"Considering Evuna has huge windows that face onto Deansgate, dining is surprisingly private. You can sit outside, but I'm not sure that this end of Deansgate suits eating outside. There is a constant queue of traffic which results in exhaust fumes with your food. The other diners included a group of North American businessmen and what seemed like couples enjoying a quiet Tuesday meal in town.

We were offered some delicious cheeses, cured meats and olives whist we waited for the main course, which when ready, came to the table straight from the oven. Miriam, the excellent waitress filleted the Lubina a la sal or, in English, 'Seabass in Rock Salt' (£17.50) at the table. I could see immediately that it was moist and looked very tasty, as were the grilled peppers and excellent potatoes, it was served with. The salt didn't really leech into the fish - it just kept the flavour. I've had sea bass in plenty of restaurants but I think this was the best one I've eaten. From the choice of four paellas, my partner ate the Frutos del Mar (seafood) which was delicious but the portion was absolutely massive (£16.35).

The service throughout was very friendly and welcoming. The staff seemed to care that we were having a nice time without being too fussy.
It wasn't cheap but I didn't feel ripped off and the bottle of 2006 Crianza Ermita Rioja at £23 was excellent. The restaurant also sells wine to take out and these are displayed inside. The tables are authentically rustic and Spanish (i.e. they aren't all from a warehouse) and are a decent distance apart although, that said, we did end up chatting to the table next door - a couple enjoying a trip to Manchester from the North East. They too were very happy with their food. Like them, I really enjoyed Evuna. It's a bit of a gem, and I will definitely visit again." - Christian Williams, Manchester - TRUSTED REVIEWER (15/6/11 ~ visited on a Tuesday evening)

food	price	service	smartness	overall

"It's funny that for most people, Spanish restaurants often remind you of being on holiday, with its fun vibe, upbeat music and often lively ambiance. However, they are also often sadly limited to tapas, paella, sangria, and other things which despite being typically Spanish, don't really show much variety. A real shame, since Spain is probably one of the most overlooked countries in the world, especially when it comes to great food.

Anyway, on Sunday night, we paid a visit to Evuna, looking forward to its promise of great wines, and dishes which offered something a little different to a simple tapas bar.

We arrived earlyish at around 7pm, and had the place to ourselves. We were greeted by two lovely and very cheery Spanish ladies, who asked us to take our own pick of seats, in their semi rustic, yet smash casual dining area, with gentle Spanish music playing in the background. There's no Spainish flags, bulls, matadors, or football tops on the walls here. It's Spanish, but not cheesily done. Overall, a nice, intimate, cozy, informal dining area. It's the kind of place you'd go for a relaxed romantic meal for two, although they do push their party catering too.

As you'd expect from a restaurant which is also a wine merchant, the wine list was pretty good, comprehensive, and with bags of quality on offer, to suit everybody's pocket. We opted for a Albarino, which went really well with most of the dishes that we ordered, since they were all seafood based. All of the list was Spanish, which I think is fantastic, since it's a Spanish place afterall. However, I don't know much about Spanish wine, and it was great to be clueless about most of the list, hence choosing the only one that I knew went with our food (I recognised it from a holiday in Marbella!). Later on, other diners asked if they could sample before buying, and the staff duly obliged. Good to remember for next time!

The menu is heavily seafood based, as you'd expect from a Spanish eatery. There are no starters as such, so tapas is used for this course. We opted to start with a single tapas each, and decided on the Prawns with garlic and chilli and the calamari rings. The prawns were excellent in size, taste and texture, with just the right amount of spice and came well presented, peeled, but with tails still on. The calamari was OK, but we found it a little chewy, but the accompanying garlic mayonnaise was lovely, although the tomato dip a touch insipid, and it came in a large bowl which seemed to dominate the plate. On the whole though, good quality, well presented upmarket tapas, and a nice start to the meal. I'm not sure how you'd cope if you came here just for tapas, as the crockery used is more elaborate than your typical terracotta bowls, so you'd only fit 4 on a table. As I say, its definitely not just a tapas bar.

We wanted to try something that's familiar to us, and also something new, so the main courses were Seafood Paella and the Salt Baked Seabass with mixed veg. The paella was really nice, plentiful, well cooked and went down well. Again though, the calamari was a touch chewy, but it was nice enough and we were happy. The seabass though, which is the house speciality, deserves special mention. It arrives at the table, still encased in the salt which it is baked in. This is cracked open, and the filets of fish removed at the table. I saw James Martin cook and rave about this on tellie a couple of months back, and thought that it may be too salty due to being covered in a fiver's worth of seasalt, but in fact the salt seasoned it perfectly, left it amazingly moist, and to be honest, it was probably the best tasting seabass that I've ever had. A real discovery, and fantastic to try something totally different. Brilliant stuff, and you must give it a go if you visit Evuna. The accompanying vegetables were also really well cooked, even if the fish did steal the show.

For desserts, we chose the crème Catalan and Spanish cheesecake. Both were ideal in size, and ended the meal really well. The Crème was lovely, creamy and full of zesty citrus fruit, with a crunchy burnt sugar topping. Basically a Spanish crème brulee, only fruity! The cheesecake was also well done, quite heavy, but ended off the meal well. Also, it was new to us, which is always a plus point.

Overall, a definite winner, strong across the board in all areas, a very well done place, and would suit pretty much all occasions. You could get away wearing pretty much whatever you liked, the staff are charming and friendly, cant do enough for you and are perfectly suited to making you feel welcome. Also, they do indeed take Hi-Life cards, making it an even more appealing option for the tight amongst us. So, get yourself down to Evuna, and try something different to just tapas and paella, although even if you do have these, you wont be moaning." - Chris Handley, Salford - TRUSTED REVIEWER (16/3/09 ~ visited on a Sunday evening)

food	price	service	smartness	overall