One of my favorite cuisines is Spanish food and lucky for me there is a great Spanish tapas restaurant in southern California called Viva Madrid. I can’t say enough about this small precious restaurant with their amazing tapas, paellas, sangria and craft cocktails.
Of course the food and drinks are delicious but what makes Viva Madrid even more enjoyable is the decor and the feel of this small space. Enjoying my usual course of tapas sitting at the bar of this restaurant is not possible right now but my family and I were craving Spanish food, so I put in an online order so we can enjoy tapas at home.
Tableware
I gathered up my Spanish food appropriate tableware, as much as I can find in my cupboard so I can pretend to be eating in the restaurant. Wooden serving board for the charcuterie, Terra Cota bowls, small paella pans, pressed glass tumblers and Mediterranean patterned plates. Of course it’s not the same, but I think I came close to achieving the Spanish restaurant vive.
Tapas
I almost always start off with Tapas Buenas Frias. At the restaurant, it’s served just like this with Spanish cheeses, chorizo, hams, cold Spanish tortillas, olives and asparagus piled on a wooden serving board. This is by far one of the best charcuterie boards I ever had.
Another must have for me is Calamares con Chorizo, calamari stuffed with chorizos. Clamari here is so tender, you can cut this with a fork. The spicy sauce for this dish is so addictive with lots of cloves.
Tapas called Halibut is a soup like dish but it’s really chunks of halibut in creamy, lemony carrot sauce. Just like the Calamares con Chorizo, this is a must have dish for me. Croquetas de Pescado are creamy seafood croquettes. I tried making these croquettes once and so far I haven’t been able to replicate the flavors but I can keep trying.
Entrees
I usually don’t order entrees at this restaurant, not because they are not good but I simply can’t eat them after ordering so many Tapas. But since this is a takeout order, for the first time I ordered their Paella Canaria which is a meat lover’s paella (perfect for a meat lover in my family) and Chuletas de Cerdo, huge grilled pork chop with carmelized onions and potatoes (it comes with baked potato but you can substitute fried potatoes) They were both delicious but my family could not finish this in one sitting.
If you love great Spanish food, check out their menu at Vivamadrid.com.
