Simply Tapas

I’d break this down to be three stars for the food (including service) and zero for the ambience.
I’m somewhat conflicted over this place as it used to be the Dog and Partridge pub, a stalwart drinking venue of my friends and I for quite a few years (until it became somewhere you no longer felt comfortable drinking) then it unsurprisingly closed, reopened and promptly closed again.
Now a tapas restaurant, a group of us came here for a meal mid-​week, eager to see how it had changed.
The place is large, with the main dining room and bar and a side room (where we were seated) from which you could see the kitchen.
The staff were friendly and promptly showed us the drinks menu. We all decided on white wine as there was no Rioja listed — I was very surprised, not to mention gutted, as they are one of my favourite wines. Anyway, the white wine was decent enough.
The food menu comprised most of the usual tapas choices and we opted to order three dishes each and share everything. It wasn’t long before the plates started to arrive and they were well presented, most tasted good but a few missed the mark we felt.
The décor really needs improvement, even though it’s just been refurbished — the harsh lighting from spotlights, sparse walls and pleather chairs (which wouldn’t be out of place in a curry joint) didn’t make you feel like you were in a Spanish restaurant.
As one friend stated after we left: «I don’t think they’ll still be open in a year’s time.» I hope they can lift the curse of the place and improve, Rochdale needs more decent and varied eateries.