This review is coming from someone who was probably Spanish in a past life and knows true, good Spanish food when she tastes/cooks it.
I got so excited at the idea of a tapas restaurant in London. I gathered up a group of friends to head out for tapas. The restaurant has an upstairs and a downstairs seating area, and we were seated in a cozy spot against the wall. Looking at the menu, my friends and I were impressed with the number of plates available. But that's where the being impressed part comes to a screeching halt.
The only good plate was the jamon iberico, but considering that it is just slices of meat on a plate, it's pretty difficult to screw up. The chipirones (squid) were alright, but had too much olive oil.
The aceitunas (olives) tasted like they came out of a can and were way too garlicy. The croquetas (both the jamon and queso) were horrid, they were just a deep-fried congealed mess. The pan con tomate was NOT even close to what pan con tomate should be like. It was trying to be bruschetta, but it didn't even come close as it was plain old white bread with a chunk or two of tomato here and there. Tortilla espanola is one of my favorite tapas and I found this particular one to be an unmitigated disaster. The tortilla was so flat, I had never seen one like this before. I've seen fluffier scrambled eggs. The flavors were also all off and it was bland to boot.
At this point in the meal, I was so discouraged that I threw in my fork and just stuck to the Rioja wine. The service was pleasant, but I would never come back. read more