The ‘Crazy Bull’ is a bit of a dull ride

3:17pm Thursday 2nd October 2008

THE warm welcome I received when visiting El Toro Loco in Wanstead was much needed after spending nearly an hour trying to find the place (never rely on satellite navigation) in torrential rain.

Although it is situated off the high street and probably very easy to find in normal weather conditions on foot, we instead had to rely on the sat nav which took us to some bizarre locations, none of which looked like an appetising place to eat.

Dripping wet and cold, I was therefore not in the best of moods to be going out for dinner by the time I arrived, and my heart sank even further when I saw the packed restaurant and a huge group of girls just about to take their seats.

We hadn’t booked and it was a Friday evening. But the staff assured us there was space and said it would be just a 20-minute wait to order food.

This gave me plenty of time to calm down, relax, have a drink and study the menu.

El Toro Loco is a family-run restaurant and, translated, the name means The Crazy Bull. It offers a range of Spanish tapas cuisine as well as individual paellas.

Between two of us we chose six dishes, which was more than enough food.

Our selection included squid rings; tiger prawns with olive oil, garlic and chillies; asparagus with garlic and chilli and meatballs in tomato sauce. There was a wide range of dishes on the menu to cater for meat eaters and vegetarians, with prices ranging from about £2 to £6.50.

Although the food was tasty and arrived very quickly after ordering, there was nothing which particularly stood out.

The venue is small and claustrophobic, and noise from other parties travelled across the room. Many of the dishes were too spicy and covered in chilli. Portion sizes were varied, with a huge plate full of squid rings, enough for about four people, while the chicken dish was tiny in comparison.

Others might put this down as positive, but the food was exactly as described on the menu.

For me it was uninspiring and disappointing. I think a menu should give a brief outline of what’s on offer, but leave a little bit of anticipation and surprise for when the food arrives.

This unfortunately was not the case. Perhaps next time I should order some more adventurous dishes to add the anticipation and surprise I missed out on this time.

At a glance:

El Toro Loco

7 Cambridge Park, Wanstead,

London

E11 2PU

Tel: 0208 518 8111

OPENING HOURS: 6pm to 11pm Tuesday to Saturday and 4pm to 9pm on a Sunday.

Access: Only a short walk from Wanstead underground station.

Value for money: Reasonable