Food: Bloggers at Rocket, Saltwater, The Cornerhouse, Nottingham

I love Tapas, I also love cocktails. An invitation to go along and try both at Rocket at Saltwater equals happy days.

The evening, hosted by Tank PR, was an opportunity for some of the finest bloggers from the Midlands to get together for a good old natter whilst sampling, well pretty much everything on the menu from the Wednesday night Tapas selection.

That’s the thing about tapas, it’s great for an occasion such as this, it’s sociable dining where everyone dibs in and tries a bit of everything. As the photographs show, we were really spoilt for choice as we tucked in to a selection of breads with oil. A fish and seafood selection which included spicy chilli, lime and cortiander mini fish cakes and Gambas al pil – king prawns pan fried with garlic and guindilla chillies.

Dishes from the meat included cold cut meats, chicken souvlaki – tender spiced chicken skewered and chargrilled, chorizo frito al vino – chorizo pan fried in red wine with garlic, rosemary and thyme, harrisa spiced lamb kofta and beef and port Tuscan meatballs.

There’s a good choice of vegetarian dishes too. We tried Patatas al la brava – deep fried potatoes served in fiery tomato sauce, one of my currant favourites – Cypriot Halloumi cheese char-grilled, vegetable spring rolls, courgette tempura and bowl full of salads.

All the dishes are richly flavoured and most accompanied by a sauce or dip such as aioli, sweet chilli, chutney, minted yoghurt, olive tapenade and wasabi mayonnaise so there is a whole lot of fabulous taste sensations going on.

The dishes are all good portion sizes and very reasonably priced at £12 for 3 or £15 with a drink.

Despite the huge amount of tapas, as all good food bloggers should, we saved room for dessert. We sampled a beautifully sweet classic creme brûlée – sugar glazed, it had that lovely crisp top you expect from a good brûlée. You can’t beat a good chocolate brownie, and this was no exception. Warm rich chocolate brownie with walnuts, pecan nuts and sultanas. We also tucked into a selection of ice creams and sorbets, with the pistachio being my particular favourite.

What better way to wash down the food and to round off the evening than a cocktail making session. Rocket holds the fun sessions for parties and also has a deal on on Wednesdays with classic cocktails costing £5.00 each. After a lesson, and a quick tasting session with our bar man for the evening, we were let loose behind the bar to do our best Tom Cruise impressions, mixing up a trio of Martini cocktails, with the added benefit of necking the results.

The trendy bar and restaurant with its individual interior is located at the top floor of the corner house complex is well worth a visit. With a great view over the hustle of the city, there is a great outdoor terrace within which to sit and relax.

The bar and restaurant also offer a full menu throughout the week as well as pizza plus various offers including Mojito Monday, Steak Tuesday and 241 Thursday.

For more details on any of the offers or to book, visit www.rocketrestaurants.co.uk/venues/nottingham/

By Tanya Raybould