El Burro Brings Tapas Out West

12. Oct, 2011

If café culture streets were sentient, no doubt Nelson Place in Williamstown would have the other streets shaking their heads, whispering about its un-fulfilled potential and how isn’t as cool as the others anymore. Nelson Place should be way more awesome than it is, but new restaurant openings have been few and far between.

Well the other streets may now look on with approval because Nelson Place has a new tapas restaurant in its line-up! With its low-lit interior, candles and rustic wooden tables, El Burro is cosy. The menu features cocktails and desserts, three paellas and 15 tapas selections ranging in price and extravagance from marinated olives ($7) to confit pork belly with crispy crackling and pear chutney ($14).

There were no faults to be found in the food or drink — my white chocolate and passion fruit cocktail was delicious; the calamari soft; the pork belly had our mouths watering and the fragrant paella had the right balance of flavours and an ample amount of seafood and chorizo.

Despite the fantastic meals, they did take a while to reach our tables. Admittedly, the first tapas dish came quickly but the remaining meals — and the paella — arrived one at a time. I’m unsure what was happening in the kitchen, but out front there was only one guy (literally) running the show. Fortunately I was on a ‘girl’s night’ and had some distraction — there’s nothing worse than an awkwardly long wait on food. The waiter was lovely and apologetic and rewarded our patience and good humour by shouting us Sangria!

I’ll assume that was an off night because I will be frequenting El Burro again for more yummy food. Next time, however, I will plan my selections just in case we do have to wait again: dips first, some tapas and then paella!