It’s always with a small amount of trepidation that I venture to Spanish restaurants in the UK, especially when I have been invited to do a review. I am a massive Hispanophile (it’s a word, I’m sure!). I studied Spanish at university, lived there during my degree and take every day of annual leave (when I can!) in my favourite country. And I am obsessed with the food and culture and ask myself every other day why I don’t live there (answers on a postcard, please!) so I can be a bit of a pain* when it comes to Spanish food and drink (* obnoxious pedant 😂).
When I heard about the opening of El Pecado (the sin) I was intrigued by the name and authentic looking menu (even if it isn’t in Spanish!). I ambled down last week with my friend to try Bold Street’s latest offering. As I’ve mentioned previously on the blog, I am a small plates fan, it’s a great way of trying more dishes and I like the informal share-sies.
We started with a rosé sangria which was delicious, ice cold and perfect for quaffing on warm day.
We started with a classic, sourdough toast with tomato. The tomato spread was deliciously garlicky and more-ish, the perfect started for the feast that followed!
We were advised by the lovely waiter that three tapas per head would be enough to get started, we scoffed thinking we would be doing a re-order but the portions are so generous that it really was enough (although we did find space for dessert!).

Crispy calamari with aioli
These prawns were phenomenal but the lobster sauce that came with the dish was a bit too rice for me, I asked for extra aioli to go with them!

Belly pork, chorizo picante and chickpea caldot
This was our favourite dish by an absolute mile. The chickpea stew was amazing and the pork had been slow roasted, it wasn’t chewy like some belly pork can be, the perfect balance of soft and crispy.

Picos blue and chicory salad, candied walnuts, dates, apple
Token salad as a note to health! Picos blue is my favourite of the blue cheeses so I couldn’t not order it, the candied walnuts were delicious, too.

Spiced lamb shoulder, baba ganoush, pomegranate syrup, flatbread
As if that wasn’t enough, we were talked into dessert, and glad we were! The churros are delicious and not always on the menu so make sure to ask!

Churros con chocolate
El Pecado do a fantastic lunchtime menu, three tapas for £12 served between 12pm and 5pm so well worth giving that a try, too.
All in all, we had a fantastic meal at El Pecado and cannot wait to go back, we’ve already booked a table for next week!
If you would like to invite the Foodie Liverpool Eats team down to your restaurant, bar or eatery in or around Liverpool feel free to email us- foodieliverpooleats@gmail.com
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