I love trying out new restaurants, and this year the food scene here in Charlotte grows each month, with the addition of our first Shake-Shack, new coffee shops and farmer-to-table options and most recently Bulla. The traditional Spanish tapas gastrobar, has been voted ‘Best Brunch’ by the Miami Times, and since brunch is by far our favorite meal of the day, we decided to check it out.
The space which was home to two restaurants previously, has been completely redone in Spanish style decor which include beautiful wrought-iron panels, deep blue tiles near the bar and collections of blue and gold plates on the walls. Jars of preserved vegetables and fruit added splashes of color around the dining area, and the light fixtures throughout the restaurant (beginning with the impressive one in the entryway) were just some of the interior details that make Bulla a place you’ll want to visit again and again.
Before scanning the menu, I already knew that I wanted to enjoy the full tapas experience, since we’ve never gone to a tapas restaurant or a gastrobar either for that matter. The brunch menu was full of delicious choices, including an impressive meat and cheese section which featured a variety of Spanish meats and cow, goat and sheep cheeses.
After looking over the menu (two of the tapas options jumped out at me almost immediately) we selected four tapas dishes to try before sitting back and soaking up the atmosphere of the restaurant while we waited for our food to arrive.
The Albondigas and Melon con Bellota arrived at the table first. We’d made Albondigas before thanks to one of the food box subscriptions we tried out last year, but these were so much better.
The dish featured veal and pork meatballs and was topped with manchego (so I could fully enjoy every bite without having to worry about my issues with cow’s milk cheese.)
The Melon con Bellota is dish featuring watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, bellota ham, truffle honey and Spanish Goat Cheese. The sauce has a bit of bite, but if you want a dish full of flavor that will cool you down on a hot day, this is definitely the dish to order.
The Serrano ham Croquettes with fig jelly were one of our favorites out of all the dishes that we tried. Definitely Spanish comfort food, the croquets had the fresh out of the oven heat and the fig jelly was the perfect sweet addition to the dish.
There are two pintxos options on the small plates portion of the menu and we tried out the Chicken Skewers with Greek yogurt and salsa criolla. The chicken was cooked to perfection and the bread (which we were told was the best part of the dish) did not disappoint.
If you’re planning on trying out Bulla, these are four small plate dishes that you should definitely try out. So bring your family and friends and try out Bulla!
Bulla Gastropub | 4310 Sharon Rd W01, Charlotte, NC 28211
Looks fancy!