Review: La Bodega Mediterranean Tapas, Morpeth

La Bodega Mediterranean Tapas in Morpeth

For me having tapas isn't just a meal, it's a joyous social occasion that brings back so many great memories. Thoughts of holidays long passed, of sitting grazing into the wee hours in some very special places. Of Spanish friends that I love dearly, of sharing their spectacular food in their homes and being welcomed and treated as if part of their family. Just mention tapas and you'll get a big old smile from me. So it was with a great sense of pleasure and excitement that I booked a meal at La Bodega Mediterranean Tapas in Morpeth. Located on the main road into (or out of) Morpeth, La Bodega occupies a former pub building and is intimately decorated and a good atmosphere.

There is subtle lighting in the evening, especially in the corner where we were seated so I really must apologise for the awful standard of photographs of the food. They really don't do justice to what we were served, but you can get the idea of portion size and presentation. We were warmly greeted on this Saturday evening by friendly staff that showed us to our table and we ordered bread and ali-oli while we perused the menu. What a great start this proved to be! I sometimes find ali-oli can be two overpowering and a little bitter, but not the La Bodega way! A smooth, subtle flavour of garlic with a hint of herbs with crusty bread still warm out of the oven and I was in appetiser heaven, this bodes well I thought.

Stack of Nachos - £4.75

We decided to order the Stack of Nachos as a starter before the main tapas event. What came out was easily enough for two people to share with an abundance of toppings including a fresh salsa, guacamole, sour cream, jalepenos, plenty of cheese and a wonderful surprise of re-fried beans underneath. Two out of two so far for La Bodega, I was beginning to get that buzz of excitement that comes with finding a great little foodie mecca. For our main course of tapas we ordered the Piri Piri Chicken, Albondigas (meatballs), Chorizo a la Riojana and Patatas Bravas. What a feast! The chicken was juicy and tender with a good hit of chilli, the chorizo packed with flavour and a delicious sauce from the Rioja.

Meatballs are possibly my favourite part of any tapas meal and a good barometer of a chef's skill and these were particularly good, a gentle sauce accompanied a generous portion and every drop was excitedly mopped up with the left over bread. The star of the meal however is definitely that ali-oli, the patatas bravas came smothered in it, coating the spicy tomato sauce.

Tapas selection at La Bodega

So gentle and so smooth, it soothed the chilli kick from the piri piri chicken perfectly, I couldn't get enough of it. I genuinely hope that it's made on-site otherwise I think I would be a little disappointed - I have enquired but as yet haven't had a reply, I'll keep you posted! The dessert menu was brought to our table on a blackboard, a fairly limited but nice choice, we went for the apple tart and the bread and butter pudding. Both were enjoyed but they didn't quite reach the culinary heights of the meal before it. The atmosphere by now on a Saturday evening was buzzing, a really nice mix of people out to have a good sociable meal.


Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at La Bodega, but that's not to say it was without fault... our table was really quite wobbly and our main tapas was brought to us before we'd finished the nachos we had ordered as a starter (not the standard tapas route I know). The meatballs could have been a tiny bit lighter in consistency, but that's being really nit picky and none of it mattered in the slightest - it's tapas! Our meal of appetiser and three courses with drinks for two people came to around £45 which in my book is pretty good value considering the quality of the food.

La Bodega Mediterranean Tapas' Scores
Venue: 3 and 1/2 out of 5
Ambience: 4 our of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Presentation: 4 out of 5
Taste: 4 and 1/2 out of 5
Value for Money: 4 out of 5

Overall Score:  With offers like three tapas for a tenner in the afternoon/early evening and a sharing menu at £15.95 there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't eat here, even if you've never tried tapas before. Morpeth really does deliver on international cuisine, so give it a try, I'm quite convinced you won't be disppointed. 4 out of 5.

My scoring system explained: 1 = Poor, 2 = Average, 3 = Good, 4 = Excellent, 5 = Outstanding

Contact Details
84 Newgate Street
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 1BU

Tel: 01670 516055
email: info@labodegamorpeth.co.uk

Web: www.labodegamorpeth.co.uk