Lunch at Olé Tapas Bar, Wolverton

AD – Our meal at Olé Tapas Bar was complimentary in return for this review.

Olé Tapas Bar is one of my favourite restaurants in Milton Keynes. Tucked away in Wolverton serving traditional Spanish tapas, it is a real hidden gem! Formerly Busker’s Music Café, Chef Juan Carlos and his wife Beatriz, took over the venue about two years ago. Their approach to turning it into one of the best dining destinations in Milton Keynes has been really admirable. Instead of going crazy with expensive refits, they have gradually made changes to the interior, tweaking it to make it feel less like a cafe and more like a small slice of Spain in Wolverton.

I hosted my first supper club at Olé in September 2019 and went to the amazing Saf’Olé Fusion night so I know what a talented chef Juan is already. He and Beatriz are both from San Sebastian in Spain which is known to produce some of the best gastronomy in the world and has a high concentration of Michelin starred locations! With them they bring Spanish delights to Wolverton, producing freshly cooked, tasty dishes.

Juan kindly invited Dan and I in to review his recently launched lunch menu, which he launched just before Christmas!

Olé Tapas Bar has a very warm, welcoming atmosphere and the service is always very friendly. The ‘Menu Del Dia’ is a dedicated lunch menu available Tuesday – Friday 12 – 2:30pm. You can choose from three tapas dishes for £12.95 or the set menu option where you can have a tapas to start, main course and dessert option. Depending on how hungry you can have one, two or three courses It’s £10.95 for one course; £14.95 for two or £17.95 for three.

The tapas menu has veg, meat and fish options available so you can choose one of each if you go for the tapas option. On this menu, you’ll find classic Spanish dishes like Gambas, croquetas and patatas bravas. There are also some delicious sounding stews if you fancy a winter warmer!

The main course options are of course a larger portion size than the tapas. There are meat, fish and vegetarian options as well as classic rice dishes. We opted to go for the three-course set menu (£17.95) with a glass of rioja to accompany. To start, Dan had the Txistorra and I had the chorizo lollipops.

The Chorizo lollipops are one of my favourite bites at Olé! Chorizo is fried in a crisp, salty batter served on sticks with a pear aioli. The lollipops are a little explosion of flavour in the mouth – savoury, salty and a little sweet thanks to the aioli.

Dan’s Txistorra (pronounced Chistorra) was a real find and not a dish we have ordered from Olé before. Txistorra is a type of fast-cured chorizo from the Basque region of Spain. It had a very high-fat content of 70-80% so is incredibly tender and a little sweeter than regular chorizo. It was packed with flavour and did not need anything other than the dish it was presented in. It was served with bread to mop up the oil.

For his main course, Dan chose the Arroz Negro (black rice) which is a dish that again features on the main tapas menu, but not something we have ordered before. Beatriz recommended this and said it was one of the most popular dishes! As the name suggests, this is a dramatic-looking looking dish made with squid ink with prawns and cuttlefish. It’s served with a wedge of lemon and some aioli.

This is an incredibly rich dish so probably lends itself to a tapas size dish more than main, however this was truly delicious! The rice was tender and it wasn’t overly fishy at all. It’s made with a sofrito base so has a classic Spanish taste. The aioli added a nice freshness to this dish which cut through the richness. Dan found this super filling, so I would absolutely order this again as a tapas dish.

I had the Bacalao con patatas confitadas – pan-fried cod and confit potatoes served with spinach and Piquillo sauce. This was glorious and the perfect weekday light lunch dish! The fish was well cooked and seasoned, the accompanying potatoes melting in the mouth. I loved the freshness of the spinach and the Piquillo sauce.

We just about had room for some desserts. The churros from Olé Tapas Bar are an absolute classic and come served with a chocolate orange sauce. Delicious!

Juan also served us rice pudding because he said everyone orders the churros and overlooks the rice pudding – fair point! I am very glad he brought this over – this rice pudding was the DREAM. Actually, I am pretty sure Dan almost cried it was that good. It was just so creamy and sweet – the perfect rice pud. The top was crisp with caramelised sugar. The perfect end to a delicious lunch!

The lunch menu at Olé Tapas bar is fantastic value and great for a mid-week treat or lunch date. It’s also the perfect way to try some dishes from the menu that you haven’t tried before. There’s something to suit all tastes and appetites!

Thank you to Juan and Beatriz for their amazing hospitality as always – if you haven’t been to Olé Tapas Bar yet, when you do, say I sent you!

The lunch menu at Olé Tapas Bar is available Tuesday – Friday, 12:30 – 2pm. To book a table and view the menu, visit www.oletapasbar.co.uk

Will you be trying the lunch menu at Olé Tapas Bar?

If you like to eat, explore and want to discover new places to eat in Milton Keynes, come and connect with local food lovers in my Eat & Explore MK community group on Facebook!

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Our meal at Olé Tapas Bar was complimentary in return for this review, but it doesn’t affect my opinion. I have worked with Olé Tapas Bar before for Sophie’s Supper Club.