Could it be magic?
Pro Good value evening set menu.
Con Short on V-options.
Pay
€€€
Per Person Three course set menu with wine or beer, & mint tea, €25. El tenedor booking available. Gratis: nada.
Find
Website At El Tenedor
Access Steps down from street.
In Short
Hopes. A taste of the orient?
Reality. Full of Eastern promise.
First Impressions. Spaciousness. And a water feature.
USP? Good value evening menu.
The offer in three words. Classic generous portions.
Service! Efficient and friendly.
Friend friendly? €25 menu is meat-based on the mains, but fully V on the starters.
Rating for dating. Yep, not too bad. Needs more atmosphere, early in the evening, anyway.
Tip? Small one.
Change one thing? Background music. Its absence was oddly evident.
Revisitability. Moderate to good.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Spend €25 and you'll go home well pleased after trying a tasty selection of North African/arab dishes at Aladino.
We'd not brought our magic lamp, but would our three wishes be granted?
It's a mini-mezze choice of four starter plates and plenty of pita bread for moppage and scoopage. Serving flatbreads in a plastic bag doesn't score presentation points, but they stay fresh. A lidded box would be a winner.
Hummus was pleasingly creamy, and about the right quantity for an apertif. Makmur - gently caramlised onions - was an enjoyable sweet-savoury dish. Foul a refreshing salad dressed with lemon and coriander for acidity with pita chips for a different kind of crunch to the cucumber and tomato. Two fresh fried falafel came with tasty tahini topping. A sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for contrast would have been topped it perfectly.
All in all, that little lot were a great success, especially as they meant lots of senses got a work out, with contrasts of flavour, texture and temperature.Very nice.
Several mains are on offer, generally with a choice of chicken or beef. This cuisine is stew city and casserole country, and the chicken thighs in both our dishes were excellently slow cooked, falling cleanly off the bone. The tagine came without couscous, but the perfectly cooked spiced rice from the kabse was plenty to share across. Again, there were textures to play with as well as flavours, with olives and saffron & delicious coriander-infused carrots, in the one and almonds for crunch in the other.
Dessert? Well, four pastries and nice pot of tea doesn't sound overgenerous, but is well-judged after the stuff-yourself-athon of the previous six savoury dishes. Small fresh pastries, hot sweet mint tea. No better way to finish, and recommended.
Service is friendly, with amused praise for our capacity to clear plates ("we might not need the dishwasher!"), and everything arrived promptly. Decor is simple, with wall hangings, paintings and nick nacks around. There's an indoor fountain, which is a nice touch, even if started off like the Trevi in flood and needed wrangling to get it to gently tinkle. We'd add a touch of music for ambience, too. Arriving early, the tables around us were free, but we'd have been listening to our neighbours otherwise.
It's good value, with drinks included. Especially for an introduction to food from North Africa and around, it'd be hard to find a better offer at this price.
Pro Good value evening set menu.
Con Short on V-options.
Pay
€€€
Per Person Three course set menu with wine or beer, & mint tea, €25. El tenedor booking available. Gratis: nada.
Find
Website At El Tenedor
Access Steps down from street.
In Short
Hopes. A taste of the orient?
Reality. Full of Eastern promise.
First Impressions. Spaciousness. And a water feature.
USP? Good value evening menu.
The offer in three words. Classic generous portions.
Service! Efficient and friendly.
Friend friendly? €25 menu is meat-based on the mains, but fully V on the starters.
Rating for dating. Yep, not too bad. Needs more atmosphere, early in the evening, anyway.
Tip? Small one.
Change one thing? Background music. Its absence was oddly evident.
Revisitability. Moderate to good.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Spend €25 and you'll go home well pleased after trying a tasty selection of North African/arab dishes at Aladino.
We'd not brought our magic lamp, but would our three wishes be granted?
Wish one: After a long day, a classic starter, pray!
It's a mini-mezze choice of four starter plates and plenty of pita bread for moppage and scoopage. Serving flatbreads in a plastic bag doesn't score presentation points, but they stay fresh. A lidded box would be a winner.
Hummus was pleasingly creamy, and about the right quantity for an apertif. Makmur - gently caramlised onions - was an enjoyable sweet-savoury dish. Foul a refreshing salad dressed with lemon and coriander for acidity with pita chips for a different kind of crunch to the cucumber and tomato. Two fresh fried falafel came with tasty tahini topping. A sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for contrast would have been topped it perfectly.
All in all, that little lot were a great success, especially as they meant lots of senses got a work out, with contrasts of flavour, texture and temperature.Very nice.
Wish two: We know what to do, order a North African stew.
Several mains are on offer, generally with a choice of chicken or beef. This cuisine is stew city and casserole country, and the chicken thighs in both our dishes were excellently slow cooked, falling cleanly off the bone. The tagine came without couscous, but the perfectly cooked spiced rice from the kabse was plenty to share across. Again, there were textures to play with as well as flavours, with olives and saffron & delicious coriander-infused carrots, in the one and almonds for crunch in the other.
Wish three: We still have illusion. Grant us a refreshing infusion!
Dessert? Well, four pastries and nice pot of tea doesn't sound overgenerous, but is well-judged after the stuff-yourself-athon of the previous six savoury dishes. Small fresh pastries, hot sweet mint tea. No better way to finish, and recommended.
Service is friendly, with amused praise for our capacity to clear plates ("we might not need the dishwasher!"), and everything arrived promptly. Decor is simple, with wall hangings, paintings and nick nacks around. There's an indoor fountain, which is a nice touch, even if started off like the Trevi in flood and needed wrangling to get it to gently tinkle. We'd add a touch of music for ambience, too. Arriving early, the tables around us were free, but we'd have been listening to our neighbours otherwise.
It's good value, with drinks included. Especially for an introduction to food from North Africa and around, it'd be hard to find a better offer at this price.
