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The reign of Spain

Sally Webb

Welcome vibe: Foley Lane Tapas is roomy.
Welcome vibe: Foley Lane Tapas is roomy.Edwina Pickles

Sometimes plan A goes pear shaped. Our school holiday treat for the kids - Chinese dumplings in a small bar above a pub in Taylor Square - goes awry when the hostess takes a withering glance at our children and informs us she can't let us in. The venue has a bar licence only and no one under 18 is allowed.

My husband and I joke about it being a long time since we'd been refused entry based on age. But the kids aren't impressed; they're getting hungry and we have to find plan B, fast.

Crossing Oxford Street, we set off for a pizzeria nearby. But our attention is caught by a smart-looking corner bar with windows open to the street and tables spilling onto the footpath.

Potato croquettes.
Potato croquettes.Edwina Pickles
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A tapas bar might not be the first place you'd think of taking kids, but there are many reasons why it works. The menu is varied, portions are manageable and food generally comes to the table quickly. Child-friendly is a cultural state of mind: just ask a Spaniard.

It's a balmy night and the outdoor tables are occupied but there's plenty of room inside. We settle into a table at the back flanked by high stools and an elevated banquette, which Archie and Lulu think is brilliant. Speakers above blast out Motown tunes.

We opt for a Rioja rose´, from the succinct but Spanish-heavy list, which feels like a better match to the food than Calimocho, a dubious-sounding combination of red wine and Coke.

Our tapas arrives straight away - flavoursome montadito (little open sandwiches) topped with roasted wagyu, gherkin and radish, and smoked trout with a splodge of saffron mayo. Empanadas have glossy, slightly chewy pastry, which the kids adore, but to my taste the tomato and green olive filling needed more oomph. Ensaladilla rusa is a fancy name for a creamy, lemony potato salad with peas and flecks of confit tuna, topped by boiled egg halves, which Lulu steals while Archie gobbles the potato. The best-looking dish is the tin of Ortiz anchovies with ribbons of pickled cucumber and toast, although at $22 it's pricey.

I've travelled the globe in search of perfect croquettes and my children have clearly inherited the gene, wolfing down textbook croquetas de bacalao, crisp on the outside and filled with fluffy salt cod, as well as an earthier version with mushrooms and quinoa.

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The place is pumping by the time we order churros for dessert. The kitchen struggles to keep up and in the end we cancel the order and take our tired children home. Foley Lane is now doing a New York style brunch with tapas dishes under headings of ''healthy'', ''hungover'' or ''in-between'' and cocktails to match. We'll be back for that, with the kids, and this time it'll be plan A.

Foley Lane Tapas

Address 371-373 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst. foleylane.com.au.

Open Mon, Wed-Fri, 5pm-midnight;

Sat, 10am-2.30pm, 5pm-midnight;

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Sun, 10am-10pm; Tues, closed.

Do … Come for a drink and make a night of it.

Don't … Expect dishes to share. The tapas here are Spanish style, with individual morsels. Order as many as you want.

Dish … Croquetas de bacalao

Vibe … Barcelona comes to Darlinghurst with a Motown beat.

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Bottom line … Tapas $2.50-$22.

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