Torito Tapas Bar

It took nearly two months but the fine Twitter foodie dinner for four finally happened.

One is vegetarian, does eat eggs and cheese. Another rules out pork because of religion. The third is wildly (my word) allergic to mushrooms (but luckily not truffles). And the final will eat anything in sight that is edible. Can you guess which one is me?

Individually, the food restrictions aren't that challenging but together I thought it may pose a problem since we were doing tapas, sharing-style. But it turned out to be an excellently executed ordering of various food stuffs: Spanish tortilla of egg and potato, roasted beet salad with goat cheese and lentils, chickpea stew, quail with sweet potato mash and a pomegranate glaze, and grilled sardines with a romano bean-parsley salad. For dessert, churros and an almond cake. Oh, and a hard-hitting Spanish red wine from the Rioja region.

No pictures. Despite the mass food blog-iness of the table, we were too busy enjoying one another's company and the very, very good food.

First time tapas, first time real Spanish food (aside from chorizo sausage and Iberico jamon) for me. I can say confidently all dishes were a great mix of simple but intense flavours. If something was supposed to be light, it was light. If it was supposed to be warm and comforting, it most definitely was. And I think four is definitely the perfect tapas number. We evenly split the bill at $35 each (including tip) and I think we all walked away with satisfied stomachs.

Plus the space is very nice -- warm and inviting, and service is pretty good. Restaurant got quite busy after 8, and unexpectedly loud so it became difficult to hear conversation from across the table. May have needed more wine.

Overall, in conclusion, hurray for food&drink&city lovers! :)