Last week a man took me to dinner. A real life, bearded man, with nice eyes, took me out. Let’s call him LBM – the Leicester Beardy Man. I don’t usually blog about my dating life, because quite frankly it is ridiculous. I have had the ‘moaner’ , the ‘let’s slate your job’ guy, the ‘let’s slate your music taste’ man, the ‘8in shorter than specified’ chap, the ‘grunter’ and the ‘eats with his mouth open’ champion. Lucky me! 
LBM was surprisingly easy to talk to, didn’t moan, pick his nose or criticise any part of my personality in the first 20 minutes. He even got bonus points for picking me up. This was easily the best date I have had in 2016. 

I got to choose the restaurant, so decided to try Bar Iberico in Hockley, the newly opened baby of Iberico World Tapas.

The tables are still annoyingly close together, but the atmosphere was lively and the wait staff were lovely.

We both started with a beer, as we perused the menu.

LBM started with a Manchego Cheese Selection Board, matured over a year. He said they were delicious, especially the Rosemary one. 

Next to appear, were the Padron Peppers. Cooked to perfection, they were lovely – but in my opinion could have done with more salt to bring the flavour of the peppers to life. 

Next up, were the sticky pork ribs in Oloroso sauce. These were lovely. Melt in the mouth meat, with minimal fat and delightfully sweet and sticky.

Then came the tiger prawn, avocado and chilli flatbread without the cheese (LBM didn’t mind skipping the cheese, which I thought was a lovely gesture). It could have done with being cooked for a few more minutes but generally was tasty. 

Last up was the Chorizo. This was in red wine, and although I don’t generally enjoy it, it really enhanced the flavour of the Chorizo. 

The bill arrived in a sardine tin that I found really original. LBM paid, which was amazing and almost unheard of for me. I took him for a cocktail at Hockley Arts Club afterwards as a thank you. We seemed to get on well, with a love of travel ensuring we didn’t run out of things to say. I’d definitely like to take him out next time. If he says yes of course!
Generally, although the food was ok, I enjoy the likes of Escabeche much more so wouldn’t choose to return to Bar Iberico. The staff were fantastic and always wore a smile, but the food just wasn’t to my taste. It’s a shame, as I was really looking forward to visiting.