Maybe it was the sunlight dappling the orange grove-esque canopy of leaves just beyond Tres Corazones’ terrace; maybe it was the chilled, premium San Miguel cervezas being glugged in the warmth of the day – either way, it seems to me that there is a little piece of Spain in the unlikely location of a village in Bucks.
Neighbouring Great Missenden is famed slightly for Roald Dahl’s residence and the consequent museum there. Wendover, however, is hardly known and one can pass through its high street of independents and antiques shops within ten minutes. A (Spanish) founder with talent and eye for opportunity set up Tres Corazones there and filled it with Spanish staff, authentic décor and gave it a tapas and paella menu to compare with any small eatery in Seville or Girona. Sure, the interior is slightly shabby and underwhelming – but it feels right. You can almost never judge a Mediterranean eatery by its décor.
Only dashing in for a small lunch, I cannot comment on the tapas – save that, eyeing up nearby tables adorned with plates such as morcilla, fried cod and other delights, there is every reason to think that the tapas might be in the same league as the heady, rich paella with which I was presented. Electing the paella marinera, I was delighted with the super-size prawns, saffron-coloured mussels and absence of chewy squid. As with any good paella, an almost creamy base of short-grain rice, plus fish stock and soffrito, provides the bed for untold ingredients – to include parsley, garlic, peas, the seafood, of course, and tomatoes.
With the restaurant’s terrace doors flung open to let the summer in, a bottle of imported beer in hand and a crew of waitresses chattering nearby in their Basque tongue, I was briefly transported away from all tribulations. The subsequent trip to Aylesbury garden centre (the originating purpose of the trip) brought me crashing back to reality.
4 Pound Street
Wendover
Buckinghamshire
HP22 6EJ
by C Ley
