Viandas Spanish Deli, Park Row: Review

Park Row may seem an odd choice of location for a Spanish deli, but that’s precisely where friends Eduardo, Manuel and Barbara have opened Viandas…and I think I’m set to become a regular.

The seemingly tiny space is Tardis-like in its design, with the small shop front opening up into a cornucopia of regional Spanish delights – and even the space for an island unit which offers free tasters of olives, marinated garlic cloves and cured meats.

While everything bar the wine is sourced and imported directly from Spain, Eduardo tells me that he doesn’t believe in over-inflating the prices that Viandas customers pay. Instead, his desire is to introduce the people of Bristol to carefully sourced, top quality products that he hopes they’ll come back and buy again and again. Indeed, just six weeks after opening he’s starting to see individuals arriving on the same day every week like clockwork, eager to replenish supplies of their discoveries.

Customer service is key in the food and drink industry, and it’s something that the Viandas team has clearly mastered. While you’ll be introduced to a huge number of different Spanish products while you’re there, this won’t be done in a super-salesy way: on my recent visit, I was taken on a gastronomic tour of Spain via Eduardo’s obvious passion for the products that Viandas stock, with enthusiastic descriptions of his favourites and numerous tasters that introduced me to a variety of products that I subsequently couldn’t help buying…

Viandas is essentially divided into six different product areas. By the window, a small selection of Spanish wines, complete with tasting notes. Alongside the wines, shelf upon shelf of your traditional “deli products”: various brands of olive oil (all extra virgin, naturally), paprika, jars of pate, canned fish and more.

Here you’ll also find a small selection of pre-filled gift boxes – you can also choose your own products with which to fill these – along with numerous vacuum packed cured meats including chorizo, salsichon, pork loin and more. Eduardo explains that all of the meats are sliced and packed on the premises to ensure freshness, with each pack stamped with the date on which it was packaged.

There’s also a well-stocked cheese fridge, with Manchego and Zamorano of a variety of ages, Galician Tetilla, the crumbly blue Cabrales from Asturias and the incredible queso de Murcia al vino: a semi-soft goat’s cheese whose rind is washed in red wine as it is aged. You’ll also be able to buy the obligatory quince cheese known as Membrillo which is traditionally served with cheeses such as Manchego.

Behind the counter you’ll find larger rounds of cheese and cured meats, ready for slicing. It was from here that I also picked up a tub of Iberian Sobrassada: a spreadable cured sausage which is fantastic spread on toast or sandwiches, in pasta dishes and on pizzas.

Viandas have also started to do a few small bits and pieces to take away – including the mother of all hot chocolates, as well as their homemade “Hornazo” – a Spanish chorizo pie…
 

In the middle of the shop, an island unit containing covered vats of numerous varieties of olive, from succulent fresh anchovy-stuffed green olives to the intensely flavoured dark green smashed olives “De La Abuela”, which I chose to buy. You’ll also find the sweetest marinated garlic cloves known to man, with all of these available to taste before you decide. At the other end of the island, sliced cured meats to taste: the Viandas team are keen to ensure that you’re as well-informed as possible about the products that you’re buying.

Elsewhere in the shop (we told you it was a Tardis…), cooking equipment such as earthenware pots and paella kits, including a BBQ-style kit that comes complete with matches and everything you need to create your own al fresco Spanish feast.

Those with a sweet tooth will love the right hand wall of Viandas, which is completely taken up by Spanish sweets. You’ll find plenty of different types of turron from Turron A La Piedra: hard and soft, plain and chocolate varieties as well as a fantastic alternative that includes lemon juice and cinnamon, which is out of this world. Be sure also to try some of the traditional confectionery from Cadiz (again, you’ll find samples on the counter), which include the sausage-shaped Alfador (created with honey, nuts, spices and more), the marzipan cake known as Pan de Cadiz, pine nut pastries and a wealth of other sweet treats created with a mixture of Spanish and Arabic influences.

Prices here are incredibly reasonable (where else can you pay just over £2 for an enormous bag of top quality paprika…?), and you’ll find plenty of authentic Spanish foodstuffs that you’re unlikely to see elsewhere in Bristol. While Park Row may not be one of your regular shopping destinations as yet, take a trip to Viandas and they’re sure to change your mind…