We Try El Castillo's New Summer Menu in Bishop Auckland
This popular tapas restaurant has a brand-new menu for summer
At the heart of the Market Place in Bishop Auckland, El Castillo complements the town’s Spanish Gallery, the UK’s first gallery dedicated to the art and culture of the Spanish Golden Age. But whether you visit the gallery or not, anyone is welcome to dine here, and the restaurant is known and loved for its tempting tapas dishes with a focus on classic Spanish flavours and seasonal ingredients from across the region.
This Saturday lunchtime however, we’re trying something new. El Castillo’s new Sol y Mar menu boasts inviting larger plates of goodness, from pasta to tacos and Spanish takes on favourite brunch dishes (including a belly pork Benedict and chorizo or halloumi hash).
When we arrive, the restaurant is already buzzing with diners, many fuelling for their day trip to Kynren – The Storied Lands, the UK's first live action show park, just a stone’s throw away. My mum and I take a seat in the corner of the restaurant – the perfect spot to people watch, and get a sneak peek at dishes being plated.
I take one look at the drinks menu and set my heart on white sangria, a refreshing mix of Altozano Verdejo, smooth brandy and triple sec, finished with lemonade and fresh fruit – the perfect tipple for a summer’s day. My mum has kindly agreed to drive on this occasion so browses the mocktails and opts for a walled garden spritz, which combines a syrup of seasonal fruits from Auckland Palace’s nearby walled garden with lemonade. It’s a refreshing and fruity choice, but not too sweet.
I order ‘The Spanish Burger’, a juicy burger topped with chorizo jam, melted cheese and generous chunks of belly pork, served with nachos and salad. My mum’s stone-fired serrano ham and chorizo flatbread sandwich is packed with mozzarella, rocket and pesto. It’s a delicious but hefty portion and perhaps we’ve overdone it slightly by ordering loaded patatas bravas to share, without realising the portion sizes are a far cry from the usual tapas plates. Ours are topped with melted cheese, crispy breaded chicken and chunks of chorizo. All three of these dishes are summery and flavourful in their own right, and we look forward to trying the pasta and tacos next time.
My mum asks for a box so she can take home the other half of her flatbread, in order to make room for dessert to share. You simply can’t dine at El Castillo without trying the churros, delightfully soft and coated in cinnamon sugar with pots of both chocolate and caramel sauce for dipping. We wash ours down with a latte and a Spanish cortado.
The sun’s still shining as we leave the restaurant in the late afternoon so we decide to burn off some of those calories with a summer stroll. We cross the road to climb to the top of Auckland Tower to take in the views of Bishop Auckland, then head past Auckland Palace (looking out over the walled garden) and into the Deer Park, hearing the echoes of Kynren’s new shows in the distance as we loop back to the castle.
