Salvador and Amanda is buzzing and lively, packing in the crowds for tasty tapas and cocktails that keep you coming back for more.

The Venue
Located on Great Newport Street, Salvador and Amanda is just steps away from Leicester Square tube station. Easy to spot with its fiery red signage and burning flames either side of the entrance, you’ll be met at the door by an enthusiastic greeter who will direct you down a steep staircase into this basement venue.

Inside, the drama continues with a gothic theme – scarlet walls, dark woods and leafy foliage abound, with the furniture a mix of laid-out tables and private booths. The feel is authentically Spanish, with posters from Spanish movies adorning the walls.

The Atmosphere
Salvador and Amanda attracts a noisy, lively crowd of after-workers, young families and groups, getting busy from the early evening as the after work and pre-theatre crowds descend. The army of waiting staff dart from place to place smiling and shouting to one another in Spanish, or stopping at a table to enthusiastically share their expertise on the cocktail and tapas menus, which maintains the energetic vibe created by the far-too-loud Spanish music.

The Food
The menu offers up many of the better-known Spanish tapas dishes, as well as a few unusual choices. They serve hot and spicy patatas bravas, and while these are certainly authentically Spanish they’ll prove too much for some palates. Particular highlights include fresh, light meatballs in a sweet tomato sauce, and a rich, creamy goats cheese served with piquant beetroot – so good you should order two, or you’ll be fighting your companions for the last bit! Another top choice are the chicken and beef croquettes, which are delicately flavoured and filling, and there’s also a fairly typical Spanish omelette with good quality olives and homemade breads.

More unusual choices include dreamy smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese rolls, though less successful are the pork ribs in orange blossom honey, which are as sickly as they sound. Another disappointment is the king prawn and avocado blinis with unripened avocado and rubbery prawns - they’d be better leaving this off the already elaborate menu. Dishes vary from £4-£9, with an approximate cost of £30 (excluding drinks) for a couple to eat here, which is good value for the Leicester Square locale.

Desserts are more disappointing – there’s a limited choice from ice cream to creme caramel, and they are presented in old-fashioned sundae dishes and smothered in whipped cream. The most interesting choice are the custard-filled profiteroles, which are oversized and ever-so-sinful, but something of a bargain at just £3-£4.

Overall, the menu is a bit hit and miss, but everything arrives in minutes and if you make the right choices you’ll be relieved you skipped the nearby steak houses and pizza joints.

The Drink
Salvador and Amanda offers a decent wine list of mainly Spanish wines, but far more interesting is their extensive cocktail range. As well as serving the standard mojitos, cosmopolitans and martinis, there’s a good range of Champagne cocktails – particularly moreish is the Mint Royal, a sophisticated blend of Champagne, mint leaves, lime juice and vanilla syrup, which is very refreshing with your spicy patatas bravas.

The cocktails come in at £7-£10, which is on the pricy side, but there are posters everywhere advertising happy hours throughout the week (on some days these last until 2am!), which brings prices down to a dangerously tempting £5. There are also a few modern twists on sangria that are worth sticking around for.

The Last Word
It gets so loud that conversation with your companions becomes hard work and some dishes on the menu fail to delight, but overall Salvador and Amanda is atmospheric and lively with bubbly staff offering a wide choice of (mostly) well-executed tapas and superior cocktails at prices that won’t require a platinum credit card.

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