An all-you-can-eat tapas restaurant has opened up on Heyside in Royton.
La Salsa is bold and colourful when compared with its surroundings; the restaurant’s exterior contrasts with the dreary February weather, bringing some Spanish warmth to this corner of Royton.
Its menu promises a ‘traditional Spanish food experience, with a wide range of flavours that will excite your tastebuds’.
The restaurant’s dining area is expansive, like its drinks menu – which still bears the name of its predecessor Istanbul Grill, which closed last week.
Drinks can be ordered at your table, or you can order directly from the bar; in fact, all dining customers are required to order at least one drink.
Diners at La Salsa are treated to a range of Hispanic music, including the Macarena, Tequila and Nat King Cole’s Cachito.
However, there are some curveballs thrown in too. One song I wasn’t expecting to hear was Village People’s ‘Y.M.C.A.’ – a sentiment shared by diners I overheard at another table.
Terms and conditions apply
Upon being presented with the menu, you are immediately confronted by a lengthy list of terms and conditions – something I don’t think I’ve experienced anywhere else I’ve eaten.
In the first of the eight rules, diners are warned that if they visit on Friday and Saturday they must leave their table before 6pm to avoid the more expensive evening charge.
A second rule says that ‘sharing your tapas with a guest or your children will not be allowed’ – a pretty bold rule for a tapas restaurant.
The restaurant has assured customers on Facebook that sharing is allowed – as long as customers pay the full price per person eating.
Just three dishes can be ordered at a time, per person, with a break period enforced between each round – which can apparently be longer on busier nights.
Other diners who arrived after me also seemed confused by the rules – they wanted to immediately order a lot of tapas to share around the table with their group.
I visited the restaurant when it was quiet, but I still had to wait about five minutes after finishing my three dishes before I was able to order another round.
Food
It didn’t take long for me to be served food at La Salsa – the testing of a new till system meant I was given calamari, bruschetta, humus y pan, and – surprisingly for a tapas restaurant – lasagne before I’d even ordered.
Service was friendly – though it was clear staff were still getting used to the new menu, as they asked me to refer to items on the menu by their number – fair enough, as it had barely been a week.
As a pescatarian, I had to send the lasagne back, but I was more than happy to chow down on the rest.
I was excited to try the calamari – it’s one of my favourite dishes, and it’s probably one of the reasons I have been unable to bring myself to go full vegetarian – so I was disappointed that it had quite a tough texture to it meaning I struggled to bite through.
The bruschetta was presented well and tasted as expected, though I would have expected the bread to be slightly crisper on the outside.
The patatas bravas were one of the few items with a more generous portion size. The menu promises the dish will come in a ‘spicy tomato sauce,’ but I thought the sauce tasted bland, reminding me more of a mild Italian pasta sauce than something from Spain.
The potatoes did not taste like they had been seasoned before they were covered in the sauce, either.
I ordered the ‘Queso Manchego’ from the charcuterie section of the menu, which offers meats, cheese, and pate.
Described as Spanish cheese served with fresh tomato and olive oil, the cheese was delicious. However, there was barely any of it, and to say the presentation was lacking would be an understatement, with the tomato on the side looking particularly sad.
I felt I had been missold when the ‘Mejillones Marinera’ arrived. Described as ‘mussels in a spicy tomato and garlic sauce,’ the menu really should have said ‘mussel,’ singular, as that was all that came out – a single mussel drenched in a sauce which tasted the exactly like that which was covering the patatas bravas.
The Tortilla Espanola, a traditional Spanish omelette with potatoes and onions tasted OK, if not particularly fresh. The slice was very skinny – far from the thick Spanish omelettes I’ve had in the past.
The ‘Fritura de Pescado’ – battered white fish, served with sea salt, lemon, and Spanish garlic mayonnaise was a highlight – though maybe that’s because it reminded me a bit of fish and chips.
Given that the restaurant has a rule allowing customers to order only three prawn dishes per night, I knew I had to try one.
The ‘Gambas Pil Pil’ – king prawns sauteed in olive oil with garlic, hot chilli, and peppers – taste mild, but not quite bland. The king prawns were smaller than I expected, and there were only two of them – effectively meaning customers are limited to six individual prawns per visit.
Drinks
Where La Salsa seems to excel is its extensive drinks menu – still marked with Istanbul Grill branding.
I ordered a Piña Colada (£7.95). The drink was well mixed, with an appropriately creamy texture and was served complete with a stirrer, a slice of orange, and a paper straw.
There was an array of alcoholic drinks on offer, including white wine, rosé, red, sparkling and champagne, and shots.
Cocktails, mocktails, and gin also feature on the drinks menu, which also advises that the restaurant offers a ‘happy hour’ between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, and again from 9.30pm to 10.30pm with an offer of two cocktails for £12 or four shots for £10, excluding Jager bombs.
The bar also features beer and cider on tap.
Final thoughts
Overall, my impression of La Salsa was that it would be more suited to rebrand as a bar which serves food, rather than as a restaurant.
Portion sizes were small even for tapas, and the food was pretty bland. Presentation wasn’t a strong point – but the restaurant’s décor was tasteful.
The list of ‘terms and conditions’ on the menu is a strange way to start any dining experience, and the three-dish limit and enforced delay periods feel miserly when portion sizes are so small.
It’s possible that had I been able to eat the meat dishes I would have had a better time, but looking at the restaurant’s Facebook page, I can see that the ‘Albondigas a la Jardemera,’ or beef meatballs, appear to come out with just one meatball at a time too. They really do not want you to share.
Staff were friendly and helpful throughout my visit, and I would like to thank them for being so kind while I dined at La Salsa.
Getting there
La Salsa is still listed as ‘Istanbul Grill Royton’ on Google Maps. Bookings can be made through the restaurant's phone number: 01706 848036.
A car park is available at the rear of the restaurant, with on-street parking prohibited by double yellow lines.
The 57, 403, 805, and 879 bus services run outside La Salsa, with the 181 a five-minute walk away, and the 182 and 837 about a 10-minute walk away.
From Oldham town centre, La Salsa is a 1.7 mile walk, or just more than half-an-hour.
Cycling or driving from the town centre will take around 10 minutes.
The 57 bus will get you there from the town centre in under 20 minutes. The nearest tram stop is Derker, with a one-mile walk following.
Development of a nearer tram stop at Cop Road is due to be completed by April 2027.
ALSO READ: Metrolink tram route from Oldham to Bury has date set.
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