Saturday 6 April 2013

Chorizo & Company - Friday night tapas

A great way to spend a Friday night after a hard week of work is to tuck into some appetizers and a beverage. For a european twist - we opted for some Spanish appetizers (aka tapas).

Chorizo and Company at 807 Fort Street has been feeding the lunch masses of downtown Victoria - but on Friday nights the candles and clay tapas dishes come out. There's seating both upstairs (a large wooden table and a couple smaller ones) and on the main floor (tables and the window counter). The setting is very intimate and enhanced nicely with a flamenco guitarist playing on the main floor.


Bring on the tapas!



The Friday menu has a really nice selection of plates to share (or hoard to yourself) including toasted/salted almonds, fried chorizo (in wine or honey), marinated olives, meats & cheeses and three selections of tin & tinto (a glass of red with a tin of seafood - sardines, octopus or clams). There are also specials of the house - this night had seared ahi tuna, anchovy filets or roasted vegetable skewers. Our server was really fabulous - this being our first visit for Friday tapas, she explained all of the food, wine & beer in detail and gave us some great recommendations.



We ordered the almonds (nicely toasted and salted, perfect accompaniment to a beer or wine) and a tin of the octopus with a glass of the temperillo (tumbler in the front, right). In addition to various wines to choose from, they also have a nice selection of Spanish beers and a few local ones (from Hoyne Brewery). The octopus was really tender and came with a nice crusty piece of baguette.


We also tried the potato croquettes, chorizo in honey and anchovy filets on baguette slices. The chorizo was pan-fried and drizzled with a lovely mellow, not-too-sweet honey.


The potato croquettes were a blend of silky, mashed potatoes, smooth salted cod and currents.  These were delicious and did not last long.  The plate has three, so you may have to resort to rock-paper-scissors if there are two of you....


The anchovy fillets were great - two fillets were curled onto each baguette round with a crispy piece of kale tucked in-between and finished with a nice squeeze of lemon.


All in all, a great place for some Spanish tapas & wine, great service and a cozy settings to socialize with friends. We'll be back again soon to try more of the menu, some different wines and fight over that third croquette again, I'm sure.

Chorizo & Co.
807 Fort Street (East of Blanshard St)
Tapas Friday & Saturday nights from 6pm-10pm
Regular lunch/coffee hours: Mon-Sat from 8:30am

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