Iluma, the festive Iberian tapas bar restaurant

Iluma alma iberica, the new Iberian restaurant with Spanish and Portuguese specialties, in tapas bar mode, is opening its doors to us in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It's a bar-restaurant that comes alive on certain days, offering good times of sharing, both in drinks and on the plate.

Located at 49 Iluma in the lively Montmartre district, this new restaurant-cocktail bar with a large terrace invites you to discover Iberian cuisine, with a whiff of Spain and Portugal. Here's to sun-drenched cuisine, pitchers and tapas to share with friends and family.

On Wednesday evenings, the restaurant hosts Live music of all styles (funk, soul, jazz, gospel...). More events are planned for September. One of the spot's two partners, ex-director of the Jamel Comedy Club and organizer of the Marrakech du Rire, knows his stuff. He promises us happenings and other unexpected events to discover soon.

In the meantime, let's settle in for a meal and discover the menu devised by the restaurant's Spanish chef, ex-sous-chef of a gastronomic restaurant in Spain. Here, we're offered original brown tapas, but not too many at the moment to give us a change of scenery without getting too lost, all with a focus on quality products.

A la carte :

For our part, we start with two pretty house cocktails on the menu. Here, classics rub shoulders with signature creations that smell of Spain and Portugal. When there's more than one of you, it's a good idea to opt for the 1 or 2-liter pitchers, which cost less in the final bill.

The ham and hedgehog fritters are as crispy as they are melt-in-the-mouth, the cod, aioli and squid ink fritters are still warm and the soy-marinated salmon and tuna tataki are a real treat for the taste buds.

As for the main course, we let ourselves be tempted by the dish of the day (it should be noted that the restaurant is still testing its menu and regularly offers dishes of the day that may end up on the menu if successful). So here we have the divine prawn ceviche. Imagine the sweetness of prawns combined with the pep of passion fruit, onions and lemon, and the freshness of melon, and you're there.

Then it's on to traditional Iberian desserts like cinnamon-fried milk with passion fruit, cinnamon rice pudding or the excellent crunchy doughnuts topped with vanilla and chocolate cream and covered in melted chocolate.

So why not check out this new restaurant (opened in August), which is open every day except Sunday, from midday to 2:00 am, for lunch, an aperitif, a festive dinner with friends or just a drink.

Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, please drink responsibly.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please mention it in the comments.