Robert Burns Hotel
Black and sludgy doesn’t often add up to yum but when it’s squid ink paella at a fun Spanish pub the equation becomes delicious. The Robbie Burns dish is dark as a doona cave, thanks to squid ink that’s stirred into the rice with seafood stock as it’s cooked. Cubes of cuttlefish are hidden in the inky morass. Bright white grilled scallops and salty tangles of baby octopus add brightness and balance. Rich, garlicky aioli comes separately: stirring it in adds silky bite to the sturdy rice. Paella purists would gripe about the paucity of soccarat – the crunchy, sticky crust that lurks at the base of the pan – but the fact that we made such an investigative excavation is a tasty vote of confidence.