28 Corporation Street,
Blackpool, FY1 1EJ
Tel: 01253 749777
Open 9am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 10pm Sundays
Lucy had a "devil" of a time at Toast Cafe Bar & Grill in Blackpool town centre today. Toast were launching their new afternoon Tapas menu - 3 dishes for £10 Sunday to Friday 3pm to 6pm - so we just HAD to go and give it a try!
The launch event had decorative guys and gals to welcome us at the door, the town crier and a great swing singer inside. Now they won't necessarily be on display when we next visit Toast but there WILL be a wonderful afternoon Tapas menu with something to suit every palate!
The Tapas Menu has 21 dishes to choose from with a variety of seafood, chicken, meat and vegetable dishes as well as breads, olives and feta cheese accompaniments. The idea of Tapas is that you choose a selection of different dishes and try a little of each so, if there are two of you, you can have 6 dishes between you and get more of a variety of tastes and textures. This offer is 3 dishes for £10 but, if you really only want a little snack, then you can always just have a single dish of your choice as all the items are individually priced on the menu.
All the Tapas Menu items have exciting Spanish sounding titles but you don't have to worry about what you may be ordering as there is a plain English description as well and, of course, the helpful staff will be more than happy to guide you through it.
We were lucky enough to have a taste of quite a few of the items off the menu and can happily affirm, that if you like food, then you'll like these. We started off with the garlic bread (also available with melted cheese on top), mixed marinated olives and diced feta cheese.
From the seafood selection, we particularly enjoyed the "Calamares Andaluza" which are deep fried crispy squid rings served with a special roasted garlic mayonnaise and the "Paella De Marisco" - a smooth light paella made with tuna. prawns and mussels poached in white wine.
For meat eaters, the "Chorizo Frito Al Vino" is a must - slices of tangy Spanish sausage sautéed in red wine - along with the chorizo and chicken Paelle. The "Pollo Con Salsa" chicken breast cooked in a sherry, white wine and cream sauce was absolutely sensational - rich and smooth, while the "Costillas De Cerdo" barbecue pork ribs are definitely worth getting your fingers sticky for!
Vegetarians are well catered for as well on this menu with a choice of sauteed garlic muschrooms, pan fried peppers, baked roasted vegatables and a herb roasted potato option.
There are Spanish wines to go with this Spanish cuisine - or should we say "cocina" - with a choice of white, rosé and red or you can even have a jug of sangria!
But don't worrry - it's not all Tapas by any means. Toast still has its normal range of snacks, main meals and hot and cold drinks and even a special Sunday roast menu from 12noon to 8pm on Sundays.
To find out more about what's on at Toast in Blackpool, check out their website at: http://www.toast-cafe-bar.co.uk/
