Reviews La Sal

Being Spanish, my standards for Spanish restaurants are quite high and I have to admit that Lasal may be my favourite one in town. Everything there (at least, everything I have tried) tastes as if it had come out of my mom's kitchen. Try their awesome table of cheese and bread, order the olives, sample their selection of croquetas (they are so so good) and do not miss out on their Pulpo a la gallega (octopuss cooked galician style). For desserts, their homemade flan with vanilla ice cream is a treat. 
Yes, the service is a bit slow but it's worth it if you are craving a bite of Spain

9:35pm on a Wednesday night is a dicey prospect, both for diners and restaurateurs. The kitchen is getting ready to close, and everyone would just rather be at home. When I shambled through the doors of La Sal on Howden Street, I was eyed with a slight air of “haven’t you seen the time?”. Thankfully for all concerned, my general aspect of respectability served me well, gaining me admittance to what turned out to be a really impressive dining experience.

The restaurant at the front of their quite extensive premises (they have a dancefloor for twice-monthly flamenco shows) is nice enough. It hinted at grander things, but I didn’t get a chance for a full inspection.

The service was exactly what you’d expect in such a place: very keen to explain dishes; delighted to offer recommendations; and keen to make sure you had a good balance of dishes. I was every bit as impressed by the fact that they approved the outline of my basic choices, particularly given that the underlying message was “order now or forever hold your peace”.

I’d chosen padron peppers, which are a real favourite of mine, then morcilla (black pudding) and pulpo (octopus).

The first and last options arrived together, both looking rather tempting. Both were excellent, with the padron peppers as moreish as ever.

The black pudding was very good, but the octopus was the star of the show, with a wonderfully constructed dish that packed an excellent profusion of flavour.

The whole thing put me in mind of dishes that you eat on holiday and wish were available when you came home. Our fondest food memories are often drawn from far afield, when the sun is shining and life is good. This place was plenty memorable enough for me, though, and hidden in plain sight, right on our (chilly) doorstep.

So overall, La Sal was just the tapas place I’d been looking for, particularly given my lukewarm reaction to El Quijote. It served dishes to extremely impressive quality, and left me eager for another visit. I’d highly recommend that you go, at your earliest convenient opportunity.

Scores
Blythe scores the La Sal
4.5/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4.5/5 for service
giving an overall 16.5/20

I ate: padron peppers, Spanish black pudding, Galician octopus

I drank: rioja, espresso

I wore: brown pinstripes

Total bill: £22.40

We went there to celebrate my daughter’s birthday and the food was fantastic. The tapas are the best in Edinburgh and truly Spanish. The calamares and croquetas were our favourite. The waitress was amazing and at the end she brought cake with icecream for my daughter for free. I would recommend and we will be back.

So so good. Friendly and welcoming team. The food is so much closer to the tapas you might expect to find in Seville for example. I’m really very impressed and would rate it as the best tapas I’ve had in Edinburgh. The pork cheek was fab. Very impressed.

Been there twice. The food is really authentic and close to what we’ve had in Barcelona, especially the paella! The restaurant is smaller but with nice decorations.

Family run. To hear Spanish spoken amongst customer and staff is just so inviting and authentic. The menu is enticing and the food, delectable. Service is on point, very attentive staff. Shall definitely return here on a future visit to Edinburgh! Can imagine they have a good variety of quality wine to offer too! Excellent choice for tapas and atmosphere.

Very professional and friendly staff, delicious food and great atmosphere. Truly recommended place! Worth to try: tabla iberico, patatas bravas and the paella de marisco.

Fantastic tapas. You must get the potatoes with garlic aioli. The fried calamari was super tender and so was the octopus. Great service. Reasonable prices. Generous portions. Five items was enough for three people.

The food was delicious, and the sizes of the tapas are very generous. We ordered 3 tapas for two, and ended up taking almost half the food home. 1 tapa per person would be the ideal portion size if you're not extremely hungry.

Absolutely delightful. Sat in the front window, live the vibe. Food was delicious, had a spread of tapas, the spicy olives were a treat. I can't wait to come back.

The food was excellent, portions were a decent size and tasted amazing. The staff were very attentive, and the price was reasonable. Only issue is the toilets are down a load of stairs so if you struggle with mobility, it might be a bit of an issue.