Wedding at Casa Latina Restaurant

How a wedding starts? With an invitation like the one above (click for clarifications) for the guests, and for the main protagonists, the bride and the bridegroom, in various ways and places ... in the park, on the sofa, in the street etc. :)))))


Just like I, Costin, and The Addicted One were invited to the wedding and we could not turn it down - even though the weddings and baptisms are not the kind of parties we like the most. "It's not my cup of tea" as the English would say in a similar situation.

We could not turn the invite down, especially that the event was to take place at Casa Latina Restaurant, which for us had the significance of excellence within the restaurants in Bucharest, so we were offered an additional opportunity to check if they have maintained the high service standards.


The event was held in a ballroom (The Spanish Hall) located in Panduri street, near the restaurant itself. The company has another similar ballroom in Progresului street and, because their efforts are rewarded with more and more requests, they are making a third ballroom close to the same location near the Military Academy where we were. Where we were and did not regret at all, really! :P


We landed at the Spanish Hall at 7.00-ish pm and were welcomed with a glass of champagne, some special champagne biscuits and a natural flower was pinned in our coats.


There was something that captured me iremediably: the (milk) chocolate fountain - as I am a big, well known fan of milk chocolate...


I poured plenty of chocolate on my fresh fruit platter - I must admit that I could hardly feel the taste of some fruits through the chocolate taste, but you have to believe me that this did not bother me at all, on the contrary, I felt refreshed like a kid in a kindergarten where Santa stepped in with his full bag ... mmmmmm ... yupiiiii!!!!!!! :PPPPPPP


People were chatting over a glass of whiskey or vodka or gin or campari or Coke or Fanta or ... or an espresso - or all together! :P


Some others were enjoying the fruits, soaked or not in a lottttttttt of milk chocolate... Chocolate.... fruits.... chocolate.... fruits... OMG !!! :D


Nobody was dancing yet, everybody was waiting for the first dance of the bride and bridegroom. "When I was young” the bridal waltz used to happen towards the end of the party, but now it is the other way around, which is not bad at all. :P


I gave myself to the whiskey and The Addicted One enjoyed a campari. Which made us even happier than usual, even though some believed this was impossible! :))))))))))


The bride and bridegroom were glowing of happiness. And I read in their eyes and smile that they could not wait for the party to end in order to take off (literally) to Tenerife for their honeymoon. I wonder why!... ;)


A white gloved waiter served us the starters. Or how the Spaniards would call them (since we were at the Spanish Hall) - tapas.


Let me tell you what these starters were - a lily (made of dough) with eggplant, a sandwich with saumon fume (smoked salmon) prosciuto (bacon) on an arugula bed (a variety of green dandelion), fresh vegetables (cucumber, green pepper, tomatoe) on a skewer, chicken roulade, mini-schnitzel made of chicken breast, baked pepper tart, Cuban-style, green pepper stuffed with cheese paste and a cheddar cheese roll.


I liked them all, but the smoked salmon was my favorite. I usually do not take bread, but now I was tempted by a delicious bun made of brown wheat, with many seeds.


The bride and bridegroom, Laura and Ionut, opened the real party with a special dance that I think they have rehearsed a long time before the wedding in order to perform it flawlessly. After the whiskey I had, it seemed to me that it came out just the way they wanted it! :)))))))


The wedding guests were just waiting for this sign - so they immediately started to dance with passion, only the baked salmon could send them off to their seats again.


That's because it smelled and looked way too appetizing.




The mix of vegetables added value to the piece of pinkish fish. Someone who thinks the best vegetable is the pork is telling you this ...


The salmon was fully soaked in lemon juice, in the plate, and wine, down the throat. We could choose between a semi-dry white wine and a similar red one. As usually, I had merlot, even though I will again be criticized that the white wine goes to the fish, not the red one ... Who cares about critics while chewing a backed fish??:P


The bubble generating device did its job all night long. Same with the timid DJ who avoided the photographers. Maybe he was internationally wanted by Interpol... :)))


Somewhere upstairs, on one side of the hall there were the ladies toilets and changing rooms, just in case they were going to come in a tracksuit and sneakers and then put on the Vuitton’s and Swarovski’s. How mean I am after a whiskey and a merlot! :)))))))


It was not long until the dance of the stuffed cabbage rolls started. Danced by the waiters who were bringing them to the tables.


Do you know how they smelled exactly? Like Christmas! :D


After I left half of the salmon in the plate (the piece was big and nourishing), I could hardly swallow one roll out of the portion of 5 (with cream, one chili pepper and hot polenta). And a piece of bacon. I was full! Too much food at these weddings – most of the plates were taken back by the waiters, as revelers had no more room in their stomachs. Many were clever and inspired and asked for this food to be put in special take away boxes to be served the next day at home. Restaurant staff fulfilled their desire with no unnecessary discussions. They knew their job!


However, the guests could not have enough of dance and fun!


There was a lot of Latin music (Lambada, Macarena, Mambo, salsa, menuaito, etc.), people also danced on Brasoveanca dance, rock'n'roll, disco and traditional Romanian music. The last trends were there too - the Penguin and the Train Dances! :))))))))






After all that dancing, apparently another ton of food was needed... :)))))))))))))))))


So that the plate with three kinds of steak came – pork fillet, chicken skewers and beef (with butter on top to make it more tender), with roasted potatoes with rosemary on the side and coleslaw (with a nice dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar).

Again, the portions were left almost untouched in the plates.




At some stage two professional Latin dancers came and danced for our eyes’ delight.


They also invited the bride and the bridegroom to dance. It was superb.




In a refined decor, served by professional staff, people enjoyed themselves full time and will remember what happened that night for a long time.


The wine flowed abundantly. Actually, it was served in carafes. :P


The very delicious cake (for me, but for others just the same, as I noticed) was devoured instantly. Maybe because one could feel the crème caramel underneath the whipped cream? Yammiiii!




After this grand final, we left the event at 4.00 am thinking that we spent a memorable night. And if somehow I have forgotten something from the wedding menu, click on the picture below and see what is missing.


Laura and Ionut, wishing you lots of happiness! :)




PS - I am wondering what are they doing in Tenerife now ? ;) :)))))))))))))))