Matters of Platters
Pro Authenticity seems guaranteed.
Con Decor's not going to win awards.
Pay
€€
Per Person €23. 1.5 Colombian beers; main course; shared dessert. El Tenedor points on offer. Booking for Saturday lunchtime almost certainly required. Gratis: nada.
Find
Website http://www.rochelacafe.es/
Access Step free to bar, to main dining area.
In Short
Hopes. Will we taste Colombia?
Reality. Lots of enthusiastic Colombian diners seemed to think so.
First Impressions. A long bar, a big, empty space.
USP? Gigantic platefuls of meaty flavours.
The offer in three words. Biiiii, iiiiiiiii, iiiig.
Service! Friendly, helpful, efficient.
Friend friendly? A very meaty menu, so you'd better run it past potential invitees.
Rating for dating. That menu is the critical factor depending on dietary choices/reqiuirements.
Tip? 5%
Change one thing? Do something with the decor.
Revisitability. Very high. Pages of things to try.
Compare & Contrast
Multiple flavours of Latin America in Atocha at Rio Grande Cafe.
In Pictures
On Facebook
What's the story?
Welcome to Cafe Rochela. There's lots to enjoy and lots to eat. Standby.
There's also a lot to take in on the menu. Three pages' worth of suggestions. Discussion with an aimiable server persuaded us that two main courses might well be enough. So, no starters today.
Wise choice, my young padawan. After a short delay which was enough time for me to need a second bottle of Colombian Club - recommended, that one - the mains arrived. And, we can tell you the servers won't be needing to join Basic Fit any time soon. Food delivery is training enough. We be talking big portions, lads.
Chuzos de pollo. And so to the barbie. Nine marinated chicken slices (lots of garlic going on), with gaucomole & potato, salad, a chimichurri style salsa verde, a grilled cornbread, and a plantain cracker. All the flavours are here. Mix and match with a bandeja and you'll not be disappointed.
So a bandeja? Here's the Bandeja paisa. It's a one-dine one-plater degustación. There's chorizo (mild), pork (overdone a bit), and lots of bright orange beans (as if Herr Heinz was outside hand-cooking them to order). Then there's a fried egg on rice (that works, which you might not think it would), powdered meat (a novel form of seasoning) and half an avocado (sour cream substitute, contrast and if you're stretching it, one of your five a day). Oh, and there's a grilled banana. If this was breakfast we could call it the full Colombian.
Now, let's be clear. You can see. Fine dining this obviously isn't. But it's a very fine dinner, all the same. You're not going to leave hungry. And a word of warning for the enthusiastic. If you plan on ordering the Picada Rumbera be sure to take a gaggle of friends for the mountain of meat products you'll find arriving. The small one will feed four. We may have to call for vounteers...
Groaning slightly, we opted for a dead simple dessert. Some very mild cheese, a serious splodge of dulce de leche and a couple of figs. All in all, its somefig very simple, but worked well.
So details? Beer came with frosted frozen glasses. Excellent. decision Service wasn't quite as fast as it might be, but we can cope as they're obviously preparing things to order. Decor does need work. This offer deserves something a bit classier than random hotel function room tone it's got at the moment. No need to go theme crazy, but change the lighting, paint the walls off-white, rehang the paintings and, please, add some plants.
Maybe that doesn't really matter to anyone but me. The place is spectacularly popular because the food is successful, authentic (we're supposing) and unquestionably good value. Groups of friends and families filled tables around us, laid down with huge picadas as the beers flowed. You'll leave well fed. You won't feel you've paid too much. You'll start thinking about another visit and who you know who might like to give it a try.
So give it a try.
Pro Authenticity seems guaranteed.
Con Decor's not going to win awards.
Pay
€€
Per Person €23. 1.5 Colombian beers; main course; shared dessert. El Tenedor points on offer. Booking for Saturday lunchtime almost certainly required. Gratis: nada.
Find
Website http://www.rochelacafe.es/
Access Step free to bar, to main dining area.
In Short
Hopes. Will we taste Colombia?
Reality. Lots of enthusiastic Colombian diners seemed to think so.
First Impressions. A long bar, a big, empty space.
USP? Gigantic platefuls of meaty flavours.
The offer in three words. Biiiii, iiiiiiiii, iiiig.
Service! Friendly, helpful, efficient.
Friend friendly? A very meaty menu, so you'd better run it past potential invitees.
Rating for dating. That menu is the critical factor depending on dietary choices/reqiuirements.
Tip? 5%
Change one thing? Do something with the decor.
Revisitability. Very high. Pages of things to try.
Compare & Contrast
Multiple flavours of Latin America in Atocha at Rio Grande Cafe.
In Pictures
On Facebook
What's the story?
Welcome to Cafe Rochela. There's lots to enjoy and lots to eat. Standby.
There's also a lot to take in on the menu. Three pages' worth of suggestions. Discussion with an aimiable server persuaded us that two main courses might well be enough. So, no starters today.
Wise choice, my young padawan. After a short delay which was enough time for me to need a second bottle of Colombian Club - recommended, that one - the mains arrived. And, we can tell you the servers won't be needing to join Basic Fit any time soon. Food delivery is training enough. We be talking big portions, lads.
Chuzos de pollo. And so to the barbie. Nine marinated chicken slices (lots of garlic going on), with gaucomole & potato, salad, a chimichurri style salsa verde, a grilled cornbread, and a plantain cracker. All the flavours are here. Mix and match with a bandeja and you'll not be disappointed.
So a bandeja? Here's the Bandeja paisa. It's a one-dine one-plater degustación. There's chorizo (mild), pork (overdone a bit), and lots of bright orange beans (as if Herr Heinz was outside hand-cooking them to order). Then there's a fried egg on rice (that works, which you might not think it would), powdered meat (a novel form of seasoning) and half an avocado (sour cream substitute, contrast and if you're stretching it, one of your five a day). Oh, and there's a grilled banana. If this was breakfast we could call it the full Colombian.
Now, let's be clear. You can see. Fine dining this obviously isn't. But it's a very fine dinner, all the same. You're not going to leave hungry. And a word of warning for the enthusiastic. If you plan on ordering the Picada Rumbera be sure to take a gaggle of friends for the mountain of meat products you'll find arriving. The small one will feed four. We may have to call for vounteers...
So details? Beer came with frosted frozen glasses. Excellent. decision Service wasn't quite as fast as it might be, but we can cope as they're obviously preparing things to order. Decor does need work. This offer deserves something a bit classier than random hotel function room tone it's got at the moment. No need to go theme crazy, but change the lighting, paint the walls off-white, rehang the paintings and, please, add some plants.
Maybe that doesn't really matter to anyone but me. The place is spectacularly popular because the food is successful, authentic (we're supposing) and unquestionably good value. Groups of friends and families filled tables around us, laid down with huge picadas as the beers flowed. You'll leave well fed. You won't feel you've paid too much. You'll start thinking about another visit and who you know who might like to give it a try.
So give it a try.