Pour yourself a glass of sangria, expand your cultural horizons and try some tapas in Stockholm tonight!
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of dining at España Aqui Tapas Bar. If you’ve never been to a tapas restaurant before, I’ll be the first to tell you you’re definitely missing out. The word “tapas,” in Spanish refers to small savory dishes, typically served with drinks. Sangria anyone?
Located at the corner of Sveavägen and Kammakargatan, España Aqui is conveniently and centrally located and just a few blocks from the Rådmansgatan station. My friends and I frequent Café 60, which is right around the corner. I’ve always noticed the little tapas place nestled in there, but never found the right time to try it out.
I traveled to Mallorca, Spain last November where I enjoyed authentic Spanish tapas and have been searching for the real deal in Stockholm ever since. Saturday night, I took to Google and came across several popular tapas bars in town that caught my eye. I settled on España Aqui for the high rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars and also for the look of their website and extensive menu, which features both cold and hot dishes.
Upon calling to reserve a table for later that night, I was forced to make an earlier booking than I’d hoped for, as the evening was already filled with guests who’d called before me. I took that as a good sign, went anyway and I’m so glad I did.
We were warmly and enthusiastically greeted upon arrival and immediately taken to our table, despite being earlier than our reserved time. The space is tastefully and decorated with a Spanish feel, but not overdone. Despite the blizzard that was happening outside, I felt as though I’d been transported to a traditional tapas bar in the heart of Spain.
Throughout our meal, our waiters changed multiple times, but the service remained fantastic. We were never left in need of anything and the food was exquisite and very authentic.
We began with a pitcher of delicious sangria while we made our decisions for the main course. We chose to order our meal in two rounds of three plates, which turned out to be a good idea. It gave us time to relax, as true Spaniards would, we weren’t left with cold food, and we were able to really enjoy each item in front of us.
All reasonably priced, the tapas range from 32 to 119 SEK per plate and in my opinion, we received great value for the price. My friend and I chose to share so we could try more things. We started with bacon wrapped goat cheese with spicy tomato and garlic sauce, Truffle oil dripped skewers of pork fillet, shrimp and mushrooms, and artichokes with Serrano ham.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Although the plates were larger than we’d expected and we were surprisingly full, we agreed to order a second round. There were just too many delicious items on the menu that we just couldn’t pass up! Next, we ordered the cold chorizo and cheese plate, fried feta cheese with watermelon and mint, and finished it off with the homemade guacamole and corn chips. ¡Muy delicioso!
Although they were fully booked, we never felt rushed to pay our bill or leave our table, which was a nice end to the evening. The only regret I have is that we were too early for the live music that started at 8pm, so the key is to call early. Oh well, there’s always next time… and there definitely will be a next time!
For the official website complete with full menu in Spanish, Swedish and English click here.
