My usual eating companion is my significant other (the poor thing), and so I get really excited when we have group dinners because it means more food to try with awesome company. With a dear friend on a short holiday back to Sydney, it calls for a group outing and we opt for Encasa for tapas, perfect for sharing.
Encasa is located towards the Chinatown end of Pitt Street and is relatively easy to spot, though street parking can get a little crazy around the area especially during peak hour.
As we had a booking for our large group it made things much more convenient. We decided to go for a tapas banquet ($34 pp) as it gave us a whole variety of dishes to share. On top of that we ordered paella, how could we not?
You can’t go to a spanish restaurant without ordering a jug of sangria!
Clockwise starting from top left:
Potato Omelette, Aceitunas (olives), Spinach Omelette, House Salad & Campesina (artichoke, goat’s cheese, roasted red capsicum and eggplant)
Clockwise starting from top left:
Sevillanas (prawns in spicy tomato), Chorizo a la Plancha (grilled Spanish sausage), Patatas Bravas (fried potato with garlic mayonnaise and spicy tomato salsa), Champiňones al Ajillo (garlic mushrooms) & Garlic Bread
The patatas bravas and garlic mushrooms were my absolute favourites! The garlic flavour always wins me over and the spanish always do it so well.
Clockwise starting from top left:
Paella Valenciana, Pinchos Morunos (lamb fillet skewers marinated in Moroccan spices), Paella (again) & Mejillones (black mussels in tomato sauce)
We ordered 2x the paella valenciana for $50 each which had saffron rice with both chicken and seafood for our table of 14. Sadly no crunchy bits on the bottom but the pan still burst out with gorgeous flavours with the rice being cooked perfectly. The generous serving of seafood was a winner with the boys on the table.
Based upon the set menus on their website, we may have missed out on the chicken fillet skewers (pinchos de pollo con mojo) but didn’t notice because we were absolutely stuffed with all the food that did come out. It all came out so quickly that we got full trying to have a bit of everything in such a short period of time – there were just too many choices! We even had a fair bit of food left over as well.
It was a great meal to be shared amongst friends. It hardly put a dent in the wallet and we all walked out holding our bellies because we ate that much. I really enjoyed this banquet as it gave you a taste of majority, if not all, of the tapas dishes on the menu.
Encasa
423 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9211 4257
http://www.encasarestaurant.com.au
Love Encasa – great value and food = good times, everytime :)
I’ve only been the once but I’m sure it won’t be the last!
The garlic mushrooms are so good at Encasa! And I can never go without patatas bravas either
I may have demolished a serving to myself it was that good .
I’ve often wandered past this place and wondered what the food was like and it looks pretty dang good! I just love tapas style dining where you get to try a little nibble of everything :D
Me too. Love trying everything but in this case there was too much to try! Haha
Sangria at Encasa goes off! So good :D Pity about the no crunchy rice bits on the paella :( But the flavours definitely were amazing! Love group dinners too – and what greater way to try lots of things than tapas? Amazing tapas at that :)
I’ve only been to one other Spanish restaurant and do think encasa is the spot for me!! Sangria for everyone!! ;)
Oh YUM!! I love tapas and these dishes look delicious. I would have grabbed a jug of sangria too, you just can’t have a Spanish group gathering without a nice big jug :)
I think that should go for any dining experience, group or not. Where’s the sangria??? ;)
love encasa! i generally just stick to the tapas and don’t touch the pizza or paella. I love the vibe in here and the area is always buzzing. It’s also nice to go to a tapas place in Sydney that does more ‘traditional’ tapas.
If only I knew what traditional tapas was. I have had it at one other place but it wasn’t nearly as good and hearty.
The tortilla espanola is usually great here. Sounds like you guys had a mega feast. Ole!
Noted for my next return! Ole!
LOL I loved your comment about your boyfriend eating with you and ‘that poor thing’ because that happens to my boyfriend all the time. Thank gosh he likes eating too and will help me finish any food i can’t PHEW :D
Encasa looks like a great place to have a group dinner with friends, tapas is the best way to share food I think ;)
The boy has turned me into an eating machine. I never used to be able to finish my meal but I clean luck mine and always sneak a forkful or two from his! Hahah I’ve become a monster…
Hahahah that’s so funny he’s made you eat more :) I on the other hand have been eating less cuz he’s always hungry so I always give him some of my food ~
I love the crunchy bits at the bottom of rice dishes! :D And I haven’t been here for ages-thanks for the reminder!
I’m already looking at my return haha
Oh wow what a feast! I’ve walked past this place countless times yet never bothered to give it a go. Looks great!
Definitely worth a visit if there’s a group. Just too easy to share food and sangria like that.
Encasa is a def a favourite place of mine when it comes to Spanish food. I can never go past the potatoes. Shame there wasn’t much of a crunchy crust in the paella, I am yet to still find a place that does have it though!
We sure love our potatoes hey Shan? ;) I haven’t had much paella but the one I had at taste of Sydney a few years back had the crispy bottom!
Uhhhh this sounds like a great place for dinner with friends. Good thing about it is that I won’t have to use up much of my CNY red pocket money too =P
Hahahah make sure you make your visit ;p
Encasa is fabulous for large groups – and they definitely don’t hold back on the food! Always leave here so happy and so full!
Looks amazing. All those food pics are making me hungry.
Love coming here with groups! The set menus are good value, the food’s tasty, and you don’t get people ever complaining that there’s not enough food. Also love the garlicky aroma of the place haha.
I still am suprised by the value for money at this place. I could barely walk out of the restaurant. Everything was just delicious!
My fave Spanish restaurant in Sydney, but I haven’t been there in years. I love their Patatas Bravas *drools*. Their banquet looks like the best of the best, even if they missed out on the chicken =P
It really is such good value. Cannot believe it took me this long to get there!