We went to El Bareto Chapel Allerton on a Wednesday night, so we didn’t even consider booking a table, as we expected everywhere to be reasonably quiet. We arrived at around 7:30pm and walked into the small bar area at the front of the restaurant. The place was so busy that it actually took us a while to get the attention of a waitress to ask if they had a free table. We were taken downstairs to a very warm and welcoming atmosphere by a charming waiter who sat us down and ran through the menu with us. The place was quite busy and we could only actually a see a couple of other free tables. After ordering our drinks (we both went with Estrella to keep with the Spanish feel of the place) we were left to ponder over the magnificent tapas menu and specials on offer. The ordering system was simple; we were given a list of all the dishes and just had to put a tick next to the ones we wanted. There were a couple of simple looking breadsticks in the middle of our table which we soon discovered were freshly cooked, warm and absolutely delicious – it’s lucky there was only one each as we could easily have eaten a whole bowl of them. Everything looked absolutely amazing, but we were advised to get 4-6 plates between two people and the waiter told us he would let us know if he thought we had ordered too much food (phew!), so we went through and picked a couple each to share. It was a difficult decision, but in the end, we went for Homemade Bread with Jamon & Cheese, Oven baked Mushrooms with Cheese and Bacon, Jamon Croquettes, Lemon King Prawns, and Oven-Baked Spanish Black Pudding. The dishes came out a couple at a time, which was great as we didn’t feel too overwhelmed with food. The prawns were delicious and had a little spicy kick to them, and the bread was like an amazing open toastie. The oven baked mushrooms were simply divine, and Jamon Croquettes are always a crowd pleaser. I think we slightly misjudged the black pudding, as delicious as it was, we hadn’t realised there would be quite so much, and only managed about 3 pieces each (which meant there were still around 3 pieces left). I think next time we would maybe get a different large dish and save the black pudding for when a larger group of us are there. The atmosphere was very authentic and there was lovely music playing in the background, the perfect amount of lighting, and incredible service from the very friendly waiting staff. The meal was a good price all in all, and came in at £40 for the two of us, including drinks. We left with smiles on our faces, and will definitely be returning to El Bareto Chapel Allerton in the near future with other friends and family. This cosy little tapas bar is a hidden gem, and is certainly not one to miss out on!