Tasca Tapas, Gladesville

June 10, 2012 by kevcheng | 2 Comments

Salt and pepper squid ($13)

You could almost say Gladesville is turning into a Latin Quarter. Dos Senoritas is there and Tasca Tapas has quietly plied its trade along the roaring Victoria Rd.

Forgive my sarcasm, but truly, Gladesville is not a place to be written off. Dos Senoritas is one of my favourite restaurants at the moment, with hearty tacos, rich burritos and a Mexican owner to boot. But this review is not about Dos Senoritas; it’s about Tasca Tapas.

First Impression

I’ve driven past Tasca many times, and its lifeless decor has never teased me inside. But what’s the saying again – never judge a book by its cover? Go to the Eatability page and you’ll see Tasca Tapas is rating at above 9/10.

We visited the restaurant on a Friday night, with no booking. There is plenty of parking out the back, or you can catch a bus if you’re keen. As Shannon commented, the restaurant looked like a glorified fish and chip shop. White tiles adorn the walls, with the occasional Spanish ornament or flag.

Although lacking character, the place is clean and doesn’t make us want to pack up and leave.

I did enjoy how the chef cooked all of the food in front of you. He worked in a methodical fashion and had many, many things going on at once.

Food

There’s only a chef and one waitress working and they were getting slammed. Although there couldn’t be more than eight tables in the place, the dockets were piling up. Our orders were taken a good 15 minutes after we arrived, which wasn’t a problem but it was enough to notice.

We started with the Spanish classic of garlic bread ($3). It was satisfactory; crunchy bread with creamy butter infused with garlic. Nothing special, but a nice way to start.

Garlic bread ($3)

Next, we chose the veal and pork meatballs ($11). They were tasty, and the mix of veal and pork presented an ideal combination, covered in a rich, tomato sauce. I can imagine this with a big bowl of spaghetti.

Veal and pork meatballs ($11)

The best dish of the night was easily the salt and pepper squid ($13). The batter of squid was light and I enjoyed the seasoning; not too salty or covered in pepper. With lemon drizzled over the top, I could’ve eaten another serving.

Lastly, we chose the chorizo ($9) because what would a trip to a tapas place be without it? The smokyness of the grill left a rich aroma and succulent taste in our mouths. Fantastic finish.

Chorizo ($9)

Tasca Tapas surprised us. There is an abundance of Asian restaurants nearby in Eastwood and West Ryde, so to find a tapas place so close, which tasted so good, was a bonus. They don’t sell alcohol but you can just “go down to the bottle-o and bring something back”, according to the waitress. The food was simple but tasty. We paid about $20 a head, which is perfectly reasonable by our standards. A new favourite and we will be back.