World Tapas Day – the perfect excuse to enjoy the perfect summer dish

What’s not to love about tapas? Lovely little plates of pleasure and perfect for summer – especially with a glass of red wine or two. They’re great for sharing and you get to try lots of different dishes.  Just choose the number of dishes to suit your appetite and your pocket. And if you’re still hungry, just order another. The only thing not to love about tapas is deciding what to order.

There are some excellent Spanish restaurants in Manchester these days. One of our favourites is Lunya, the restaurant and deli in the Barton Arcade where there are around 25 fish, meat and vegetable tapas dishes to choose from.

They’ve got all the classics like patatas bravas, calamari  and albondigas, as well as more unusual dishes like morcilla – Catalan black pudding, rolled in cornflakes and deep fried, served with an orange and honey syrup and pomegranate molasses;  deep fried Gordal olives stuffed with Ibérico cheese; and Catalan hotpot, their signature dish, blending the flavours of Catalunya with the north west of England. Betty’s hotpot it ain’t.

Prices start at less than a fiver, and you can enjoy 3 tapas dishes and homemade sourdough bread for just £14.95 between 2pm and 5pm, every day except Saturday.

For those with healthier appetites, why not go the whole credo (that’s Spanish for hog) with the Gourmet Banquet – a whole lot of tapas – 12 dishes including fillet steak – for just £37.95 per person.

And you don’t even have to eat in because ready made take away tapas are available from the  deli – perfect for a Mediterranean-style picnic or just to eat at home. It’s packed with a huge range of the very best Catalan and Spanish food and drink, including 3 different hams carved on the bone, over 40 Spanish cheeses and all of the essentials you would ever need to create your own.

Something to go with your tapas? The bar has an extensive and exclusively Spanish wine list with over 150 Spanish wines, sherries and cavas, and over 12 Spanish beers on draught or in bottles.

And please remember. Tapas isn’t just for World Tapas Day.