I wasn't even aware that Don Tapa existed until my partner received a $100 Don Tapa gift voucher for his birthday. Don Tapa started out as a pop up restaurant, but is now located in The Mantle, an 'activity hub' on the corner of Beach and James Streets in Fremantle. We decided to spend the voucher last weekend. When we arrived at about 8pm on a Saturday night the place was buzzing.
Don Tapa is located in The Mantle in Fremantle
Considering it is located in one half of a huge old warehouse, Don Tapa feels surprisingly cosy. There are tables on the ground floor and more tables on a mezzanine floor at the back. On Friday and Saturday nights there's a DJ creating an ambient vibe for diners. The dιcor is casual but trendy, with the ubiquitous pine pallet furniture that is so fashionable this week.
Don Tapa feels surprisingly cosy
We started our night with a drink from the Alter Ego bar. Glasses of wine start at $9 and bottles at $36, there are also beers from $9 (tap and bottled) and a huge selection of cocktails. The waiting staff were very helpful and friendly and the service was swift. My partner ordered a glass of red and the waitress told him it was on the house as there hadn't been enough left in the bottle to make a full serve.
Alter Ego has a range of beers on tap
One thing I appreciate when dining out, especially if I am driving and can't drink much alcohol, is the provision of tap water. At Don Tapa you don't have to ask for it the waiter brought us a jug and made sure it was replenished when we'd finished it.
The food is South American tapas with some Asian fusion and the waiter was happy to make recommendations from the menu. Although there aren't a huge number of vegetarian options on the menu, we managed to find enough for a good meal. We ordered quinoa edamame salad, jicama summer slaw, pepper roulette and goats cheese sake wontons. The peppers and wontons were tapas size, but the salads were very generous.
The quinoa edamame salad was my favourite dish
Although we were feeling quite full the couple on the table next to us had recommended the Bunuelos de cassava cassava donuts in spiced rum syrup and topped with lime ice cream so we shared a plate of those. The donuts were indeed delicious and just the thing to finish off the meal with a coffee.
When the bill came we had no idea how much we had spent
but it came to exactly $100!
