Lovers of tapas can finally get their fill.
Periwinkle, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, has launched a weekly tapas night, filling the void in Cayman for this popular fare.
Held every Wednesday and dubbed Mesa Espanola (Spanish Table) it pays homage to Spanish tapas, with the Ritz-Carlton’s added flair.
Tapas is the name for a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine. Its popularity has recently soared, and today it has evolved into an entire cuisine, with diners feasting on a host of tapas for a full and satisfying meal.
And, you’ll certainly fill your belly at Mesa Espanola.
My guest and I started our tapas feast with Pasteles de Maiz – corn bread with roasted red pepper and coriander, whetting our appetites for the meal ahead.
Next was a selection of tapas, washed down with ample home-made sangria. The forward-thinking chefs at Periwinkle have injected the tapas dishes with plenty of creativity, ensuring a real gastronomic feast for the senses.
On the menu was potato omelette with spicy Spanish sausage, rare seared marinated tuna with a sherry marinade, veal, pork and beef meat balls with a tomato and pepper reduction and a satisfying red lentil and saffron soup.
The soup was a firm favourite, as was the tuna. The flavours perfectly married together, none overpowering the other.
The tapas on offer change regularly, so repeat diners will always enjoy something new.
The tapas were followed by a choice of three paellas.
On offer was paella valenciana, saffron infused rice with paprika rubbed chicken, pork, quail, shrimps, mussels, peppers and peas; paella caldosa, with mahi mahi, shrimp, calamari, mussels, saffron and peppers; and paella pollo con chorizo, with chicken, chorizo sausage, peppers and peas.
All three were bursting with flavours and undeniable tasty – my guest and I both going up for seconds.
Choose to help yourself buffet style, or alternatively have a paella prepared especially for you and brought to your table for you and your fellow diners to share.
If you still have room, there are plenty of decadent desserts to choose from, but with Mesa Espanola being an all you can eat feast, its highly unlikely.
Nestled on the resort’s winding waterways, the elegant, yet laid back, al fresco restaurant lends itself perfectly to the tapas night.
Service is exemplary, the food of the highest quality and the restaurant’s setting picturesque. Diners will certainly leave feeling satisfied.
Mesa Espanola is priced at $32, $14 for children.
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