WHAT’s the biggest difference between Barcelona and Stockport? While the similarities surely outweigh the distinctions in terms of glamour, culture, etc. I have noticed Stopfordians don’t like to eat out as late as the Spanish. Take my visit to La Cantina this Saturday. Due to scheduling confusion we ended up there at five o'clock, and I was convinced we would be the only people in the place, but it was absolutely heaving. So sometimes us northerners like to have our tea early, that just makes us slaves to our circadian rhythms, ok?
It might seem nuts to pay a tenner for a tin of salty fish, but Lolin are said to make the world’s best anchovies
La Cantina, as regular readers surely know, is a kind of sister restaurant to Damson, though conjoined twin might be more accurate. Heaton Moor’s Damson, which has been such a fixture on the Manchester scene, has undergone some rapid changes in recent weeks. First came the news that the Media City outpost had closed down, and then it came to pass that half of Damson was to be stripped out and turned into a Spanish tapas place. It seemed like a bit of a wild decision – Manchester is fairly stuffed with tapas places right now.
Speaking of things that are having a moment, gin is what La Cantina is all about, with an impressively edited selection of the best Spain has to offer (if you weren’t already aware, the Spanish are just a little bit obsessed with gin and tonic, or, as it must be said extremely rapidly, ‘hintonic’). Though they weren’t served in the enormous balloon-style glasses I have seen elsewhere, these rather attractive hintonics would pass muster with most Spaniards I’m sure.
Lolin anchoviesFirst was the Sikkum Fraises, a strawberry-flavoured gin that was not as sweet as that sounds, with enliveningly bitter notes and the taste of basil woven through it. The other was Vones, an unusual gin with a warmly autumnal chestnut flavour that was brought out by the addition of star anise and cinnamon. Both were paired with Fevertree tonic, most successfully in the case of the Vones.
As for what went with the gin, tapas, more than anything, are tasty morsels of a little something to make drinking just that bit more civilised. Part of what makes tapas tapas is that they can be prepared in a bar/kitchen no bigger than a cupboard, with just one deep fryer and one gas ring and one flame-retardant chef-cum-bartender (lets hope he or she doesn’t slosh the gin around too liberally).
To make this low-prep-work food high impact, the sourcing has to be the very best, and at this La Cantina has excelled. In fact, this was demonstrated by food coming out barely five minutes after we ordered – a lot of it really is assembly work, but when you’re assembling something that’s already great, what more needs to be done?
MorcillaLolin anchovies (£10) are a grand example. It might seem nuts to pay a tenner for a tin of salty fish, but Lolin are said to make the world’s best anchovies. They were certainly smooth in texture and rather moreish with a sea-salt tang that contrasted nicely with all the crazy botanicals going on in the gin. The acorn-fed Iberican ham (£5, main image) too was of top-notch quality but sliced a bit too thickly for my taste.
The morciilla (£3) was a real favourite. This blood sausage has a bit of a looser texture than black pudding, but retains all the meaty flavour and is more spiced like a haggis. If you are not a fan of the ‘nasty bits’ then that description with hardly sell it to you, but I promise you are missing out (besides, black pudding is apparently a superfood so if you are worried about clean eating, worry no more). On the less gutsy side, manchego y membrillo (£4), the rich ewe’s milk cheese with a slightly creamy hazelnut aroma, was classically set off with the warm, jammy taste of membrillo paste and a sprinkling of golden sultanas. My only regret is that I didn’t have it with a nice sherry, though it did go surprisingly well with gin.
As for the cooked dishes, well there was nothing to fault in the non-chewy calamares (£4), or the tasty salt cod croquettas (£4). The patates con bravas (£3) were not coated in that viscous, fiery red paste we’ve come to expect but were served with just-crushed tomatoes and topped with a duck egg that was cooked to perfection.
Manchego y membrillo
Almond tartThe dessert specials were a simple but beautiful chocolate pot (£3), given a little kick with a sprinkling of coarse salt, and a slightly dry but beautifully flavoured almond tart (£3), which was rescued from over-crumbliness by lashings of cream.
The service had been so quick-smart and the food gobbled with such inelegant haste that we were on our way again by half six. The staff had been turning people away or seating them outside for the last half hour (in October!) whilst children scampered around the barrels being used as tables – just as they do in Spain (only about five hours later at night).
So, the Damson folk seem to have made a smart choice by diversifying into all things Espanol. Their wisdom is seen in the fact it doesn’t try to take on the big city centre names with anything flashy, but sticks to that easy simplicity which makes tapas bars so popular. And while Heaton Moor Road is never going to be Las Ramblas, you can now get a jolly nice bite with your fancy hintonic. Salud!
La Cantina, 113 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4HY. Tel: 0161 432 4666
Rating: 15/20
Food: 7 (patatas 6, morcilla 9, anchovies 8, manchego 8, iberican ham 7, croquette 6, calamares 6, chocolate pot 8, almond tart 6)
Atmosphere: 4 - suitably bustling
Service: 4 - efficient and friendly
Calamares
Choc pot
Patates con bravas
Salt cod croquettas
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