Women’s Day Part II
Noble Savage – he said:
Leaving the big, bad CBD behind, we headed for the artificial make-believe wasteland that is Monte Casino. We heard about new tapas joint called Lima Tapas Bar, and decided to go check it out.
After a quick stop at Skoobs (the main reason I would go back to Monte’s), we braved it up the stairs to Lima. And WOW! The décor punches you right in the face! It has an almost Steampunk-esque feel to it – lots of leather and copper highlights, with interesting wallpaper all over.
We were seated at a big wooden table, in a quiet corner of the restaurant. It took us a while to take everything in – the décor treads on a fine line between elegant, and ostentatious (personal opinion).
The wine list is not bad, but let’s be honest, we weren’t there for the wine. The menu is quite interesting, but I already had my heart set on the lobster sliders. I honestly can’t remember what the rest of the party had, as all my focus was on devouring these tasty three little burgers. Definitely worth the price!
After the sliders and some wine, I decided I needed desert. So, in keeping with the burger theme I just made up, I went for the sushi burgers. It’s basically regular sushi dressed up as a fat American (also known as an American). It was really tasty, if a bit tricky to handle.
Overall, Lima is quite impressive. For me personally, the décor is a bit over-done. The food is really creative and well thought out, but the look and feel of the restaurant could distract one from the intricacies of your meal.
And with that, Women’s Day was over. Not with a bang, but with a nap…
Boozy Foodie – she said:
I was super impressed with the decor and ambience of Lima Tapas Bar! I must admit, we don’t often go to Montecasino, had a few very average experiences at the restaurants there. But I was blown away by Lima. Walking up the stairs, I was struck by the gorgeous wallpaper (my Mom has got a jacket that looks like that! LOL! But in a good way :)), contasting beautiful with the prominent use of copper and leather.
I spent some quality time paging through the menu – described as Latin American Fusion. Which would maybe explain why there are relatively few ‘tapas’ dishes on the menu – and I thought the tapas selection was quite pricey – admittedly, I wasn’t sure how big the portions are? I originally thought we would order a selection of smaller dishes to pick on, but when I paged though the menu I changed my mind anyway – there were a lot of ‘spanish style’ dishes that caught my eye instead!
And the drinks menu is just as interesting! A good wine selection, and cocktails galore.
It wasn’t easy to make a decision on what to order, because everything looked really good. There is a vast selection of meat dishes on the menu, but I decided to try the paella – and man, it was so tasty and delicious!
I ordered a side of garlic and corn arborio rice and although it was absolutely scrumptious I shared it with the rest of our party because it actually wasn’t needed to supplement the main dish (but usually I tend to overdose on carbs, so that’s nothing new!). Lovely intense tomato flavours with a hint of paprika and juicy prawns – perfect! It is honestly the best paella I ever had in a restaurant. Or anywhere for that matter!
And then, I just had to try one of the cocktails – don’t you just love this copper mug? Yes, that was the main reason I ordered this – because of the mug! A cool and refreshing, gingery end to a fabulous meal!
I honestly love this place! I love the decor – it is really beautiful, the food is fabulous and the service was good. It isn’t ‘really’ a tapas bar in the traditional sense of the word – if fact, they may be selling themselves a little short because it is so much more.
If you are looking for something different – go for it!
PS: this isn’t a sponsored post, all meals and drinks were for our own cost