Altrincham Duck

EMBRACE - Located at 59 Stamford New Road

Altricham, WA14 1DS have been an integral part of the Altrincham business community for a while now. However just because they are settled in the town doesn't mean they are stale or boring, they seem to have new ideas and are frequently evolving. 

Ducky McDuckFace and partner took advantage of the free parking in the Regent Road carpark (free from 6pm at the time of writing), we arrived at Embrace at 8pm for the pre opening night Tapas taster. We had to find the staff to be seated and due to the layout placing the bar behind a set of centre stairs it was a little awkward at first! 

Once we found the waitress the welcome we received was very warm. The waitress and assistant manager Marios both welcomed us arranged our drinks, and talked us through the taster menu. McDuckFace opted for a bottle Peroni while my partner had the house Gin with tonic for drinks.

We were to choose between two cold tapas and two hot tapas. Cold tapas wise we picked the Salpicon de mar, (seafood marinated in lime and spices) and Pincho de jamon serrano (Ham serrano skewers). Hot tapas wise we had Puerco embriagado (Cider marinated pork & baby potatoes) and Pollo en salsa gallega (Chicken in rich sauce). 

The Salpicon de mar was a rough textured white fish served cold with a strong citric marinade and a mild chilli seasoning. It was served with a cold sweet potato side to compliment the fish. Overall it was a nice balance of flavours and good portion size.
The Pincho de jamon serrano was in our opinion a bit amateurish, easy to replicate from a few co-op buys and not value for money. It could do with more ham, maybe more cheese and possibly sundried tomatoes instead of a halved cherry tomato. 

The Puerco embriagado pork was delicious, the cider marinade was light and had a citrus kick to it. The new potatoes were served skin on, they were soft and buttery and worked well with the pork.

The Pollo en salsa gallega chicken had a nice mild kick to it, possibly from cumin, I found the rich sauce to be nutty but overall it was our favourite savoury dish of the four. 

Dessert wise we had the home made rice pudding, the only negative was the slightly small portion. I opted for it to be served cold for some reason! I'm glad I did though, the flavour and texture were immense. It had a hint of orange and maybe cinnamon? It was by far the best rice pudding I've ever tasted!! The best dish of the night for McDuckFace. 

The second desert was a pancake served with strawberries, cream and syrup it had a good thickness, good portion size and a great balance of flavours. The syrup came in a pot so you could control the sweetness. 

Overall with exception of one dish, it was a thoroughly enjoyable menu. Hopefully the tapas will be a success for Embrace. It's been a pleasure to have met the staff and Ducky McDuckFace is looking forward to returning!