Treats in Store At The House Of Roxy

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Brilliant at being both a tapas bar and and a cocktail bar

House of Roxy sounds like a cocktail bar and perhaps not a tapas bar, but it surprises you in the nicest way by being brilliant at both.

We went on a dreadful rainy and cold December evening and the place was warm, friendly and noisy in the best possible way, full of couples and small groups including a paper hatted office Christmas party clearly enjoying that end of term feeling.



A good glass of Spanish red and a Mohito from an excellent, imaginative cocktail menu set us up for testing the wide range of tapas that is the speciality of the house. Knowledgeable waitresses Aiste and Antonia explained the menu and suggested around 3 items each which was about right for us. The choice is from appetizers, platters featuring in particular a 24 month acorn fed Iberian ham, tortillas, vegetarian, meat and fish tapas. To give an idea of the terrific choice offered we tried chilli flaked anchovies, baked aubergine in a tomato sauce with melted Manchego, chunky potato bravas (amazing chips with a spicy dipping sauce), crispy pork belly in red wine (my favourite!), seared queen scallops and crispy fried calamari with aioli sauce, topped off with a shared almond cake and fabulous ice cream.



Roxy also offers dishes of the day, though it would be hard pressed to better the range of choice and fresh hand-made feel of the core menu.

Of course we asked if the chef was Spanish, but apparently he’s a bit of French with a measure of Lebanese and you can see that in his stylish and eclectic Mediterranean influenced cooking.

Appetizers are £2-£4, platters £8-£13, tortillas around £5, tapas ranges from £3.50-£9 with most plates around £5.50. So you can spend from small to more significant amounts. And you don’t have to order in one big go, but can start small and build up. Cocktails are £8-£9 and a glass of wine around a fiver.

My view is ‘try it soon’.

Still planning your New Year's Eve plans - why not join the House of Roxy at their Great Gatsby evening:

Peter Jackson

December 20, 2013