La Bandera

Came here a few months ago. There was a group of us — about 8 people — and we decided to other lots of different dishes and share it. Which is basically what tapas is all about :)
Before visiting, I had heard that some of the United players had been here. I had recently seen photo of Mata and Herrera visiting the place. Good enough for Mata/​Herrera, good enough for me! :) (In fact, the night we went United were playing and the owner was in one of the players private boxes).
All the food was all pretty good. My favourite was the Spanish omelette. Mmmmm.
During the meal, we were like the clumsy table and managed to break vase/​glasses. They were quick to wipe up the liquid and replace the glasses — although I think maybe they were running out of glasses and the replacement ones didn’t match! :)

It was Friday night do it was time to go out with my girl to drink, eat, and catch up with the chat so we decided to go to a place with wine and tapas. I got reservation and glad I did cause the place was pretty busy. It’s a small place so make sure you get reservation especially if you want to eat between the hours of 6:30−9pm.
There is a separate bar area so you can just come here for drinks and a nibble if you want a full dinner. The menu is pretty extensive and offers many different type of tapas. We got the grilled octopus, mushroom, and beef sliders. I wanted a couple of other tapas but they ran out. We also ordered squid ink rice, which was big enough for two people to share.
The grilled octopus was ok. Pretty small, but had a nice grilled flavour and tender. It wasn’t overcooked or under seasoned. However, I’ve had better elsewhere so I wasn’t that impressed. The mushroom tapas contained a couple of different mushrooms and was sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and peeper… Pretty simple dish and it was ok. If you like the taste of mushroom, you’ll like this simple dish. The beef slider was awesome and I’d get this again. It had avocado mayonnaise and was well seasoned… You only get two unfortunately.
The squid ink rice came in a nice white bowl and the rice was black as expected. The flavour is very delicate and I thought could have had more salt since it was a big bland, it had bits of squid and mostly rice. Would have been way better if it had larger pieces of squid cause it was really just rice in squid ink. It does turn your teeth a bit black so if you’re on a date and you want to keep looking sexy, avoid this dish!
The dessert menu wasn’t spectacular so we didn’t get any. The staff was friendly and was pretty attentive. Overall the place was ok… a bit pricey and nothing spectacular but a good place to have dinner with a friend to catch up or take a date to impress.

Went here a while back with a group of Unilocalers! We went all out and tried every single tapas dish on the menu plus the paella! Have to say the tapas and paella were absolutely delicious and full of flavour, think the squid ink croquetas would have to be one of my favourites!!! ! The sangria was also delicious! The staff were really friendly and helpful from the start, explaining all the dishes on arrival. They also dealt very professionally and calmly with a roudy croud of Unilocalers that somehow managed to smash a full bottle of olive oil and a wine glass!!!
This place is a step up again from Evuna/​La Vina and therefore is a bit more expensive but if you’re a fan of Tapas it is definitely a must visit!!!

With some of the other Unilocalers I came down to La Bandera this week to try their tapas, of which I have heard great things.
The staff straight from the off were excellent. Dealing with a large group is difficult but these guys were so accommodating.
After ordering a few jugs of traditional sangria, which was excellent by the way, we decided to pretty much order ALL of the tapas on the menu, plus 2 of some dishes and a meat platter with cheese and also a large rice dish.
All of the tapas were great. My personal favourites being the squid ink croquettes and pig cheeks. The Spanish tortilla was also one of the best I had ever tasted.
Overall I pretty much can’t fault this place. After I dropped a plate and smashed some glasses by accident they were more than helpful.
I’m definitely coming back soon!

and another tapas restaurants, half of my reviews are probably about type of places!
this one bet all the other ones in terms of quality of food and choice of dishes though! just to make sure about that, we ordered all their tapas/​starters (dont worry I wasnt by myself we were 10 Unilocalers)!
my favourite was probably the croquettas de chipiron, something that I’ve never tried before! I also really enjoyed the pig cheeks that were very tender, the scallops, and the calamares! no dish dispointed me really except maybe the chupa chups de pollo that wasnt very original!
we also had their traditionnal sangria that was very nice!
staff were also very friendly and remain professional despite the little disaster that happened in the middle of the dinner when the table ended covered with oil and few glasses were broken!
ok this place is not cheap so I wont be able to afford it as much as other tapas restaurants but I will definitely treat myself again! I definitely recommend it to any tapas aficionados!

Well five stars alone for the service, with our saintly waitresses coping with confused ordering and the steady arrival of more and more people (the group doubling by the end) with a smile and only the occasional look of mortal terror.
Food wise, this is my favourite tapas experience in Manchester to date. Standout dishes were:
(1) Papas arrugadas con mojo — these looked like crap wrinkly little boiled potatoes however they are obviously dusted with crack (or possibly salt) because they taste incredible and come with two great dips
(2) Chicken lollipops — sticky, sweet, one of the best forms of chicken I’ve had in a while
(3) Solomillo — my friend found this could have been more tender but I personally thought the flavour was great (almost like liver)
(4) Calamari — a fantastic version of an old favourite
(5) Mini burger — a black brioche with calamari inside. The only thing greater than hearing my francophone friend pronounce «mini burger» was the sweet and tangy taste of that mini burger.
(6) Croquetas de jamon. I love croquetas and frequently order them but find them a bit disappointing. These were some of the best I’ve ever had. [UPDATE the squid ink ones are even better!]
The tortilla was fine but not amazing, although of course my point of reference for this is the tortilla cooked by my friend’s adorable tiny Spanish mother, which is one of the best things ever.
Other dishes were good too — the chicken strips that came with almost caramelised red peppers went down well, as did the meatballs. The gambas al ajillo didn’t blow me away but if you want prawns they are worth ordering.
Bizarrely situated around the corner from popular tapas restaurant La Vina, in my opinion this harder to find option is better although the ambience is less romantic. The fact I’ve listed 6 dishes as standout probably is testament to that. I hope you’re grateful I tried nearly the whole tapas menu to bring you this information, eh? I’m good like that.

¡Que bueno!
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
We ordered 3 starters and paellas. Oh before that we sat at the bar, as we arrived a bit early, and ordered a bottle of cava. Shame it was Castelblanc as it’s not the best but enjoy it we did. Anyway it came with a bit of raspberry so what the heck.
Starters were; croquettes of jamón, beef cheeks (heavenly), and deep fried squid. Lovely.
We then ordered our arroz; lobster for my wife and mixed for me. We were told we’d need to wait (which is fine) so ordered another starter (pulpo a la gallega). Lovely too.
Our rice appeared at about the right time and it tasted wonderful. The rice was undercooked but forgivable due to the great taste and fab atmosphere.
No pud as we were full.
We had 3 bottles (yikes); a cava, an Albariño, and to finish a Verdejo.
Handsome! Worth going back to!

I was surprised La Bandera hadn’t already been ‘Yelped’, though given how tucked away it is (down a side street opposite The Grill On The Alley), you’d probably have to be looking for it to find it. They’ve effectively let their food do the talking in lieu of lots of social media advertising.
Stepping inside the 50 cover restaurant you’re met with a vibrant red and yellow colour scheme which reminds you of the Spanish flag — La Bandera actually translates to ‘the Flag’ (I had to look that up!). There’s also a separate bar area with seating.
Our friendly waitress informed us that they’d brought in Spanish chef Josetxo Arrieta, who had previously worked in Michelin starred restaurants, to create traditional Iberian cuisine from locally-​sourced ingredients. Their menu therefore changes on a daily basis, so the dishes we ate might not reappear again for some time.
It was a welcome change not to be faced with a massively comprehensive tapas menu. We decided on six dishes to share between the two of us (with tomato bread and olives as appetisers). This proved more than enough to fill us up — though we caved and ended up ordering a dessert each as well!
We were really impressed with the Papas Arrugadas con Mojo — salted potatoes with special sauces from Gran Canaria and Lagrimas de Pollo con «piperrada» — chicken strips in honey chilli sauce. We enjoyed every one of the dishes, but those two were our favourites in particular.
Their take on tiramisu and crème brûlée worked well, presented in coffee cups (perhaps a playful nod to the current Twitter campaign @WeWantPlates?) with just enough to top off what was a thoroughly enjoyable meal.
2015 is seeing a resurgence in Spanish restaurants — with Ibérica now open and El Gato Negro coming soon; the reputation of Spanish food in Manchester is looking very good indeed.