I think croquetas may just be my kryptonite – they turn me weak at the knees and I cannot resist them if on a menu 👀 So naturally when I was very kindly invited to the launch event for the six week Pata Negra residency at Bambalan last week (Friday 13th October), they were top on my list of dishes I needed to try! You can view the full Pata Negra pop up menu here.

If you haven’t heard of Pata Negra, it was a fabulous wine come tapas bar (pretty sure it had a club upstairs too!?) on Corn Street brought to you by Bristol legends, The Hyde and Co group. It gave serious Barcelona/San Sebastian vibes and was open for five sweet years, until 2020 (that fateful year…) where things change as they do and it closed and was replaced by Four Wise Monkeys.

But they’re back, and so are the croquetas, and they were just as good as I remembered! I of course tried both varieties (Jamon Iberico and Leek & Manchego) just to check 😅 Wasn’t expecting to be as keen on the vegetarian but actually it wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be, just moreish.

The small plate of the evening has to be the top recommendation from foodie friends Thom (Foodery) and Alex that I’m more than happy to pass on – the Sobrassada dish. It’s topped with a crisp, (perfectly) soft boiled egg, aged manchego and honey and each mouthful of this delightful combo was a little taste of heaven. I’m not particularly fond of honey but the dish was so perfectly balanced I didn’t actually realise it was there until afterwards.

Something else that always grabs my attention – gordal olives. Sounds basic, but really not. There was a time that a certain restaurant had a supply of these that made my heart sing… I think the Pata Negra team may have the same supplier because these tasted very much like they used to ❤️

Other dishes I tried on the night:

🇪🇸 House tortilla, alioli

🇪🇸 Patatas bravas, alioli picante

🇪🇸 Padrón peppers, grape ajo blanco, crisp onion breadcrumbs

🇪🇸 Slow cooked ox cheek, parsnip purée, parsnip crisps & Rioja jus

🇪🇸 Charcoal grilled lamb chops, salsa verde

🇪🇸 Selección Ibérico (lomo, Chorizo Mórcon, Salchichón)

🇪🇸 Charcoal grilled king prawns with garlic & lemon 

Such is the beauty of tapas (and dining out with so many lovely foodies – thank goodness for Serena Appleby) that I was able to share and sample so many different dishes. I confirmed that I still don’t like lamb chops (but hey I gave it a go) and the house tortilla was as divine as I remember from when I had it last time around at the original venue.

I was too full to manage dessert on the night, so having been for food elsewhere in Bristol I decided to pop back so I could sample (at my own expense) the dark chocolate mousse with arbequina olive oil and sea salt. It was gorgeous. I mean I’m a chocolate obsessive anyway and I love dark chocolate and salt together but I was dubious with the oil… I needn’t have been though these guys know what they’re doing! It’s thick. And I mean, so thick you need to work your arm muscles to get it on your spoon. But that isn’t a bad thing – it’s sumptuous and rich, and could easily be shared… but I didn’t.

Bambalan is a fab venue (I actually had part of my hen do out on the terrace many moons ago, and B and I have been more recently in the daytime for one of their kids discos) so I think it’s a great choice to host the Pata Negra pop up. It can easily accommodate large groups if you want to take friends and share everything like we did (there’s a £32.50pp sharing menu if you’re indecisive and can’t cope with the choice) or there are plenty of smaller tables for a romantic dinner, catch up with friends or a solo date like I had with my mousse!

One last big shout out goes to the lovely Romy who looked after me when I came both on an evening and at lunch… Smiley, genuine, nothing too much trouble, an absolute pleasure. Oh and because I blooming well love a deal – I need to tell you there’s a lunch deal, paella and sourdough pan de ajo for only £10 running Monday to Friday 12pm til 4pm.

Pata Negra are at Bambalan for five more weeks, with the last service on Saturday November 25th. Don’t miss out!

As always, thank you for reading. And let me know what you think if you go!

Lizzie xxx