La Rueda: restaurant review

It doesn't always have to about fine dining, I really appreciate somewhere that is a bit different, has a decent atmosphere and also offers good value for money. With that in mind I thought I'd write a bit about La Rueda on Clapham high street, which me and a small group of friends visited for a Friday night meal before heading out for a few drinks.

The restaurant itself feels fairly authentic with a number of the staff who's first language actually appears to be Spanish, which we took to be a good sign. there was a wide array of tapas on the menu, covering many of the usual favourites (causing one of the group to comment that it was a fairly English style menu, although I would suggest that this is more because of the crowd they are catering for rather than a genuine lack of authenticity).

The wine list was certainly authenic with a decent number of both very nice red and white Rioja's (we went with the Marques of Carcares Red and White at around 15 pounds a bottle each).

We all ordered the recommended 3 or 4 dishes each (21 dishes between 6 of us) but I would say that this was far too much food, I suspect we could easily have fed another person and still have had something left over.

I always think that a good bell weather at all tapas restaurants, regardless of the claimed quality, is the calimares. They are always the first thing I try as I like to know how skilled the chef is. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised as they were excellent, tender and tasty, which set the tone for the rest of the meal really. The seafood was all really well cooked and I thought the sausage in wine and several of the other dishes were very good. I was slightly disappointed by the patatas bravas but on the whole I would recommend it to a larger group who want to try something different before going out for a few beers elsewhere.

Restaurant Trip: Maharini on Clapham High Street

 

Like catching up with an old friend for a drink and discovering that it is just like old times.

Before I moved to Balham 4 years ago I spent a happy year living in Clapham North with some close friend, all of whom were big fans of an occasional curry. While there, one of the regular places to get our Bhuna fix was the Maharani (http://www.maharani-clapham.co.uk/), now since the move (slightly) south I haven’t really been back and it was really nice to take my girlfriend there with the promise of a good, traditional English curry and find that I really wasn’t disappointed.

Now I am not saying this is the most up to date place in terms of décor, however if you can look past the fixtures and fittings the service was excellent and attentive and the atmosphere was pleasant enough (although obviously it is a big restaurant on Clapham high street so occasionally on a Friday and Saturday night I imagine you get a football or rugby team in there which may cause a few problems if your plan was for a romantic meal for two).

As well as fast and polite service, the food was excellent. We ordered a couple of specials not on the online menu ( a Rajistani chicken and a lamb dish which I forgot to make a note of) along with a Saag Paneer which according to my foodie girlfriend was one of the best she had ever tasted.I have to say both of the curry dishes were also really tasty and we’re delivered to the table still sizzling. The lamb was tender in a thick gravy, the chicken was also really tasty, neither was excessively hot, but they definitely packed a little  bit of a punch.  The food was also pretty good value for money, nearly all of the mains cost less than a tenner and the assorted sundries came in at about 3 quid each. As is the norm with curry houses 2 dishes and a vegetable side were probably a bit too much for two of us when you add in a portion of rice and a Naan but we really weren’t complaining and ended up finishing the lot.

The wine selection is somewhat limited (I know what you are thinking, who goes to a curry house and orders a bottle of red, the answer would be “my girlfriend”). The 2007 Saint Emilion we eventually settled on was under 20 quid and very nice (although it I hard to talk about wine complementing food when that food is curry) and obviously they also serve the usual array of beer if you prefer to use that to douse the spice fire.

Cost for two of us (including half a bottle of wine and tip) came in at a very reasonable 55 quid and I’d definitely recommend a visit as part of a night out.