With J away for a week, it was definitely time to organise a dinner with my girlfriend, Jade. I love trying to find new places to visit, and so next on the list was Black Bull Tapas Bar and Restaurant.
When I got there, it was pretty quiet and I wasn’t quite sure where I should go to find my seat. Everything seemed a little unclear. Once I was directed to my seat, and had been given a menu, I took a little time to take in the ambiance of the place.
When I was growing up this building had been a Pancake Parlour, I was surprised to see, that although they hadn’t changed the structure of the building, there was very few relics to remind my of my childhood.
Jade arrived and we decided to split three tapas options, the Empanadas de cordero (Lamb empanadas with roasted capsicum romesco), Bruschetta con champinones al ajillo y halloumi (Mushrooms, garlic, sage & halloumi brushetta) and Panza de Cerdo con repollo (Pressed Otway pork belly, morcilla & pickled cabbage). All tapas options are $10.
I’ve never had empanada’s before, but I was super excited to try them after this post from Linny. These were filled with a delicious minced lamb filling, and served on top of a bed of pureed capsicum, with so much garlic I could feel the immediate burn in my mouth. Lucky we both love garlic.
The bruschetta was a little disappointing, until we got the the haloumi. The outside was golden and crispy, like a really good chip, and the inside deliciously salty. 
I love pork belly, and this was the first option we chose, Jade was drawn to the pickled cabbage. We were met with this beautiful dish, that failed to provide us with the crunch from the skin that we were hoping for. There was however wonderful flavour throughout the local Otway Pork.
One of the benefits of getting only 3 tapas to share was that there was going to be room for dessert.
We both had our hearts set on different desserts, so the only option was to share two. My choice was the chocolate tort, with condensed milk and Iranian fairy floss (below). Cracking through the chocolate layer to find the soft mousse like center, and a pleasent surprise of condensed milk. Paired with the fairy floss, strawberries and caramel were delightful.
Jade’s choice, the classic Spanish churros, with a chocolate sauce was a no brainer in terms of choosing dessert at a tapas restaurant. The churros crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. The addition of the chocolate sauce cut through the oily-ness of the churros.
Do you love sharing tapas style options or are you more interested in a whole meal to yourself?
I love sharing smaller sized dishes! That way you get to try more 😀
That’s one of the things I love, getting to try a whole heap of different dishes.
I love going to a new restaurant with bunch of friends/family and pick a dish and share like family style so we get to eat a little bit of each. I actually have never tried empanadas and I am looking forward to try good one soon!
I love the idea of trying little bits of lots of things, so much more appealing to me.
I’m with you on the sharing part and always love it when the other person/people know the restaurant well and order for me so it’s all a surprise. I will tell them not to get oysters though – can’t abide them. That dessert sure looked interesting.
The desert was delicious! I also love the idea of someone ordering for me.
Everything looks so yummy! Catch ups are the best excuse to eat lots. My friends and I do the same thing with share plates. Yum!
It was all delicious. I can’t wait to get back there and try some different dishes.
I’m all for sharing too, as I like to have small portions of a wide variety of foods. Sometimes it is hard to stop after one or two bites though. There’s always the option of ordering a second portion of something you really like, isn’t it?
This is the exact reason we decided to order small, we figured we could always order more.
A night out with girlfriends is always a great treat. The tapas look really good but it’s a shame the pork wasn’t crispy. Love the look of the Persian fairy floss on the dessert xx
A night out with the girls is the best treat!
I love sharing tapas or going anywhere and sharing because I like to try lots of different things and I get food envy. I dont think I could have choose between those desserts they both look delicious!
The desserts were wonderful! I too get food envy, so sharing is the best option!
I love sharing food, though I don’t like sharing my pork. Well, I will if I have too. I love a night out with the girls. PS, I also love empanadas but have struggled to find any that remind me of Argentina.
I wish I had had fresh Argentinean empanadas, I also can’t wait to make some at home though.