soft bite and character.
But the accompanying soup looks like it’s been eaten once already and tastes similar. I gesture in an attempt to stop my friend Joe eating it but he likes it. Perhaps it’s just me…. but the oily, scummy layer on top and the liquid soaking through the increasingly soggy fish adds up to grim. Over-stewed parsley doesn’t lift the mood and presentation is an issue throughout.
As you’d find in a smart, upmarket restaurant in Madrid, there are a number of dry sherries to try plus a highlight of Pedro Ximinez liquid raisin dessert sherry. We take small sips and mull over the mixed bag.
Joe loves it. He cleans up everything left on the table while I turn my nose up. Is it me or does Joe need a palate education.
Evuna
At least elements like the pork cheek, the beans, the smoky morcilla are head and shoulders above the snooze-fest tapas of La Tasca and El Rincon.
The ingredients for something special are there in Evuna's wine-lined walls, low, dark lighting, cute Spanish-y tables, perfect for huddling and romancing over. It’s just a shame I couldn’t always relax in the chef’s hands as I could in the sommelier's.
The robust, peasant aspects of Evuna work better than any stabs at sophistication. And we lack the latter in the city. Since the closure of Grado (Paul Heathcote’s Spanish operation, where Grill on New York Street now lies), there’s nowhere for anything that borders on even vaguely fine Spanish dining unless you’re prepared to head out to El Gato Negro in Ripponden.
You can follow Ruth Allan on Twitter here @RuthAllan.
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Evuna, 277 Deansgate, City. M3 4EW, Tel: 0161 819 2752. Web.
Rating: 14/20
Food: 6/10
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
