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Joris Minne: 2Taps
This modern Belfast eatery serves up a real taste of Spanish sunshine at a great price
Monday, 4 July 2011
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Some of us will take a gamble this summer, a gamble brought about by funding shortages.
Should we spend the money we don’t have on a sunny Spanish fortnight this year or invest marginally less instead on a three-day staycation in Donegal, Fermanagh or a caravan park in Newcastle?
For those of us who remain unsure and for whom even Lastminute.com is too much like forward planning, the steamy streets of Belfast, Londonderry, Armagh and Newry have their attractions. And even within the confines of the north’s culinary offer, one or two genuine Mediterranean experiences will fill in the gap for those who crave those continental-lunch-on-a-footpath-terraza moments.
Step forward the quirkily named 2Taps in the heart of old Belfast. This modern Spanish restaurant has everything you’d expect from a decent eatery in Madrid or Malaga — snappy service, good and varied food and a fabulous on-street patio facing the imposing edifice of The Merchant Hotel for the sunny days.
2Taps has all the style and panache of modern, urban Spain yet it remains true to the traditional conventions. In one or two cases, the interpretation of tapas is taken a step further than you might see in la vieja Espana (the correct interpretation of tapas is a bit of food to be taken with drink at a bar — depending on where you go, the tapas can be very small). But that’s ok — you can’t plonk a foreign restaurant in the middle of somewhere and not expect to make a few adjustments to local tastes and habits.
The patatas bravas are a signature dish and on a par with the best in Madrid, where I lived for three years. The advisor reckons the culinary tradition of Spain is limited, particularly when compared to France or Italy. She’s right, but if the repertoire is not broad, the Spanish remain sticklers for quality and are quick to grumble about standards. If you look at the seafood on offer in Spanish tapas bars, or the dry cured Iberico and Serrano hams, there’s enough variety and potential for slip-ups to create a good row about whether it’s any good or not.
A recent 2Taps lunch was composed of four components, each of which turned out to be excellent. One or two of the dishes were even exciting. They were generously proportioned and would have fed two people comfortably.
Veteran restaurateur Sid John, who established 2Taps at the very start of the re-emergence of the Cathedral Quarter, is proud of the place and runs it with all the charm of a Spanish bar owner.
He has created a mood which is both macho and assertive, yet fun and comfortable. Women outnumbered the men this lunchtime.
A starter of bread and dips included a strange but illuminating crushed pea tapenade. It joined the olive and red pepper spreads in a little tricolour of pots. The flatbread had been toasted and provided a robust and tasty platform for the dips.
The confit of duck with figs was a noble and sombre affair and, had the weather not been momentarily very hot and bright, slightly out of place. This would have worked beautifully on a day when it’s raining and cold, our usual spring weather.
The lamb tagine was similarly serious, if a bit more rustic. A dark and varied stew with generous chunks of lamb, the flavours of the south were distinct and fresh.
I am rarely comfortable with tapas bars and restaurants because you never know what the volumes are going to be the first time you go.
2Taps portions are big so when the patatas bravas arrived, cubes of fried spuds under a thick blanket of chilli and tomato sauce, I knew I definitely wasn’t going to see it through. Yet the textures and flavours and the marvelous holiday memories they evoked kept me at them. The prices really are quite incredible — £26 for four courses, which could easily have been shared and made plenty for two. The mood of 2Taps is also seductive and calming and the lunchtime buzz is an unexpected bonus.
Next time the sun comes out and you happen to be in Belfast, you should head straight over to Waring Street and grab one of the tables. Get a tan and a feed in this place and you’ll honestly think you’d left the country. Salsa para mojar
The Bill
(bread & dips) £3.90
Lamb tagine £4.45
Duck £6.50
Patatas bravas £3.50
Glass Sauvignon Blanc £4.25
Bottle sparkling water £1.65
Espresso £1.80
Total £26.05
Address
Cotton Court, 42 Waring Street, Belfast
BT1 2ED Tel: 028 9031 1414
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