FOOD : Review of Gallery 48, Dundee
Talk about eyes being bigger than our bellies! Gallery 48 not only fills you up on all the best of tapas but it feeds your soul creatively too, and will only leave you thirsty to return for more.
Gallery 48 is an absolute gem of an eatery located in West Port, Dundee’s Cultural Quarter. It’s a cafe/bar come contemporary creative space perfect for hosting art exhibitions and workshops.
The cafe is bright with lots of natural sunlight and lovely large white walls, ideal for exhibitions. There are also other displays available too like the hanging print frame at the door and a display case close to the stairs leading down into the other half of this gallery. Currently Ryan Gill, a local Dundee contemporary artist’s work adorns the walls.
REVIEW OF GALLERY 48, DUNDEE
Seating is a mix of low and high tables and chairs. No dark corners just gorgeous viewing platforms to take in the art, admire their gin collection and view the bustle from the street outside.
They are open for breakfast from 8am, serving lunch from 1130am-5pm and the Tapas menu from lunch time into the evenings.
Their menu has a heavy Spanish influence and the breakfast menu features Pasteles de Nata (custard tarts) and Torrijas (baked toast) with 9 various sweet and savoury toppings to choose from such as the Dundee Toast with a marmalade centre, dusted with sugar OR the Smores Toast with Biscoff centre and a toasted marshmallow top!
Their lunch menu is mouth watering too as is their range of Spanish wines and gin cocktails.
I was impressed with their gin collection but as this was our lunch stop before driving back to Edinburgh, we opted for some of their non alcoholic gin cocktails. We choose
Caleno Paloma with Caleno Tropical, Grapefruit juice, rosemary and aromatic tonic (pink/orange drink)
Caleno Ging-ito with Caleno Dark and Spicy, Ginger, Lime, Mint and Mexican lime soda (clear drink)
Both equally delicious and went down a treat. They taste like they might have a little kick in them but they are NO ABV! Superb.
The menu will have to drooling over every single dish just thinking about it for hours if you could. There are so many gorgeous, finger licking, sounding dishes on the menu that it was so difficult to choose. In the end we ordered more than we should have. It was a very quiet 30-40 minutes at our table as we just gorged on so much insanely delicious food.
We chose from the lunch menu which is a mixture of lunch items and tapas dishes. Sandwiches and Soup is available for a quick bite but if you have time to linger (and do yourself a favour and find the time to do this), linger for longer and just enjoy eating and being. This is the perfect spot to do just this.
We started off with :
Gambas Pil Pil (£7.65) - marinated prawns with homemade bread. Sublime. A deep smoky flavour with each large succulent bite. Beautiful.
Ensalada de Queso de Cabra (£6.55) - goats cheese with fresh figs and honey. We seen then being delivered to another table and knew we had to order it. Oh sweet foodie heaven. This is sensational. A must order dish.
Patatas Bravas Deluxe (£5.85) - served with truffle oil and shaved Spanish cheese. Hell yes we were going to upgrade from the norm to the deluxe…. anything with truffle is a sure order.
The feast continued as the table continued to be filled with more dishes of colourful and enticing titbits you couldn’t wait to sink your teeth into. Every inch of our table was overflowing with morsels of food jewels that made us feel like we’d just struck the jackpot!
Baked garlic bread (£3.90) - gosh they know how to keep the vampires away in the tastiest way possible!
Embutidos y Quesos (£13.95) - Spanish meat and cheese platter with bread, grapes, oils, dipping sauces and picos. Visually stunning, seriously delicious!
The platter alone would have fed as and left us stuffed but it was so difficult to resist all those divine sounding dishes. I regret nothing hehe!
The food is fresh and authentic. The food delivers on taste, texture and variety. There are plenty of vegetarian choices as well as some decent gluten free options. With the place being busy, there is a lovely genuine jovial atmosphere and the service is friendly and attentive but not pushy and in your face.
I highly recommend Gallery 48 although I do advise you to book. I cant wait to return to Dundee to stop in here again and this time I’m coming for breakfast!
Gallery 48, 48 Westport, Dundee, DD1 5ER. www.gallery48.co.uk
For more information on Dundee, visit VisitDundee website - click HERE
Other posts on my visits to Dundee
My Spoon Award : Gold Spoon 9/10
I was invited by Visit Dundee to review Gallery 48. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.