I was lucky to be invited to the launch of brand new tapas restaurant, Salvador and Amanda Bloomsbury on Thursday evening. This is the second S&A in London town, following on from their already very successful Great Newport St branch (nearest tube: Leicester Square).

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the restaurant, it is owned by The Breakfast Group who also own various other quirky venues in London such as Punk, Jerusalem Bar & Kitchen and The Social (which I was very impressed with last time I visited, down to their lengthy cocktail list and extremely good value for money bar snacks).

Salvador & Amanda Bloomsbury is a short walk from Holborn tube, unfortunately the sign for the restaurant hadn’t arrived before the launch which made finding the new opening rather tricky – fingers crossed this had changed before they officially opened to the public yesterday (Saturday 17th Nov). The bar had a good atmosphere with plenty of tall tables to perch on for quick nibbles. My first impression of the place was that it wasn’t quite finished, mainly due to a few empty walls where I felt it would have been nice to fill with some traditional Spanish art. Despite this, the place had a nice vibe and we managed to grab some seats on a raised area at the back of the bar.

I was previously a tapas virgin before Thursday so it was a pleasant surprise to be greeted with ham & cheese crocquettas, mini tortilla nibbles and mini goats cheese and red pepper tarlets. There were also some, of what I can only describe as pork scratchings on the tables but these were particularly hard and practically inedible (my only complaint about the whole evening). To drink, we were treated to a selection of traditional red sangria, not so traditional white sangria (I’d never heard of this before!) and San Miguels a plenty.

Perhaps not a staple in the restaurant, but for the launch evening at least the S&A Bloomsbury team had arranged for some traditional Spanish entertainment – flamenco dancing. Not particularly my cup of tea but it was nice to add a little atmosphere. Once up and running, the venue shall be host to similar evenings as it’s sister bar near Leicester Square, with DJ’s playing through til the early hours of the morning. Think funky house!

To finish, the staff served us bitesized pieces of almond cake which was deliciously moist. I am grateful it was only one bite big as I felt I could polish off a whole portion (and that’s not the sangria talking – red, white or otherwise!)

The staff were extremely friendly and bent over backwards to ensure we were enjoying ourselves. If they continue to be as attentive as they were on the launch night then I assure you, you will have a fantastic time. I shall certainly be returning at least for another glass of their delicious white sangria, if not more!

To find out more about both Salvador & Amanda restaurants, you can visit their website: www.salvadorandamanda.com or follow them on twitter: @SABloomsbury