One of my favourite restaurants of Shellharbour, La Marina Tapas Bar and Restaurant has moved to Keira St, Wollongong. If you like Spanish food then you'll love La Marina.
Below are some of the meals we enjoyed at La Marina when they were still located in Shellharbour. I hope to visit their Wollongong store very soon. Don't forget to buy a carafe of their sangria. It makes the Spanish dining experience even more authentic!
It was Australia Day and we were also celebrating a friend's birthday. We had a table of four diners and decided to start with Parilla de Mariscos, a BBQ'd seafood platter A selection of grilled seafood including fish, scampi, king prawns, squid, pippies, and mussels served with chips and salad on the side.($36.00 - Min. 2 persons). Next, several tapas were chosen including tasmanian scallops, pippies, whitebait and a very enjoyable chorizo sausage in dry sherry. Delicous! It almost makes you want to scream out 'Ole!'
After we were seated, we were presented with some free almonds, nicely spiced and a great start to a wonderful meal.
Free almonds
A selection of grilled seafood including fish, scampi, king prawns, squid, pippies, and mussels served with chips and salad on the side. 36.00pp
Seared Tasmanian Scallops - In chilli & roasted sweet paprika with garlic & white wine 11.90
Everyone had a taste of the scallops which were superbly cooked and the sauce was amazing.
Almejas - Pan cooked pippies with white wine, garlic and parsley 11.50
A very morish dish which we all enjoyed a sample off. It brought back memories of collecting pippies on the beach, looking for the tell-tale bubbles in the sand. A definite favourite.
Chanquettes - Lightly floured white bait deep fried, served with lemon wedge 10.50
Not really to my taste but the men at our table really enjoy the crispy whitebait, although after sampling the scallops and pippies I can't see the attraction.
Chorizo a la Jerezana 10.90
This potent Spanish sausage was cooked in a dry sherry and onion sauce, served in a sizzling dish which caused everyone to lean forward with expectation. The smells alone made our appetites revive. The sherry sauce was amazing and complemented the sausage well. Not for the faint of heart, though. There is always the chance that spicy sausages will repeat on me later and this was no exception.
I loved the decore of La Marina. It is like you have been transported to Spain. The warmth of the rich red tones and colourful decorations. A joy to visit and while away an hour or two with good food, conversation and share the experience with friends and family.
Tapas menu ranges between $10.50 and 11.50
Main meals range between $17.50 and 36pp for the seafood platter
130 Keira St, Wollongong NSW 2500
Phone: 02 42 271033
http://www.lamarina.com.au/index.htm
Photos by Vanessa Pike-Russell for Illawarra Food Reviews
http://illawarrafoodreviews.blogspot.com/
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