Party time at Viva Espana
8:30am Thursday 10th June 2010 in Eating Out By Kat Dibbits
Party time at Viva Espana
Viva España!
Winter Hey Lane
Horwich
01204 438235
Open 6pm to 1.30am
EATING at Viva España is like going for a meal in someone’s front room. I might as well go round my mum and dad’s and review Sunday dinner: “The roast lamb was excellent, but I was a bit put out when the waitress told me to eat with my mouth closed then made me wash up at the end of the meal.”
Viva is tiny. There are just seven tables with space to cram in maybe 25 to 30 people, yet, on a packed night, it’s buzzing.
It’s dark, too, illuminated by not much more than the flickering candles dotted around the room. It’s a crafty venue for dating, but it’s an equally good setting to catch up with old friends. I was there, this time, for the latter.
Starters here should always be a basket of bread and a big bowl of mixed olives in the middle of the table. Dip your bread in olive oil, spear your olives with a cocktail stick and wash it all down with an ice cold cerveza.
There’s something about tapas that makes for a great evening. It is a very sociable meal, with everyone diving into each other’s food. At Viva, especially, everyone is smiling; there’s a vibe to the place; the conversation flows as freely as the sangria.
Our table is piled high with dishes (all costing around £4 to £6) and it’s pretty much a free-for-all. But I closely guard my pan fried mussels in garlic and chilli. They’re too good to share.
The chorizo frito — spicy Spanish sausage — is tasty, but arrives swimming in oil. The paella Valenciana — described as a traditional style paella with chicken and seafood — is good, too, even though chicken, prawns and squid seem an odd combo.
The lamb casserole in a red wine sauce tastes like home cooking, while the spicy fillet steak, sautéed with spring onions, is tender, as it should be, but too fiery; the heat overpowers the taste of the steak.
There’s not normally room for dessert after three or four dishes, but if you can manage it, try the deep fried custard in batter, flambéed in honey and Cointreau. The carrot cake is excellent and you can’t go wrong with hot choccy fudge cake and ice cream. If you’re too full, you can always share.
An espresso isn’t a bad way to round off the night, especially if, like us, you’ve ploughed through a good few bottles of Spanish red.
You see, that’s the way it goes at Viva España. A meal there, more often than not, turns into a party. It is well worth the trip. Live a little. Call up old friends and make a night of it.
