Barcelona to Bandra
We wouldn’t call the restaurant a hole-inthe-wall place to evade the negative connotation that comes with it, but nevertheless, La Loca Maria — the new Spanish restaurant on Bandra’s Turner Road — is, in fact, a quaint little place. Having said that, the size of the restaurant didn’t stop it from being booked full for two straight weekdays.
But our complaints ended there, once we arrived at the humble eatery, we were quickly escorted towards our seats. We had informed the staff that we’d have a toddler with us, and they were more than courteous and friendly to attend to our needs. The place is done up in good taste, with a Spanish-cumPortuguese villa ambience — soft lights, Hispanic art murals inspired by Frida Kahlo’s artworks painted on the walls in bright yellow and plush comfy sofas. The place exuded warmth and comfort. We started off with some mocktails — Spicy Watermelon (₹200) and Pineapple Basil Fizz (₹250) for there weren’t too many options to choose from. The watermelon drink was disappointing. It tasted bitter, the spiciness was amiss and it just wasn’t what we expected. The latter, however, was a refreshing burst of citrus with the strong flavours of pineapple.
Next up, we ordered Sticky Pork Belly (₹550), Gambas Al Ajillo (₹550) and Charred
Octopus (₹500).The pork came in a sweet and tangy sauce, and was scored an average. The second, garlic prawns in a chilli sauce, was flavourful with garlic not overpowering the prawns. The octopus was a revelation! It tastes similar to calamari but meatier and this one came with a slight charred bitterness that went well with the paprika and mustard sauce.
For mains, after much deliberation, we went in for Lobster Ravioli (₹950) and Braised Buff (₹750). The ravioli — soft pillows of fresh pasta dough filled with lobster meat — came swimming in a sauce of seafood bisque (a rich shellfish soup), which made all the difference to the dish. Braised Buff — succulent buffalo meat that literally fell off the bone as soon as we dug our forks into it. I’ll admit we were quite full at this point — which says a lot since the portions were adequate — but we wanted to try something from their festive menu which is available only till the end of this month. So, we gave in to our cravings and ordered the Lamb Wellington (₹1600). The sumptuous meat came in a crusty pastry baked to a perfect golden brown and was drizzled with brown gravy. The meat was cooked well, although we’re pretty sure it could have been more succulent. And given the price of the dish, we’d have rather given it a miss.
Ending on a sweet note, e went in for two out of eir three dessert erings. Tiramisu (₹400) as a deconstructed version the Italian favourite with a surprising layer of meringue that added a crispy texture to e creamy delight. We also d Sweet & Sour (₹400), hich enlightened us to e perfect marriage of me and bitter chocolate. he combination of dark hocolate, salted caramel nd lime ice cream was a urst of sharp flavours — idic, intense, salty and eet. La Loca Maria ked most of the boxes that ake for a hit recipe, their staff is extremely prompt and courteous. You won’t have to look up twice to get their attention. They even offered to tend to my toddler for a brief period so we could have our dessert. We would definitely recommend this place for a relaxing, sumptuous and hearty meal, given you don’t mind splurging a bit!