L'al Churrasco, Ulverston

ULVERSTON seems to be fast becoming one of the foodie capitals of the north. With the number of refurbishments, revamps and new restaurants opening in the town, Cartmel had better jolly well watch out or its culinary crown will be being snatched away.

This week I paid a visit to L'al Churrasco in Market Street – one of the eating places which has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment, not to mention an extension.

Formerly a small tapas bar serving simply excellent food, L'al Churrasco has been extended sideways into what was most latterly a curry house.

Along with the original restaurant, it now houses a bar and secondary dining area – and judging by the amount of people there on Wednesday evening, it's proving a great success.

My husband and I were booked in for the 8.30pm sitting, which is a little late for our preference – but as our Spanish and Portuguese cousins think nothing of heading out for their tapas at midnight, I suppose we were eating relatively early.

I was pleased that we were allocated a table in the new bit, as I wanted to suss out the decor and the atmosphere. If you can imagine a style called "warehouse chic", then L'al Churrasco has it.

Some of the walls are made of rough plank and corrugated iron, electrical wiring is strung from the ceiling and bits of artwork are housed in wire cages (not unlike those you see rabbits sitting in all day in the marquees at rural shows).

The seating is as functional as the decor. It's all very hipster, and you could imagine this place was in Shoreditch, rather than the "quaint cobbled market town of Ulverston". And yet it all works.

Most pleasingly of all – and despite the plethora of hard surfaces – the acoustics are good and it is possible to have a perfectly sensible conversation without having to spend the evening yelling in order to be heard. A big tick from us.

So what about the food? When I last visited a couple of years ago with my best friend, we loved all the tapas we tried. It was Spanish, Portuguese and southern Mediterranean food – simple yet utterly delicious. It still is.

Considering that the chef isn't from those parts (according to one of the lovely waitresses who looked after us), he certainly knows his tapas.

We were recommended to choose seven dishes from the menu, beginning with a "small" bread and dips board for £6.50. It was fabulous – all manner of fresh breads with dips including spiced pumpkin, mint, and harissa and cream cheese.

There was more than enough food here to have kept us going all night. But more was to come. Grilled halloumi (superbly done) with pineapple and pul-biber (haven't got a clue what that is, but it sure goes well with halloumi), and a fantastic – and seasonal, what with Halloween being just around the corner – baby pumpkin with pearl barley and roasted onion, which for me, was the stand-out dish of the evening. These were £6 and £5 respectively.

Next came fresh as a daisy calamari, served in large slices rather than the traditional rings (£5.50), along with grilled prawns in chilli and garlic oil, with parsley and yet more bread (£7).

We were washing all this down with a bottle of very good indeed white Rioja and a rustic jug of tap water.

Finally, our meat dishes arrived: pork belly with pickled fennel, fennel purée and fennel salt (tip: you won't like this if you don't like fennel) at £6.50. This was Gordon's favourite dish of the evening – he loved the crackling on the pork – but a it's a meat that doesn't agree with me (plus, I'm not over-keen on fennel), it wasn't the one for me.

Last but certainly not least came a Rioja-braised beef stew with diddy manchego cheese dumplings. Packed with tender meat, this dish (£7) was yet another L'al Churrasco triumph.

This is seriously good food, cooked and served with genuine passion. You cannot fail to be impressed. The freshest ingredients treated with respect and imagination. Superb.

The menu states that every effort is made to cater for the requirements of customers with allergies and intolerances – and I feel sure that is no idle claim.

After all that wonderful food, there was no way we could contemplate stuffing in a pudding, so we knocked back the last of the Rioja and took our leave.

L'al Churrasco is a wonderfully rustic restaurant. The decor may put you in mind of a trendy warehouse – but it works. No wonder the place is so popular. It sure deserves its success.

By LOUISE ALLONBY

Ratings (out of five):

Food 5

Service 5

Atmosphere 4

Value 5

Pros:

Superb ingredients

Cocktail bar

Food with passion

Cons:

Some may not like the functional decor (we did, though, and we're traditionalists through and through)