Tapas Bar Catala

Wednesday night, ready as ever to go out with a group of 4 people and eat my heart out at Bhatti Pasal. Now, I knew that the place is small, but I wildly underestimated how small. The wait for a group of 4 would have been around half an hour. My tummy was empty and I am the last person you want to see hangry. Plans needed to be changed and I needed food.

Went to a bar nearby to think about plan B…had a beer, and then another beer. It was 22:00, and as you may know, that’s not a popular time in Amsterdam for dinner. Panic  – will I end up with a Turkish pizza, ON A WEDNESDAY?

Luckily, no. Tapas Bar Catala was a 1 minute walk and open until midnight. Oh thank God.

Tapas Bar Catala is also small, but luckily we got seated immediately. Irina started rambling in Spanish with the waiter and ordering us all drinks. Do you all have that friend that has done their Erasmus in Spain and now they’re culturally immersed? Yeah. Either way, I loved the Duquesa Verdejo wine she chose. Good job Irina.

The most important thing to know about this place is that it is not your usual tapas routine. The tapas on the menu are actually big plates, and the concept is to get 2-3 to share (for 2 people). They also have small tapas available for 5.50 EUR, but they are all cold – to me, that was not very attractive on a November night.

Naturally, we over ordered. We all started with some good old bread and aioli since we were starving at this point. Good bread, not a fan of the aioli. Too fat and pretty bland in my opinion.

Irina and I shared a Mixt de fregits, consisting of fried calamaris, anchovies, mussels, whitebait and baby squid. They told us it’s a big plate, we said “sure, bring it on”. It was, brought some home. Everything was fried, which did not make it easier to eat the whole thing. However, the food was good, very similar to what I have eaten in Spain.

Hayden had the Chorizo a la plancha and was more than happy with that. I had some and it definitely goes up there with the best chorizo I’ve ever had. Oily, fat, filling and delicious.

He also ordered the Salchichas de cordero con pisto, lamb sausage with ratatouille. These also tasted good, however I’d recommend the chorizo over them.

Our friend had some Manchego cheese and Croquetas de jamon (ham croquettes). Cheese was delicious and went really nicely with our wine. I didn’t try the croquettes, but he said “these are pretty damn good”.

I would definitely recommend Tapas Bar Catala if you’re looking to share some authentic Catalan food with a couple of friends. I usually have my doubts when it comes to restaurants on main streets (like Spui), but I was pleasantly surprised. The place has a good vibe too, and the staff did not seem to mind us being a bit too loud for a Wednesday night.

I do, however, wish that the small tapas were available for their whole menu. I’d love to try most things there, but big plates make it harder.

Value for money: 8

Food Quality: 8

Location: 9 (Spuistraat 299)

Service: 8

Website: http://www.tapasbarcatala.com/

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