Niña Restaurant offers seriously good Spanish cuisine in a fun degustation experience dubbed ‘Ñom Ñom’
I’ve not been to Spain yet and I’m rather upset about that. I love the culture. I love the art. I studied a little conversational Spanish, hence would likely get along well with the locals communication-wise. And as for the food… gosh how I love Spanish food!
Where most people think of dishes such as paella, patatas bravas, gazpacho or churros, there is oh-so much more to Spanish cuisine than these commonly sampled offerings. One restaurant that has done a marvellous job in presenting this cuisine to its fullest and most glorious is Niña in Adelaide.
Situated in the heart of the CBD, tucked just behind Sofitel Hotel, Niña Restaurant offers a most modern take on traditional Spanish food, blending Mediterranean flavours with creative twists. The restaurant was recommended to me by my cousin Marina, herself a pretty switched-on foodie. And I’m glad she made the recommendation.
The 52-seat venue features a rotating tapas-style menu – designed predominantly for sharing, with highlights such as charred octopus with romesco sauce, mussels with tarragon aioli, and their renowned house-made Basque cheesecake that may look burnt upon first glance but tastes just perfect.
My partner and I thought we’d be adventurous and go for the Ñom Ñom degustation of sorts – which takes a good two hours to enjoy, and so patrons make a specific booking for that length of time.
While the name of the experience, Ñom Ñom, may sound cartoonish, the cuisine itself is far from jocular – in fact it is seriously good, seriously tasty, and delivers a seriously diverse array of tastes from Spain – with just a hint of influence from Brazil and Japan for the post-modern hell of it.
The Ñom Ñom experience presents diners with a curated selection of smaller dishes (sometimes referred to as ‘pintxos’) designed to showcase the chef’s skills and creativity. And what creativity! It includes a mix of raw and cooked options, many based on seasonal ingredients at hand.
Just some of the dishes we sampled were the Hokkaido scallop in a yuzu-chilli butter topped with jamon (pictured above); the Txangurro Crab on toast topped with saffron, chili and nori; perfectly cured jamon (ham) on flatbread topped with mozzarella and a delicious hot honey; and – something that sounds rather simple but is absolutely delish – Brussels sprouts doused with a good dose of Pedro Ximenez (a good Spanish wine) and served with delectable manchego cheese.
As the two hours progress, the dishes get a little heartier – such as the chicken fermented with chilli, garlic yoghurt and peppers, and the piece de resistance – for me anyway – white-marbled flank steak served with Café de Niña butter (no, they won’t give away the recipe) and a piquant chimichurri sauce (below).
There isn’t a specific number of dishes listed for Niña‘s rotating Nom Nom menu but I’m pretty sure we sampled about nine, so for the price of $90 per head, this is excellent value.
To top the experience off, the chef loves to serve Niña‘s famous Basque cheesecake, and while I normally don’t go on about desserts, this particular one is worth its share of column inches. Once you break through its dark, somewhat bitter caramelised top, you get to a sweet, creamy, custard-like interior – instead of the usual denser texture of traditional cheesecake. A perfect ending to a perfect meal.
I may not have been to Spain yet, but I figure I’ve now sampled some of the best Spanish cuisine available in Australia.
Niña Restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday, with varying hours. Check their website for more details at ninarestaurant.com.
The Ñom Ñom degustation menu is for groups of six or more, but call and ask nicely if you have a smaller party and they might be leniant if you throw in a sincere ‘por favor’.
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