Tasca, a year-long Iberian-inspired residency from sommelier Sinead Murdoch and chef Josh Dallaway, has opened at new wine bar Cav in Bethnal Green.
The couple, who met working together at Sarap Bistro, see the venture as a “love letter” to their travels in Spain, Portugal and the South of France, where they explored the dining culture of modest family-run restaurants – ‘tascas’ – serving regional produce and wines.
The menu starts with pintxos such as Josh’s take on Porto’s version of a hotdog, the ‘cachorrinho’, with scarlet prawns, Ossau Iratty cheese and piri-piri oil. Cornish shellfish is served in a sharp escabeche marinated in vinegar, oil and spices, while Dorset clams come in a Bilbaína-style sauce of burnt garlic, dried chillies and Tasca’s own cider vinegar.
The choice of just two desserts includes an interpretation of Barcelona’s ‘Bikini’ sandwich combining Tomme de chevre cheese and Iberico ham in a thin brioche cooked until crisp, then smothered in smoked maple syrup and a salted goat’s-milk ice cream.
Sinead’s wine list has a strong focus on wine makers using sustainable farming practices, producing natural and low intervention wines, with 80% of the wines founded or made by women.
Cav is founded by Chris Tanner, co-founder of Dram London, and Edwin Frost, co-founder of Islington’s Half Cut, who also helped launch Shoreditch’s Oranj.
