As the lucky HCX members who were chosen to review El Bocado Tapas Bar in Exeter, we enjoyed a gorgeously tasty and generous meal last Saturday night. After being greeted by the lovely manager Don, and escorted to our table by HCX girl, Helena, we pondered over the scrumptious menu before Don came over to tell us all about the best dishes and the ones he would recommend for us to choose. All of the produce El Bocado use for their dishes is fresh and sourced locally apart from the olives and a speciality ham that they order in from Spain just because it is streets ahead of what is on offer in England.
Obligingly, we followed Don’s recommendations, which included deep-fried aubergines drizzled in honey (a speciality their chef picked up on a recent trip to Barcelona), and local monkfish with Spanish pancetta cooked in a white wine sauce.
We both agreed that El Bocada has such an intimate, comfortable and, surprisingly enough, Spanish atmosphere, perfect for a dinner with friends, family, or a date with your other half. It’s a rather small restaurant, with the bar in sight, and waiters and waitresses always close enough for you to catch their attention if you’re in need of something. The pretty fairy lights decorating the window really enhance the intimate, romantic feel of the place, along with the mahogany tables and subtle lighting. To be honest, we think it’s perfect for a Valentines Day date!
Before our chosen dishes arrived we were treated to a complimentary warm tomato and basil soup in large shot glasses. On top of Don’s selections we had chosen chicken breast pieces with chorizo in a creole sauce, slow cooked beef with herbs, tomatoes and red peppers, local Teign valley mussels cooked with white wine, cream and parsley and chargrilled sweet red peppers stuffed with cream cheese.
Just writing this makes our mouths water all over again, reminiscing about the amazing flavours! Every single dish was so unbelievably tasty, and the standout favourite being the aubergines with honey. Such a sweet flavour with a crisp texture, from something that we never would have chosen had it not been recommended as a favourite!
Then, to top the whole meal off Don produced a trio of desserts consisting of a mini crème brulée with hints of cinnamon, a cake layered with sponge and a filling of condensed milk and cream, and finally a rich chocolate pot with intense flavour and a creamy texture.
We both devoured every last morsel food, along with our Sangria, as we both proceeded to becoming surprisingly tipsy whilst engaging in extremely cultural conversation, naturally…
This is a really great restaurant that HCX would highly recommend you visit! The authentic Spanish tapas makes a great meal for any date or house dinner: make sure you don’t miss out. Watch this space for an upcoming competition…
Photo credits :-