December is the month to celebrate and to indulge good food with families and friends.
Tapas Wonderland
Lusso is a sleek Mediterranean restaurant located on the popular Rouse Hill's Main 'Eat' street and it promises a diverse Mediterranean dining experience with flavours and influences from Spain, Turkey, Syria, Greece, Jordon and beyond.
Red Sangria - A must for Summer
The menu for Lusso offers an extensive selection of delicious tapas menu and it recommends that in the spirit of traditional Mediterranean dining, the meal is to be shared with the whole table. I am very happy with that philosophy, it means I get to sample more dishes.
Our tapas selection
We arrived early on a fine Saturday night and the Main Street was already buzzed with Christmas spirits and decorations.
Feel the Christmas spirit
Lusso Tapas Restaurant looked swanky in dark and their floor-to-ceiling wine cabinets just set the theme for this tapas restaurant.
Tapas, Bar and Wine
We ordered a jug of red Sangria ($36) first up. It was a particular warm evening and this icy cold Sangria was refreshingly delicious with fresh fruit pieces. I had to have a second glass.
When in doubt, have a glass of sangria in hand and life can be so good!
The Spanish meat balls tapas ($13.50) was first to arrived. My friends have eaten this tapas dish several times and they highly recommended it. The meat balls were infused with sizzling fried onions and they tasted absolutely delectable in the rich tomato sauce.
Spanish MeatBalls $13.50
The patatas bravas ($9) was another moreish starter dish. The potato chunks were deep fried to golden, it was crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. The fried potato tasted so mild while the home-made chili mayonnaise was a bit rich and overpowering. This was an average tapas for me. Nevertheless, it was a decent bar snack.
patatas bravas $9
The waitstaff highly recommended the Spanish Casserole ($16) and it was served with prawns, chorizo, onion, chilli, tomato, capsicum and paprika in a clay pot. The flavours infused together nicely with warm pita breads.
Spanish Casserole $16
We were also to get the Spanish chorizo as well, but our waitstaff kindly informed us that the Spanish Casserole would be very similar to the Spanish chorizo dish. We were thankful for his input.
My friend's favourite dish was the cauliflower florets ($11), they were deep fried to golden and served on a bed of tahina sauce. They were full of flavour and complemented the sangria well.
Deep fried Cauliflower florets $11
All the tapas arrived at the same time, this meant our table was fully occupied with various delicious small plates and there was really no room for our plates and glasses.
Our full-on feast
Aside from the tapas, our taste buds were tempted with the traditional paella rice cooked with chicken, mussels, chorizo and prawns served in the pan ($30). The description of this dish sounded wonderful delicious but we were disappointed with this seafood paella when it arrived.
Firstly the paella looked nothing like the traditional paella; The rice was not saffron-red, instead it was pale yellow and it tasted more like an Italian risotto. Secondly, for a $30 dish, I expected it to be a bit more generous than the average tapas dish. We've only got 3 mussels, 3 prawns and some chorizo slices on a full pan of rice.
Traditional Paella $30
Taste wise, the paella was decent enough, but it was nothing special and certainly not the paella we imagined. The rice was slightly soggy and over-cooked for my liking.
We chatted over the fruity sangria and slowly worked our way through the tapas. The friendly staff were happy to leave us in peace unless we needed something. It was a pleasantly lazy and relaxed dinner and we greatly enjoyed the atmosphere.
Great dinner atmosphere...
If you live in the western suburbs, Rouse Hill's Main Street offers a wide range of dining options. Lusso Tapas is family friendly and you can just come in for a quick bite, a light meal, for a quick drink, or a full-on feast, Lusso is the answer for all of them.
Come in and take a seat
