Review: Aberdeen's Spanish tapas restaurant Café Andaluz

We have a friend in Spain called Francisco whom we have known for around 40 years.

He spent his younger working life in the hospitality trade around the Costa del Sol, serving both tourists and locals alike.

So not only does he love his food and drink, but he’s also very knowledgeable about it.

Francisco spent a period in the north-east working offshore.

It was during this spell that he visited Café Andaluz restaurant in Aberdeen, which happens to specialise in Spanish food.

And promptly fell in love with it.

That’s quite an endorsement, wouldn’t you say?

A Spaniard moving temporarily to Scotland and giving a huge seal of approval to Café Andaluz’s version of tapas espanolas.

Not surprisingly, I thought about him again with fond memories as we arrived there for our meal in Bon Accord Street.

Visit Spain in the heart of the Granite City at Café Andaluz

I’ve spent many a night or lunchtime in local restaurants in Spain enjoying the country’s cuisine – from fiery prawn “gambas pil-pil” to “churros”, sugar-dusted strips of fried pastry dough.

I love it at Café Andaluz, too, which should not come as a surprise for someone like me who has slavishly-devoted four decades to scoffing away in Espana.

But we came not for lunch or dinner, but something a little different.

Café Andaluz is “luxurious and authentic.”

It was time for breakfast Spanish style – or “desayuno”, as they call it.

I’d not thought about it before, but when I discovered they offered a breakfast menu I couldn’t resist.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

Décor is ‘full of Spanish sumptuousness’

One of the most striking things about Café Andaluz is that it’s just so… well… just so Spanish.

I know that sounds daft, but the décor is full of Spanish sumptuousness – like crema Catalana custard dessert or thick tortilla omelette.

The designers threw just about everything at it to create a grand Hispanic backdrop.

Stunning distinctive Spanish wall and floor tiling splashes in a multitude of colourful directions – as though a barrel of sangria had exploded.

A Moorish style so familiar in Spanish architecture and interior design was all around.

Especially with many heavy Moroccan-style lamps hanging from the ceilings and in elegant soft-lit dining alcoves, surrounded by large decorative ornamental crockery pots.

Luxurious and authentic, you have to go a long way to find something as good as this.

I’ve seen lots of these elements in various restaurants in Spain in my time, but never all in one place as here.

Aberdeen’s Spanish tapas restaurant also wowed on the service front

The man in charge of service explained that was he was from “near Madrid”.

I might eventually stand corrected, but to be more accurate I have it on good authority that he actually hails from the northern city of Valladolid, which is a couple of hours from Madrid.

I suspect he might want to save us Brits the embarrassment of trying to pronounce it properly.

I think you substitute the “b” sound for “v”, “y” for “ll” and a soft “th” for the two “ds”.

Okay, clear enough?

He exemplified great charm, politeness and diplomacy throughout; a great example for young waiters to follow.

He needed all three skills when listening to me trying out my own special version of Spanish on him.

Staff from all over the world were represented here, including Columbia, Greece, France and Poland, but they all had something in common – a welcoming demeanour and excellent service.

We were represented by the three of us – me, my wife and eldest grandson, 13.

And why not? After all, breakfast should be about family, too, and I think this would appeal to family groups at weekends.

The food

We chose a quieter weekday morning, but it became busier as lunchtime approached.

I know you’ve been impressed by my Spanish skills, so I don’t mind telling you that I am addicted to “huevos con butifarra negra” at Café Andaluz.

It’s quite a mouthful in more ways than one, but it simply boils down to poached eggs and black pudding on sourdough toast with a creamy hollandaise sauce.

Bliss on a plate in other words: a gooey vision of lusciousness.

I’d been here before, so it was the first thing on my lips after saying “hello” to the staff.

The breakfast menu here is a happy fusion of a Spanish take on British favourites with a choice of around a dozen classic tapas, too.

Surely we’ve all been going to Spain for long enough to be familiar with these tasty little tapas dishes, which enable us to try several different meals at a time.

My wife and I played it traditionally this time with poached eggs and black pudding for me, and bacon and mushrooms on a jumbo-size roll for her.

The restaurant menu features classic tapas, too.

But I knew the adventurous spirit of our eldest grandson would not let us down.

He dived straight in with three Spanish favourites – fried calamari, smashed avocado on toast with sweet churros to follow.

The combinations from two different cultural cuisines on the breakfast menu were fascinating.

Churros are on offer for those with a sweet tooth.

For example, they offer not only a full Scottish fry-up, but also a “traditional Spanish breakfast” alternative.

This consisted of fried potatoes, chorizo sausage slices, poached eggs and smoked paprika.

My wife tried this on a previous occasion; rich, spicy and delicious.

I’d highly recommend trying out the breakfast offering at Café Andaluz.

I recall that we also shared “pan Catalan” on that occasion – a gorgeous combination of tomatoes dripping with salt, garlic and olive oil on toasted crusty bread.

There’s a museum devoted to Christopher Columbus in Valladolid, where he died.

I don’t think he would have discovered America had he found Café Andaluz first.