Cata, Edinburgh

It's perhaps a bit OTT to refer to this as the Second Coming, but it must count as a resurrection of sorts. Iggy Campos opened his first restaurant - in Dundee - about half a century ago. Believed to be Scotland's second Spanish restaurant, or so I'm told. My researches continue.

Iggy Campos

Iggs on Edinburgh's Jeffrey Street had a huge following, later turning to tapas as Barioja. I had believed that on its closure Señor C had retired. Indeed, for all I knew, he had gone to the Great Taperia in the Sky. I was aware of Piggs in the Royal Mile - no doubt fellow scribbler GS would have called it Piggy's - but I thought that was run by the next generation. Indeed it is, along with its sister in Bruntsfield, but I gather the old man had a hand in the set up.

And lo! He's broken free. I have no idea if shackles were involved, or indeed restrictive covenants. Was there a stone to be rolled away? Who cares? He's back. At Cata, in North West Circus Place. At THAT venue. Oh my, very big shoes to fill. A place where you would require, as the Spanish would say, cojones grandes. Why? Because it's the former site of Merienda, once one of Edinburgh's best ever. How does our hero fare?

It's a tapas based affair. In contrast to Iggs early days, we now have a fair few of these, including Tapa, the 2023 Tom Eats! Restaurant of the Year. That's at the sublime end. There is also a ridiculous part of the spectrum too. I'll mention no names, but beware of chains.

Cata literally means a taste. With that prefix, the menu is in four parts. Aperitivos - in solid form that is, bread, olives and so on; tapas; tablas (platters); and pintxos, lovely things on a small piece of bread.

There's something about this space that attracts front of house staff with big personalities. I still recall the irrepressible Leanne from the Merienda days. We were having a most amiable time with Maria from Madrid when Portuguese Bruno bounced on to the scene, Tigger like. There is nothing bland here.

That certainly applies to the food. Platters of meat or cheese or both very often appeal to us. You can also have a plate of the ham of the day, Iberico of course. We were more in tapas mode. You'll find many of the usual suspects here, but with a few twists. Padron Peppers of course, spicy chorizo (cooked in cider with a chorizo cream), octopus cooked over black and yellow potatoes. It's virtually impossible to go wrong with albondigas (meatballs). These intriguingly were advertised as being in a white wine roux with a pea mousse, the latter being Grandpa's recipe. Let's hear it for Grandpas! Papas arrugas are another favourite, originally from the Canary Islands, little potatoes boiled in seawater. Normally served with a spicy sauce, these came with two, red and green. Splendid.

But the king of the tapas was undoubtedly the Fabada de la Casa. Fabada is a traditional Asturian bean stew. There are beans and ham and chorizo and pork belly. Even in June this was a stonking dish. In winter a great bowl of it would provide as much comfort as any thick soup or even, dare I say it, my stovies.

I'm not sure I would have remembered what pintxos (pronounced peen-chos) were. Effectively bite sized hot open sandwiches. You get three per helping. The garlic chicken and red pepper confit was tasty, but the Star Pinxto award goes to the the morcilla and membrillo with pine nuts and crispy onion. Black pud and quince paste - not a common combo. I was fascinated by the pudding itself. I have chef friends who say they will always choose Spanish because of its lower cereal content. Cata's version was quite the opposite. Wonderful.

At the weekend I read an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger. To employ his most famous catchphrase, I'll be back. Muchas gracias a todos.