Yahoo News We tried a Preston tapas bar and it's a little taste of the Mediterranean
As we find ourselves in the depths of November, much of Lancashire is covered in snow, harsh conditions, dark evenings and very little sunlight.
It's certainly a far cry from summer sun, long days and feeling the heat on your face. Whilst some are lucky enough to bag themselves some winter sun, others are stuck in the cold - but it doesn't have to be all bad.
In Preston, you can act as though you've taken a short flight to the Spanish town of San Sebastian. At a tapas bar on Market Place, it's almost as if you've dipped your feet in the warm Mediterranean sea, basked in the midday sun and enjoyed some good food and drink whilst enjoying a holiday - and you don't even need your passport.
READ MORE: The 90s staple foods and drinks at risk of becoming extinct
READ MORE: Huge Northlight development hailed as the way forward in transforming Lancashire's historic mills
Bar Pinxtos near Preston's Flag Market is the only pinxtos bar in the north of England and offers a different experience to other bars in the city. On the bar's menu, pintxos are described as "small bites of absolute deliciousness" which are made to be eaten in one mouthful and can be found in bars and taverns lining the streets of the Basque country.
Most of these of the menu are hard to turn down, with combinations such as steak and chimichurri, chorizo and mozzarella and pork belly and black ketchup. Visiting on a sunny Friday afternoon, I was particularly interested in these combinations of pintxos that are designed to small finger foods, perfectly accompanied by a beer or cold drink - what could be better?
Actually, you don't need to take our word for it because Bar Pintxos won a Blue Ribbon at the Good Food Awards, announced this month. The restaurant achieved the accolade for the 2024/25 season, with Blue Ribbon winners handed the award for "top-notch food, service and value".
Spending a while perusing over the menu, we finally opted to go for five of the flavour options (to share of course), making sure I didn't leave the bar regretting not trying some of the other options. In true Mediterranean style too, we opted to order these whilst looking over the rest of the tapas menu to order later - see, there's no need to get on a plane for the whole experience.
Although the menu has changed slightly since my visit, we did go for the steak and chimichurri, blue cheese and walnut, chorizo and mozzarella, goats cheese and plum and manchego and jamon. All I have to say about these are is - simply exceptional.
If I had to choose, the steak and chimichurri was my favourite, but all of them are a bomb of flavour that's light and satisfying. They're certainly bigger than just a mouthful, but as an amuse-bouche of sorts, it's well worth a try.
On to the hot food, which as I said, we selected whilst enjoying the delights of the pintxos, we went for some classic tapas options. Wanting a further fix of the steak and chimichurri pintxos, we opted for this flavour combination on a plate and it was extremely satisfying and more.
The meat was tender whilst the sauce was sharp and flavourful. We also went for the patatas bravas, gambas pil pil and pan fried chorizo, all of these, I'm sure you've learnt by now, were also particularly delicious and exactly what you want when the weather is warm, or you want to envision yourself somewhere that is.
All in all, if you haven't visited Bar Pintxos yet then you need to, it's a taste of the Mediterranean in Preston and it does this job exceptionally well.
