Tapas Twist | Spanish Tapas in Abergavenny

Enthusiastically recommended by locals, Tapas Twist on Abergavenny’s Frogmore Street offers a tempting menu of Spanish tapas for lunch or dinner. Lunches are particularly great value, thanks to an offer to choose three dishes for £12 from a fairly extensive list, available Sunday to Friday.

To nibble on while we wait for the rest of our meal to arrive, Bread (£3) is soft and fresh with perfect crust.

The Sauté mushrooms with garlic butter & cream are tasty enough but not a patch on the sherried version we enjoyed at Cardiff’s Curado Bar recently. Nice to have the soft bread to mop up the creamy sauce, though.

Ham croquettes, on the other hand, are far more meltingly soft than their Curado Bar equivalents. Served with a sweet chilli sauce, they are pure comfort food.

Also tasty are the Crab croquettes with sweet chilli sauce, not pictured. A little low on crab flavour, but a great alternative to the ham ones for pesceterians and seafood lovers.

I haven’t come across Pipparas Basque peppers before. Served lightly battered and deep fried, these slim peppers have a touch of bitterness and a pleasant little kick of heat and are best enjoyed crispy and hot with allioli.

Locally produced Chorizo is excellent, smoky, soft and fatty, it’s perfect finger food.

I can rarely pass up Halloumi, served here griddled with romesco sauce. This isn’t the strongest dish – the halloumi could do with longer under the grill, and the romesco sauce tastes more Indian than Spanish in flavour.

Not available on the set price lunch list, we order Scamorza (£6.50) from the main menu. The smoked cow’s cheese is served baked with porcini mushrooms, the top of the cheese melted and gooey, the edges wonderfully crisped up against the dish. It’s the perfect example of the perfect simplicity that can be achieved with just two ingredients.

The restaurant space is open and airy, with huge double bay windows letting in plenty of light during the day. Service is helpful, offering advice on both food and drinks menus, and the kitchen fairly quick during our weekday lunch visit.

Save for later: