Recently one of my Twins had mentioned a lovely independent restaurant in a local(ish) town to us, Rushden.

It was a Spanish Tapas type venue which is something that we all really love, due to trying out lots of new foods and flavours.

As it had been their Birthday the week before we decided to go and try it out as a group; Us, Grandma, our niece, the girls and their partners.

So it was early on a Tuesday evening that eight of us arrived at La Estrella. We had pre-booked the table by filling in a ‘form’ online on Monday evening and had received a telephone call confirming the booking on Tuesday morning.

We were welcomed with a smile by a lovely lady (sadly, I never got her name) and shown to our table.

Family NIght

After seating, menus were distributed and  we all started looking to see just what we fancied. This is where it became difficult.

There were so many wonderful options; Vegetarian, Seafood and Meat dishes.

We started off trying to work out what we wanted. This got so confusing that it almost became impossible. Then someone thankfully came up with the idea to knock off the things we DIDN’T want!

That proved to be quite a great idea. From the vegetarian list we got rid of the Tortilla de patatas, (Spanish Omelette) Patata dulce Frita (Sweet potato fries) and the Ensalada mixite con aceltunas (Mixed salad with red onion, peppers and olives.

This left us with Acietunas verges (green olives) Pimientos de Padron (Fried peppers in sea salt) Patatas Bravas (Fried potatoes with tomato and alioli) and Champinones al ajillo (Sautéed garlic mushroom)

Lots to Choose From

From the Seafood tapas we went for the four they had listed; Calamares fritos con alioli (Deep fried squid) Boquerones fritos con alioli (Fried whitebait) Gambas al ajillo (King prawns in chilli, garlic and parsley) and Zarzuela de mariscos al tomate y vino (Mixed seafood in tomato, white wine and herb sauce.

Moving on to the Meat Tapas we decided that six out of the eight listed were ones we fancied.

The Emputidos Variados (A platter of sliced cured meat and cheese) and the Tortilla Espanola con chorizo y manchego (Spanish Omelette with Spanish sausage and cheese) were not really grabbing us, so we left them off the order.

What we did order were the Pollo a la cordobesa con jamon (chicken wrapped in serrano with a honey mustard dressing) Albondigas de ternera  y cerdo (beef and pork meatballs in tomato) Ternera con salsa de champinones (Rump steak in mushroom sauce) Brochetas de pollo y chorizo (chicken and chorizo skewers) and two different kinds of Chorizo; picante and a la crianza.

Enjoying the Evening!

The Picante were cooked with onions, peppers and chilli and the a la crianza was with red wine and caramelised onions.

The table also fancied trying the House Sangria to drink. I have to admit if I was still a drinker, I would have pounced upon it. Most of the family wanted to try it so we ordered a jug with several glasses.

I went with a sparkling water, which is my normal tipple nowadays.

So how did the meal go?

Well, I have to admit it was pretty darn special!

One of the things the restaurant does is bring complimentary bowls of fresh warm bread with a dip and green olives. Now, I am not sure what was in the dip but it was bloomin’ amazing.

A Great Start

The bread was fresh and tasty; a chewy crust with soft, light interior. The dip had a piquant flavour and was very more-ish. The olives were just delightful.

I literally could have eaten a whole bowl of bread and dip to myself, however I knew I needed to pace myself for the main act.

In a relatively short period of time, small plates of food started arriving at the table. Due to the amount of people eating AND the fact that several people had wanted to try the same dishes, we ordered duplicates of a few of them.

This included the chorizo, the rump steak and the Patatas Bravas.

Gorgeous Decor

It was a jolly good thing that we did because all three of those dishes were completely divine and disappeared into our tummies pretty quickly.

Personally I am not a huge fan of Calamares, or whitebait, but did give them a go. The whitebait was crispy and quite delightful, but I am still not keen on the squid.

My favourite had to be a toss up between the Rump steak in creamy mushroom sauce and the Chorizo in red wine and caramelised onions.

Both were beautifully cooked; the steak was tender yet tasty and the chorizo had a full flavour with an added sweetness from the onions.

I simply could not get enough of either of them.

Stunning Food

Unusually for me, I was so excited when the food arrived, I got carried away and forgot to take any photographs!

D’oh.

All I can say is the food was outstanding. Every single morsel.

It wasn’t too long before nearly each plate was cleared of every bite. The only thing left was a couple of squid rings and a mussel from the mixed seafood.

Not bad going for the sheer amount of food we ordered.

They also had a dessert menu with a few choices including Tarta de Santiago (traditional Almond Cake) Crema Caramelo (creme brulee style dessert with caramel) and Tarta de queso  con frutos del bosque (Cheesecake with Summer berries) and Chocolate Brownie.

I went with my favourite dessert, the cheesecake and I have to say it was a great choice. Vanilla cheesecake covered in mixed berries, served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Delicious Dessert

It was glorious. The cheesecake was flavoursome, the berries tart and refreshing. The ice-cream was rich and creamy. All put together it made for an exceptional dessert.

The other options had been ordered by various members of the party. Every single one of them enjoyed what was had and there was a lot of sharing and tasting between us going on.

We spent a wonderful 2.5 hours in the restaurant all told. The waitress couldn’t do enough for us, she was so very attentive and extremely personable.

Having a bit of a chat with her whilst waiting for the car to come, we discussed how much we had enjoyed the meal and what we thought of the restaurant.

I told her I was a blogger and would actually be writing about the restaurant. She then asked me a specific favour.

She was very keen to point out the ‘cosy’ corner where a humungous sofa had been placed, taking up a large amount of space.

Cosy or Ugly Corner?

Jokingly she told us that she absolutely hated it and could we please tell the boss that it was horrid and to get rid of it!

I asked why she disliked it so much and she told us how it was too big and didn’t go with the rest of the vibe of the restaurant. I have to admit that I agreed with her on this point.

It really was a massive sofa and probably took up enough space that you could fit 12 diners into.

She did mention that the restaurant is open in the daytime now for coffee and cake, which is why the sofa was bought in, but still felt that tables and chairs were much better.

By this point, I was fully in agreement with her!

A Wonderful Environment (apart from the Sofa!)

To be honest though, I do quite fancy going for coffee and cake in the day time as looking at the offerings online, they seem as good as the savoury dished we were treated to.

I just need a day off in the week to give it a try!

Till next time,

SPSG xxx