Evuna

I am quite glad that although it rained yesterday, and more rain is forecast for tomorrow, that today we have glorious sunshine. Our holiday itinerary for today was lunch, dinner, and ‘stuff’ in between. I had great intentions of going to a museum, but it’s SUNNY!
Walking around the Northern Quarter we happened upon this restaurant with three tables outside on the pavement, and in good line with the sun. No drinks menus on the table and I couldn’t be bothered waiting until a table inside was finished with their menu, so we just went with whatever beer they had on draft. I did feel a bit rotten shunning the range of Spanish wines I’m sure were chosen very carefully to impress the clientele, but if we’d bought a bottle I might not make it to dinner! £1.95 for a wee half of Alhambra, and it’s very nice. I may have another, weather permitting.

Okay once again it was my turn be hostlike. After a few drinks in a local bar my friend chose tapas out of the mighty list I presented to her.
I normally go to La Vina for tapas, but after hearing Evuna was just as good I thought I’d take my chances…
The inside was filled with wine bottles secured behind an ornate metal mesh, and many couples snuggled in candlelight. this place had a warm romantic atmosphere, which fits the tapas theme.
A lovely polite waiter showed us to our seats and presented the menus. scouring through it was about average to what you would pay…£4−5 a plate. They also offered a deal of three plates for £10 and a glass of wine for £3.50 with that selection …
I can easily go crazy when ordering tapas, as I’m just greedy :) between the three of us we ordered 6 items from the 3 for £10 menu and a couple of extras… I was going to order some cheese but waiter reassured us that we had ordered enough. so I trusted his judgement.
When the chicken and beef skewers arrived I was disappointed for my friends. because it was one skewer each… that’s an expensive £3.33 skewer.
The garlic mushrooms were in a greasy sauce… the tuna mini pasties were good and the wine soaked chorizo. For £7 I ordered chilli seabass and my friends had the steak. again the portions were poor for the price.
After eating everything in sight, we all felt discontent. Normally I would spend what I had and have lots left over. but although some dishes were flavoursome it did not make a dent in my stomach.
For that reason I would not come back here, and stick to what I know at La Vina or Mollys House… put it this way I had to buy an emergency cheesecake from Sainsburys on the way home. I knew I should have ordered more plates!

went to a number of tapas places and this one is my favourite for the quality of their food! The wine selection is also great!
Its the perfect place for a romantic evening or a laid back catch up with a few friends, not the sort of place to go looking for a party!
They have all the usual tapas on the go, chorizo red wine, patatas bravas, calamari etc but also some more interesting ones like oxtail which I tried out on my last visit… delicious rich sticky slow cooked meat.
When i’m craving tapas I always intend to be open minded and try somewhere new but Evuna often wins that battle!

Tapas are my favourite, and the ones here certainly do not dissapoint! I’ve eaten here twice now and will definately keep going back! Great selction of wine and tapas and the décor and atmosphere in the restaurant is warm, cosy and inviting!
The majority of the waiters are spanish too and great you iin spanish which adds a little bit more to the authenticity of this restaurant!
Really looking forward to attending a wine and tapas evening in the middle of February, which we have already prebooked :)

I’m always a fan of tapas, so was happy to give Evuna a try and see how close we could get to an authentic Spanish experience here in Manchester. We were nearly tempted from the tapas by some of the paella dishes on offer, but stuck to our guns. Our waitress advised us that 5 to 6 dishes would be a reasonable meal for two, so we went for some bread, potato and chorizo, calamari, chicken in a creamy paprika sauce, peppers stuffed with cheese and rice and some king prawns and it was all wonderful.
At first I was a little bit concerned that there wasn’t enough food but I was mistaken — it was a perfect amount, leaving us full but not stuffed. Standout items were the prawns (absolutely enormous!), the peppers (so sweet and tasty) and the chorizo… but I’m biased because I can never get enough chorizo!
To add to the authenticity, our waitress was Spanish and we even tried ordering a few items in Spanish (well, maybe Spanglish) and she took it in her stride. One thing which wasn’t authentically Spanish though was the terrible cold draft we got every time the door opened — although, to be fair, we hadn’t booked a table and they did a good job of squeezing us in at the last minute.

great atmosphere… friendly people… very tasteful cuisine… extensive wine list… memories to cherish.
we thoroughly enjoyed the food (we had patatas bravas and mushrooms in garlic for starters and paella for mains followed by spanish cheesecake).
We’ll definitely go back again!

Being a bit of a Paella expert I rather expected the usual type of rice stodge seen in many Spanish, let alone, UK restaurants.
How wrong!
The seafood paella was a masterpiece. That along with a very nice Albariño (can also be bought there as they’re importers) was a perfect mix.
Starters, or tapas of course, were ok. Chorizo in red wine was excellent, the gambas al ajillo ok, and the cold plate of cheese and ham forgettable.
The staff are all Spanish so I had great fun chatting to them and they are all hard working — so all good.
Atmosphere? Very good. As the night descended, so did the lights, and as I’m Spain, the volume and buzz increased.
Highly recommended!

I’ve passed Evuna many times so it was nice to finally have a chance to pop in. The staff are very nice and in general the restaurant has a nice cosy atmosphere. Great place for a date. The wine of the week was reasonably priced at £5.95 although it didn’t blow me away. They have an early bird tapas deal — 3 of £9.95 which is good value. Later on it is much more expensive and I think too expensive given this is Manchester and not Brindisa in London Bridge. Having said this, the patatas bravas and gambas were both very good. The litmus test of a tapas bar, however, is the tortilla and this one was just ok. Overall though it’s a pretty good restaurant and a very solid choice on Deansgate, especially if you want to avoid the chains.

Visited Evuna this week with 2 work colleagues for out small Christmas get together and I was extremely pleased! Never really had the chance to experience Tapas however I must say I’m converted! Very warm reception and welcome, loved the décor! Cute! Sangria is a little expensive considering in Spain sangria is about £10 for a jug however here is was £18 for a jug. Food was excellent! Bread and olives (delicious) I’d be happy with just that. Squid rings were crispy, garlic mushrooms — very tasty! Chicken skewers and a steak slices were full of flavour, excellent choice for long chats, excellent food and a couple of drinks. Will be returning…

Lets set the scene:
Its sun set.
The air is humid around your body.
You begin to relax and unwind to the murmuring of chit-​a-​chatter and the dull clink of glasses. And as the dark begins to creep through the window you notice a beautiful glow from the candle light.
You are aware of the beautiful atmosphere in which you are surrounded.
Oh no wait! Your in Manchester — not Spain!
This authentic tapas restaurant, in my opinion, is truly authentic. The dark wood and candle lighting really gives a romantic feel; even the broken toilet reminds me of Spain!
The food is truly delicious, plucked right out of Rafael Nadal’s Spanish home some might say! It wasn’t given to us, but if you ask they do a banquet menu for £20 per person which gives you:
To start — olives, breads, ham and cheese
Tapas — meat balls, calamaris, potatas bravas, garlic mushrooms and tortillas
Paella — the choice of: chicken & hake, chicken & chorizo or vegetable.
This is more than enough food, I was absolutely stuffed and had to take some home! For food of such good quality I cant argue with £20 per head; it was flavoursome, authentic, the paella was not too wet and not too stodgy and overall a cracking meal. The tapas can get a tad greasy but Spanish food usually is. To top it off the waitress was attentive but not so much so, just how I like it!
Do — Get the £20 per head banquet — maybe upgrade to the £25 if you’ve got your loose pants on ;)
Don’t — Leave left over paella out the fridge for days and then try to eat it.

Excellent choice of wines, especially Spanish, good food, relaxing atmosphere.

Wandering down Deansgate I caught a whiff of something delicious. When I discovered the restaurant from where the aroma was emanating was Evuna — where we were to dine later that evening — I was pretty darn happy. And the smell did not let me down.
This is a spanking good tapas restaurant and excellent value for money for what you get, especially compared to similar places I’ve been to in London (stating the bleedin’ obvious there, I realise!). All the dishes we tried were packed with flavour, and service was friendly and actually pretty speedy.
You can buy wine by the bottle to take away, as the restaurant is also a wine merchants, though I’m not convinced it’s wise to put the takeaway prices on the wine list, as it really shows you what the mark-​up is!!!

Great restaurant, lovely food and wine! Would recommend the sangria! Great staff, will go again the next time I’m down

I do not often award only two stars to a business but I am afraid my experiences of this establishment began well, started to unravel on my second visit and by the third, it fell apart at the seems. But I am a positive person so let me start with the good bits.
It does not matter if you are a wine connoisseur or just a wine lover like me, Evuna’s Spanish wine selection will educate and stimulate you simultaneously. It is a veritable wooden wine cellar and once inside you feel as though you have been transported Star Trek style to an Andalusian casa. Premium wines from family run vineyards are packed like peas in a pod on the rustic walls and on my first visit, the waitress offered me a taste of a couple varieties until I had chosen my favourite, then poured it into a glass as deep as the ocean. There is also a wine merchant service which allows you to purchase a bottle or a crate– if you are particularly thirsty.
On my second foray to the land of Evuna I tried the food. I went for the lunchtime special and took advantage of the three tapas for £9.99. Nice chicken skewers but service was slow. The food is good but not as amazing as the wines.
My third and final visit did not go so well, I strolled in, by now, feeling like a regular and I was greeted by one of the rudest waitresses I have ever met. Self confessed drama queen that I am, I would defy anyone not to get irate at someone who ignores you and then scowls and asks you «What do you want?» I did an about turn and quick marched down Deansgate to La Tasca, Evuna’s loss my gain. This is an unfortunate tale because after sampling Evuna’s wine, my local shop’s plonk now tastes like vinegar. Vinegar may be bitter but at least it aint rude.

I love Evuna and I just tried Viva el Vino, a new promo they’re doing. It’s a cool concept where you get samples of Campo Viejo wines and the Evuna guys match the food to the wines. Loved the Gran Reserva and the dessert match was sublime. GO, AND QUICKLY!

I actually think was a pretty decent Spanish restaurant, my only reservation was that is was quite pricey compared to some of the other local restaurants who offer the same quality of food and service.
If you want to get a taste for the food this place offers I would recommend you try the lunchtime offer where you can get a selection of tapas for under £10.
The décor is classy with exposed brick work and lots of bottles of wine on display. I give the staff ten out of ten on the service. Why then only three stars I hear you cry? Well I minus one star for the price and I minus a second star because this is not a restaurant you would write home about– simple as.

So the fact that I’d never heard of Evuna until last week isn’t a good thing really. It’s on Deansgate right near the landmark Hilton building so it’s hardly a hidden gem.
However once I’d heard about it, I couldn’t wait to go, a fantastic Spanish restaurant which also doubles as a wine merchants, sounds good to me.
On Sunday night we were heading to the cinema just near there so we decided to try it out.
As a spur of the moment thing we didn’t have a reservation but we needn’t have worried, I’ve never seen a restaurant so quiet. Nevertheless we were greeted warmly and escorted to a table and offered the wine list… wow. The selection was unbelievably vast. Some incredible wines, all listed with both a restaurant price and a shop price, I couldn’t believe how reasonable the shop price was! I know where I’m heading for Christmas presents this year!!!
Anyway, on to the food. The menu was considerably large for a small restaurant, there is a very extensive tapas selection as well as some main courses too. The fish dishes sounded spectacular but they were quite pricey.
I decided to go for the special tapas menu which consisted of three dishes from a set menu for 9.99. This menu only runs up until 6pm Monday to Saturday but runs up until 9pm on a Sunday, I really enjoyed it, the food was spectacular, very authentic and portion sizes just about right.
The service was very quick and the waiters were both very friendly and attentive. We actually missed our film as we didn’t want to leave without having dessert!
I can’t understand why more people aren’t raving about Evuna, although it is quite pricey most Spanish restaurants are and it’s much more authentic than any other one I’ve been to in Manchester.

Let me start by saying that the wine selection in this restaurant is incredible, especially if you’re into your Spanish wines. They have many classics as well as hard to find wines from regions such as La Mancha, Castilla Leon and of course the wonderful Rioja. We came here for an informal tapas lunch and although I found the tapas well-​presented and tasty it wasn’t exactly the traditional fare you’d find in the restaurants in Spain, they’ve taken it up a notch. I’m torn about this — although I appreciate the recreation of classic dishes if they’re done well, I’m also of the mindset that if it ain’t broke, why fix it?
The tapas menu was also missing a few of my favourites including the Pimientos de Padron and Ham croquettes but at least the Hot Chorizo and Pan Catalan (tomato bread) made up for it. Overall a nice meal, great service and setting, and not too overpriced although certainly not cheap either.

The wine is good but the food is way too poncey, all square plates and small portions. Spanish food is supposed to be gutsy and full on. I find Evuna a bit prententious and would recommend El Rincon de Rafa as a better alternative, where you can really relax.

Evuna is located in Deansgate Manchester and is a Spanish Tapas Bar, as a regular round the Deansgate area I have eaten at Evuna on many Occasions and the place is always fantastic, the food is great esp the chicken al pollo and the soft fresh Bread with the lovely spanish dips. As chessy as it sound the place and the ambonse makes you feel like you really are in Spain, Spanish music playing softly in the background and the flowing Sangria a visit here is a must!