FOOD&DRINK

Glamorously gourmet and authentically Spanish, with a fine line in kitchen theatre

For a certain subdivision of Bathonians (ie those who prefer not to move with the times), the day that La Flamenca - one of the city’s longest-standing institutions and a ‘traditional’ Spanish haven - closed its doors for good was a very sad day indeed. Those who aren’t afraid to acknowledge that the times they are a-changin’, however, weren’t too surprised: age had wearied La Flam, and an increasingly less-than-sparkling reputation had condemned the whole operation to long past its sell-by date status.

More shocking to contemporary foodies was the day that Minibar closed its doors after less than a couple of years at the top of the ‘Most Glamorous Eating Out Experiences in Bath’ charts. So, when the grapevine started to thrum with the news that the Minibar menu ethos (chic, supremely gourmet modern tapas, now supplemented by genuinely authentic paellas) would be resurrected in the fully refurbished (and trust me when I tell you that we’re talking total refurbishment, to exacting glamorous standards) surroundings of the evocative, barrel-vaulted subterranean premises vacated by La Flam, greedy little hearts all over town went pitter-patter-thump.

La Perla is to Bath - a city increasingly invaded by big, bland chain restaurants - what the top-grade Iberian charcuterie on the menu here is to ‘chorizo-style’ processed meat: a world’s apart experience. Also pillaged from that menu on the evening we sallied forth, an awe-inspiring crab martini melange, seared scallops with citrus-infused sea salt, goat’s cheese with a truffle honey bruleed topping scattered with pine nuts, and a positively salacious duck breast salad with more of that moreish goat’s cheese, fresh apple and brandy-marinated raisins, each dish as beautiful to behold as it was to digest, and each priced around the £6-£8 mark - extremely fair for a gourmet experience of such high quality.

Our selection arrived straight from the bright, fresh open kitchen to the rear of the dining room - in itself, a glorious slice of kitchen theatre to further enliven what can only be described as a sparklingly vibrant experience from start to finish: multi-faceted, exciting, varied, passionate and super-sexy. We left vowing to return soon to plunder the paellas. Something tells me that regular trips to this all-round sensual Spanish sanctuary are set to become a tradición contemporánea. (Melissa Blease)

CONTACT

LA PERLA 12A NORTH PARADE, BATH, BA2. FFI: 01225 463626, http://www.la-perla.co.uk/

THE VERDICT 9/10 Uber-glam gastronomia española in super-elegant surroundings

Copyright Melissa Blease 2011