We’ve all been there. Trying to recreate a sunny holiday with a glass of sangria and a bowl of olives, but missing something. The sunshine? The salty sea air? The relaxation that comes from knowing that your out-of-office is on for at least a couple more days? Well, whatever it is, a meal at Olé Tapas Bar will bring that holiday feeling flooding back, evoking that vibrant neighbourhood bar you once stumbled across on a city break that made you want to live there.
Husband and wife team Beatriz and Juan Carlos have carved out a little corner of Spain in Wolverton Park, with their bright and buzzy restaurant serving beautiful small plates of Spanish flavours with flair. The menu is divided into ‘Farm’, ‘Sea’ and ‘Allotment’, demonstrating the kitchen’s focus on quality ingredients and making them shine. Their cheese crujiente bites marry crisp, sweet shards of filo pastry with tangy pillows of goat’s cheese and manchego, while the fat, juicy prawns in their gambas al ajillo sit on an impossibly smooth garlicky potato purée, like jewels on a velvet cushion. And what about that tapas classic, the croqueta? At Olé, you can choose from three different varieties - one each from the farm, the sea or the allotment - each one a delicate ball of creamy bechamel studded with mushrooms, seafood or serrano ham and barely contained within their crisp breadcrumb shells. Make sure you go with a group (or a very hungry partner) to try as many plates as you can.
Come for classics (and you absolutely should), but stay for the specials, from melt-in-the-mouth suckling pig and tender Galician octopus to cured salmon with grape and garlic - the flavours of a classic ajo blanco with a modern twist. Head chef Juan Carlos and his are clearly as excited to be cooking these dishes as you will be eating them. Wash it all down with a glass from their carefully curated Spanish wine and gin list or something fancier from their resident cocktail maestro and be transported. This is Wolverton's own 'great little place' for any occasion.
Must-try: The crujiente de queso are the perfect start to the meal and the fast-cured Txistorra chorizo are melting mouthfuls of smoky savouriness.
