Davida Tapas Bar - Reason enough to stop in Bandon
Posted on January 30, 2006, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon, Cork, Restaurants, Reviews.
A few Saturdays ago, myself and the worlds most understanding wife headed out to the new Tapas Bar in Bandon. I know, I know, you don’t often hear the words Tapas and Bandon in the same sentence, but bear with me.
Davida is in a fantastic location on Patrick’s Quay in Bandon looking out on the little river (the Bride?) rather than the Bandon itself. There are a few tables out the front for the warmer days and there is a heated area outside at the back too.
The room is dominated by the main bar where all of the food and drink is prepped. The menu is short but everything sounds tasty. The main problem we had was trying to figure out how to tackle the menu. Most people will presumably be just going for light snacks and a few glasses of wine whereas I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was starving.
We asked the very friendly and helpful person in charge (Liz?) for her opinion. She suggested to start with something small, then to try one of the specials. So we went with a small bowl of just-right olives and then had the basque chicken which was excellent. Bit by bit we worked through the menu. The big advantage of the tapas idea is that each person can give up when they are full so Catherine faded before me. The meatballs were superb - as good as my own with the addition of some chilli. And the duck pate was stunningly good.
I have no idea how “authentic” the food is in Davida. I should really check out La Boquiera in Cork city for comparison. But I’m not remotely bothered if it isn’t. The quality of every dish was just right and suited our palates to a tee. What Vivian the owner has created is a really compelling alternative to the pub or big restaurant night out. We spent the night drinking the house red and it was excellent.
One thing that really impressed me was how Vivian has created a menu where all the dishes can be done with a cooler unit, a toaster oven and a microwave. All of the things like meatballs are obviously prepared ahead of time and heated on demand with the other dishes assembled as required. She is right to keep a strictly limited menu with nightly specials and I’m looking forward to seeing what else she comes up with. Anything with chorizo or jamon serrano gets my vote.
The only vaguely negative comment I would make is that a lot of customers are probably going to be clueless like ourselves and maybe an “introductory paragraph” in the menu might reduce some anxiety people would have about looking stupid and not knowing how to order.
We were originally worried that maybe it was a step too far for Bandon which to date has not exactly trail-blazed in the area of restaurants. When we arrived at 6.30 on a Saturday evening, we were the first customers. We purposely sat in the window with the aim to encourage others in. By 8.00 some more had joined and by 9.30 it was full. We were thrilled for Vivian and complimented her hugely on her venture. She has identified a genuine pent-up demand for a different way to spend an evening locally. It is also the sort of place that you might pop into at the start and/or end of a night to have a wee tipple and a snack.The lunch menu looks very appealing too and sunday brunch also looks pretty damned fine. I think we’ll be making more use of the services of our local baby-sitters over the next few months!If you do mention Davida to anyone, be very clear in how you say Tapas. Several people thought we now had Bandon’s first topless bar!
We just loved the whole idea of being able to pace your own meal. It suits everyone from the person in a rush who just wants a quick snack and a coffee to someone who feels like a few glasses of wine out of the house to those looking for a full nights food and drink.
Bandonians - support a great local business and eat, drink or have a coffee there today. Anyone heading to West Cork - do yourselves a big favour, skip the bypass road and stop at Davida to top up on some lovely nibbles before the last leg of your trip.
[tags]tapas, Davida, Patricks’s Quay[/tags]
10 Replies to "Davida Tapas Bar - Reason enough to stop in Bandon"
conor on March 21, 2006
I’m having my work “going away” do in Boqueria Tapas in Cork tomorrow night. Seems to be one of the best in the country and my French workmates rave about the place. Not sure why Frenchies are raving about Spanish food, but there ya go.
Their home page is genius. Just a list of words that make you salivate. I’ll be reporting back on Thursday.
Caroline@Bibliocook on March 27, 2006
So, how was Boqueria Tapas then?!
Tom Keane on September 9, 2006
Anybody got phone number for Davida Tapas Bar? Its not in the yellowpages.ie nor in Google, but I’d love to book it and see what its like.
Cheers
Tom.
conor on September 9, 2006
Hey Tom, I’d be surprised if you need to book, it is quite informal - more like a wine bar with food than a restaurant with lots of wine. But if you want to check, the number is 023 20524.
Christine on June 5, 2007
I recently dined at DaVidas in Bandon and I wasnt impressed. Having lived and worked in Spain i have a very good knowledge of authentic tapas. I always look out for tapa bars in Ireland as i love trying them out. Im a big fan of Salamanca in Dublin and think its the only place in Ireland where they really get it right!
To summarise DaVidas does have pleasant staff and the setting is very cosy and sweet. However their tapas leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately i invited my mother out for dinner and really regretted it. In short there was no tortilla espanola - spanish omlette which is a must in any tapas bar. The choice was very limited and the “special” which was meatballs the night we were there consisted of 3 half cooked - cold meat balls, some runny tomato sauce and some slices of oily baked potatoes! There isnt even a smell of food in the place and all the food seemed to go from pre-prepared cardboard cartons into the microwave. At one stage i thought the microwave was going to give up with all the usage it got!!
I really think the idea is good and the setting is great but they really need a Spanish chef ASAP who you can see preparing and cooking the food.
Spanish music would also add to the atmosphere!!
Christine
conor on June 10, 2007
I agree that they have to crank the food up a notch. We had a nice time there recently but the food doesn’t seem as good as before. Still a lovely spot for a relaxing evening drinking wine with friends.
Dick Edelstein on August 19, 2007
Yes, interesting to hear those 2 words in the same sentence. How the world is changing. I live in BCN and if you live in Bandon you may know my friend and near neighbor Kevin Cotter who was born there. I recently wrote about a tapas restaurant in Killorglin at http://ireland-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/sol_y_sombra_tapas_restaurant.
Cheers
Dick on August 19, 2007
Interesting to hear those 2 words in the same sentence. How the world is changing. I live in BCN and my friend and neighbor Kevin Cotter comes from Bandon. I recently wrote about a tapas restaurant in Killorglin at http://ireland-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/sol_y_sombra
conor on August 19, 2007
Someone said recently that tapas is the new McDonald’s over here.
A bit like the way we supposedly became the biggest Cappuccino drinkers in the world.
Caroline@Bibliocook on March 21, 2006
I think your idea of an “introductory paragraph” in the menu is a good idea, Conor. I was at Dublin tapas bar Havana recently (their Camden Market rather than Georges Street branch) and the understanding - of both staff and fellow customers - seemed to be that you order everything you want at the same time, none of this nibbling and sipping and then coming back for more, thank you! Not hugely impressed with the food there, either, and they didn’t even have Manzanilla…sounds like I’m going to have to come down south for some decent tapas!