I tried the Sunderland deli that's taking people's tastebuds on a trot around the globe

It may be a deli by day, but by night this Seaburn Dene shop is whisking people’s tastebuds on a trot around the globe.

I’ve visited Carmichaels many times for its day job of serving farmhouse cheeses, cured meats and a whole host of artisanal and homegrown produces from its counter in Dovedale Road.

This month I was invited down after hours, however, for one of its pop-up restaurant nights.

There’s lots of competition in Sunderland these days when it comes to eating out, but Carmichael’s is plating up something a little different with its themed nights that focus on a different country or seasonal event.

So far they’ve taken people to the shores of Greece, the rich aromas of Mexican food, the comfort of classic Italian dishes and more.

For our turn, we were treated to a fiesta of Spanish flavours.

I wasn’t sure how the deli, which is always packed wall to wall with produce, would work as a pop-up restaurant, but once the shop shuts, it’s all hands on deck to take out the central displays and replace with tables.

With the Spanish flag pinned to the fridge, upbeat jazzy guitar music playing amongst the chatter of diners and walls lined with deli products, it made for a really cosy restaurant setting, like one of those neighbourhood tapas bars you do indeed often stumble across when holidaying in España.

It was a busy night in Sunderland on our visit thanks to a fiery combination of Bonfire Night and European football, but there was still plenty of people tucking in over the course of the evening’s two sittings of 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

Owner Donna said they usually get fully booked up soon after releasing the themed nights and we got chatting to locals who come to every single one - always a good sign.

There’s a community feel here that really lends itself well to Spanish food, designed to be shared and socialised over.

The rich smokiness of paprika already filled the air as we took our seats, which boded well for our palates, hungry for authentic Spanish food, which you actually don’t find too often in Sunderland.

Donna is a trained chef and these restaurant nights give her a chance to stretch her culinary muscles in the kitchen.

The result is a menu which is really lovingly put together. They’d used ChatGPT for the posters promoting the night, but the real life food looked much better than what AI churned out.

To start, we had Spanish antipasti kebabs, skewers threaded with Spanish cured meats, manchego, olives and pickles, which as you’d expect from any deli worth its salt was of a great quality, with a ridiculously moreish gazpacho-style dipping sauce (I could have eaten it by the ladle-full).

My friend has a gluten intolerance, which I made the team aware of when booking, and they were great at providing her with gluten-free bread.

On to a real Spanish classic next: the ubiquitous tortilla. It was served here as two huge doorstopper slabs of egg and potato omelette, again with that lovely headiness of a paprika puree.

Next up: heavier skewers of a really chunky, unctuous chorizo and meaty prawns, complemented really well with a sweet caramelised red onion base.

More comfort food came in the form of patatas bravas with a kick of spice and drizzled with aioli. As you’d expect from a good Spanish menu, it didn’t shy away from the garlic.

With the nip of November in the air, a rich butterbean stew was also a welcome sight, served with fat as butter butterbeans and a spicy sauce that had me reminiscing about holidays in Spain.

To finish, a Spanish nougat which had gone gooey in submission, but still tasted satisfyingly sweet with a crunch of almonds breaking up the stickiness.

The cost for the nights is £29.95 per head for the food, which is really good value for the amount of courses and quality of the homemade dishes.

Our only quibble is that we’d have liked some Spanish wines on the drinks menu, in keeping with the food, but you certainly can’t argue at its price with a range of wines like Malbec and Pinot Grigio priced at £4.95 for a large glass.

Next up for the pop up nights is a Christmas theme. The first night, December 3 is already fully booked, but they’ve added a second night on December 10 to meet demand.

You can book in store or on their socials for these inventive neighbourhood nights that whisk you off to warmer climes with its homemade comfort food.