Evuna, Manchester’s Northern Quarter

I feel a rant coming on.

Back in June, I put posted a blog about a rather unremarkable restaurant located in the village where my parents live in Spain (here). The gist of this post was that even average eateries of little or no distinction in rural parts of the country often offer local, regional and national dishes to a standard that is sadly lacking in the majority of British restaurants.

But what of Spanish restaurants in the UK?

Sadly, in my experience, most of them are far from ‘bueno’. So when Evuna opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, I hoped it would be one of the better ones.

First impressions were good… I liked the venue and there was a typical NQ buzz about the place.

Then I was served a bowl of olives featuring cheap, nasty artificially dyed black abominations!

‘At Evuna we are aiming to offer you a taste of real Spain.’

In Italian, Greek or Spanish restaurants, I always use the olives as a benchmark of quality – to my mind, there is simply no excuse for places to be serving olives blackened with ferrous sulphate – a substance also used as a feed supplement in swine to prevent anaemia; to kill moss in lawns and in the treatment of sewage!

Re. the rest of my food at 3 tapas for £9.99 – I should not really grumble at the quality of the Albondigas (meat balls), Calamares or Patatas Bravas – although it would have been a bonus if all the potatoes had been cooked thoroughly.

The one saving grace was my Roasted shoulder of pork with pepper & onion sauce – retaining a little pinkness and with the perfect amount of charring to add flavour without overpowering, the pork was delightfully cooked and sat well with the sweet and smoky sauce.

Would I go back? Yes, but only if they upped their olive game and started serving quality produce. They don’t need to be the best olives in the world, just not nasty black chemical things. 

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