I love lunch. I love dinner too. I’m not so bothered about breakfast. I always look forward to a hotel breakfast because I like to see what they serve, and how they display it. But mostly I don’t want it and I am disappointed, unless there’s some kind of fancy carved fruit or fresh pastry mountain, then I am appeased.
Any way, on to one of the most delicious and enjoyable lunches I’ve had in quite a while!
You might not even notice El Borracho if you weren’t going there with intention. An unassuming building with subtle signage, and a neat grass lawn in front. We were there with all the intention in the world and hungry tummies to boot, so there was no chance we’d pass it by!
Inside I was momentarily distracted by the beautiful Spanish tiles on the bar, but we were quickly seated and attended to so I didn’t have a chance to pull out a small crowbar from my bag and start prising them off the wall for my own repurposing.
We ordered Pan Gallego con Aceite Virgen Extra – Galician bread with best quality Extra Virgin Olive oil, and a bowl of Fried Broadbeans and then quickly moved on to choosing our Tapas.
Watching the dishes come out of the kitchen and onto other people’s tables, we knew we were in for a treat! El Borracho do a lunchtime special where you can have two Tapas for £6.95, so we chose four and got ready to tuck in!
Ensalada de Tomate – the most beautifully seasoned, salted, fresh, light, simple, tomato salad.
Patatas con Alioli – perfect little chipped cubes of potato with excellent alioli – really garlicy but sweet, and lovely.
Chorizo al Vino – wonderful spicy, salty sausage with the sweet tang and richness of red wine.
And, Croquetas del dia – crunchy bechamel filled croquettes with chorizo. My favourite thing! The croquette was softer than I thought it would be, and creamy, and crunchy and so delightful that I had to hold it up in honour so that the whole room could worship it. Nobody said anything, so I assume they were all with me. All hail the Croqueta!
There were so many good things to choose from on the menu, all made with locally sourced British ingredients, but served with Spanish excellence, and as I type this, I wish I was there now… just one more Croqueta, please!
Everything looked so appealing, too. The chorizo looked good against the teal coloured dish, the tomatoes bold and bright against the stark white. The Croquetas just looked funny, like little animals that might unfold their legs and run off giggling. (I have only just realised what an awesome googly eye opportunity I missed there, damn it.)
The food was tasty, authentic and amazingly good value, the atmosphere was comfortable and relaxed, and the staff were kind and helpful (Hola Alberto, Hola Eva Maria!) – I seriously couldn’t fault a thing!
You can find El Borracho at Harborne Court, Edgbaston, Birmingham, and you can join their mailing list here for updates, offers and news. (There’s a nice picture of a donkey on that page!)
We were guests at El Borracho, very happy Croqueta wielding guests!
