La Tasca's additions for summer season

By Rob Virtue on July 3, 2009 10:17 AM |

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Spanish-themed Wharf restaurant La Tasca has added a number of new dishes to its menu for the summer months.

Changing its selection, a process usually undertaken every six months, has allowed the West India Quay venue to bring a sunny feel to its offerings. And some of the dishes are already proving very popular with Wharfers.

New starters include Berenjenas Fritas - crispy fried aubergine slices in a blue cheese sauce (£3.45), and Cecina - spicy cured beef which has been gently smoked (£4.75).

New tapas dishes include fresh scottish salmon on wilted spinach (£5.95), while there are also a host of new salads and deserts to choose from.

Manager Fernando Bacchiega said: "These are some different tapas dishes.

"We've been wanting to add a broad range to the menu that will appeal to more people.

"Salads, being summer, are a good change and they have been popular since they have been added to the menu. And the salmon is a very fresh addition."

Like nearly all restaurant chains across the country, La Tasca has been affected by the recession.

However, it has launched a number of offers to help woo the credit crunch-hit customers.

These include tapas for £10 between Sunday and Tuesday 5pm-9pm at the Canary Wharf store and a national promotion voucher of 50 per cent off, which is available on the website.

It also currently has an offer of £7.95 for a drink and a salad.

Fernando has seen the nation's growing obsession with vouchers first-hand. He said: "I get people at the door who have all the vouchers. They have a big book and just select the restaurant they are at."

Although the area lost Dion and Beluga at the end of last year, their demise has enabled La Tasca to expand into the vacated outdoor space.

It has doubled its outside area until another business takes over the adjacent site.

Fernando says it has proved to be a big success on the sunny days.

West India Quay has also fought back against the recession and is in the middle of a promotion drive - starting with a summer festival which is currently underway.

In the long-term Fernando is not too worried about the impact of the recession as he believes the product offered by La Tasca lets it stand out from the crowd.

He said: "What attracts people to La Tasca is we're Spanish and very different to the others.

"You expect more flavours and more dishes. You don't just get pizza, pasta and burgers like the majority of places in the area, you get a huge variety."