Cute vibes to get a few drinks and tapas not a dinner. The best was papas bravas and croquetas. Paella was horrible! Takes 30 minutes to be prepared so we had high hopes but it was overcooked and had bad flavor. Items came to the table that we didn't order. Have to waive down server for anything. Get a bottle of wine the sangria was a bit bitter. read more

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I took my Mum and my brother to this place as the food always sounded nice from the menu and the actual restaurant was always bustling and full of people from all walks of life - from families to groups of mates. I loved the atmosphere of this place. It really felt like you were in a busy urban, vibing restaurant, just the kind of atmosphere I love the most. I hate dead beat places with no energy. When the actual dishes arrived, you can imagine, we were pretty excited. There was an array of spicy dishes of offer, meat, fish and something for veggies too. My brother ordered a chicken dish but the chicken was a little underdone, which was disappointing. Actually, overall, the food was slightly under par. Not to say it's awful, just didn't live up to the standards / expectations from what we had felt from sitting in the restaurant. This isn't the worst place in the world but I've had much better tapas meals elsewhere in London... read more

Carmen Bar De Tapas - Spanish Near Me - London, XGL

Service is very slow. We had to ask multiple times for water and our check. Tiny tablle and all our tapas came out at the same time. We didn't know where to put all the plates. We ordered CChurros which never came read more

Valentine's heart-candy messages I wish I had received today: -Have hearing checked, sxy. -Check date before inviting strangers to afternoon lunches, luvr. -Fax me. (It's my fave.) Luckily my lunchmate didn't skip a beat, and not only happily obliged to meet me for a 100% innocent lunch (I forgot, ok?), but also chimed in with a far from romantic suggestion: "There's an amazing topless bar near the Common, let's dine there!" Or at least that's what I heard. Turns out he merely wanted tapas, not to view lusty ladies with their top-ahs off. How was YOUR Valentine's Day? Despite the early and potentially disastrous miscommunication, Carmen Bar De Tapas gracefully came through with the save. Their casual yet bustling southern Spanish atmosphere instantly calmed my nerves and took my mind of everything but shoving my face with amazing authentic tapas (rather than my foot). After enjoying beyond healthy portions of patatas bravas, gambas al ajillo, chorizo al vino, and lomo adobado, I solemnly declared that Spanish inspired foods are as delicious to say as they are to eat. Aahhh-doh-Baaa-doh. ADOBADO! Can you hear me now, Laura? read more

Freekin Awesome ! best place for Spanish tapas in London hands down. Great service, good vibes, awesome food, nice size portions! definatley a place to visit. I'm Puerto Rican so i know my Bacalao and that was some of the best Bacalao i have ever had in my life i def wanna re-make it, The potatoes are delish with a side of their homemade sour cream. Also try their Seafood paella! all in all if you visit South London be sure to try Carmen's its right off the Clapham underground station read more

Rickety wooden furniture, tobacco coloured walls and brightly coloured detailing in reds and yellows, it's got the look of the first tapas restaurant you ever went to. Even before you pick the menu up you know what you'll find, and you're not to be disappointed.. Sangria by the jug, patatas bravas and a variety of things fried. Sadly Carmens (like Meson Don Filipe in Waterloo) is trapped in a bit of a timewarp and there's none of the interest in provenance, innovation or passion you'd expect to find at Jose, Morito, the Opera Tavern or any number of other infinitely more exciting outlets new and old. It's difficult not to play it safe on the menu, but less than a week later I struggle to recollect what we ate. It was fried, and overly salty in the main, though there was enough of it to fill us up from the four plates we shared. Patatas Bravas and pimento de padon were fine, the former slightly undercooked and the latter laden with salt and flabby, like tiny wrinkled green balloons. A portion of thin sliced pork shoulder steak, a regular special on the board at Jose, was grey and over cooked disappointment. A fourth dish of spinach and chickpea was perfectly fine, though also a little salty. Relatively safe food, friendly staff and a wallet kind bill ensure that Carmen's is never empty and if you are in Clapham it's not a bad option on the night. If you're looking for great tapas however, join the 21st century. There are so many better offerings out there and simply being better than La Tasca is simply not enough, even if your market is as undiscerning as this. read more

Nearly 6 years ago I passed by Carmen and thought "that place looks nice" - a thought I've continued to have until I finally came here last weekend....for the first time. Long overdue, and clearly I'm been missing out. We came in on a freezing Friday night after hanging out with friends at a pub for most of the evening. Late night tapas seemed a fabulous idea, and we weren't let down. Everything was delicious - and we had about a dozen different dishes. The sangria was nice (though quite mild), and I was quite happy to nibble on delicious meats and cheeses and such. The artichokes were particularly excellent, but it was all really good. Lovely service as well. I hope to not wait years until our next visit! read more

I have lived in South London for six years; the majority of that time in and around Clapham and I cannot believe it took visitors to London to get me to check this place out. This was restaurant no 2 in a weekend of tapas indulgence and it turned out to be such an unexpected and delightful find. I am going to make this a regular haunt from now on! We ended up going in here on spec. It was late and we hadn't eaten and my friends picked here, simply because it was close by and still open. And what a find it turned out to be. The food was seriously good. It can hold its head up against the best tapas restaurants in London but you won't pay their prices. This is great food and fantastic value. We ordered Pimientos de Padrón, Patatas bravas, Gambas al ajillo, Boquerones fritos (fried whitebait), Chorizo al vino and my personal favourite Berenjenas gratinadas which are aubergines with a tomato, béchamel and cheese sauce - my mouth is watering now just thinking about it!! I cannot rave enough about this place and I think I am going to have to pay another visit here very soon! If you have any sense you will do the same! read more

I came with my girlfriend because we miss our country. Always that we go to a Spanish restaurant outside of our frontiers, we were a little afraid of what we are going to find. At first, we find the typical colours and furniture that the foreigners think we have in Spain. We ordered Estrella Galicia, a tapa of Calamares a la Romana (battered Squid) and patatas con alioli. The Calamares were great, like the good ones in Spain, totally remembered the taste. The bravas tapa i miss some more garlic and some red pepper poeder, but it wasn't bad anyway. I totally come back soon. read more

Every time I go here, me and my bestie get embroiled in the same debate where she wants to share the blue cheese and I say I don't like blue cheese and tell her to get it for herself, only for me to eat the lion's share. The tapas here is amazing and is as good as anything you would get in Spain. The staff are attentive and accommodating and even though it's always busy, it's never got a huge queue rolling out or the door or carnage brewing inside. You need to order, specifically, the blue cheese croquettes, the mushrooms in parsley, the grilled octopus and obviously, the chorizo in wine. They have some good deserts too, but you really need to fast before hand if you want to have that, too. read more

A really pleasant little place with good tasty food (if a little fatty, they don't need as much oiliness, but that might be my personal taste) but the tapas dishes are really quite small for how much they cost. However Friday lunchtimes they do have a promotion which makes them slightly cheaper. Open evenings and lunchtimes on Friday and weekends. read more

Generous portions of pretty standard but nice tapas, reasonably priced. We spent around £22 per head including wine and were full. The tapas itself was tasty and pretty analagous to tapas have had in most of Spain. Portions bigger though so 2 or 3 dishes per head to share seemed plenty with bread and olives as well. Particularly liked the fish dishes, anchovies and sardines etc. Atmosphere was lively but not loud, the staff all friendly and service quick and efficient. Will definately go back. read more

Date night at Carmen last weekend left quite a lot to be desired in my opinion. For the authenticity of the staff and surroundings, the food was anything but. Everything was drenched in oil and a lot of the dishes we ordered seemed to be largely made up of frozen products, or at least using low quality produce. Nothing had an amazing taste and some of the dishes are pretty pricey in my opinion for what they are (£4- £7). Service is fine but not outstanding. For 6 dishes, and 4 drinks between 2 of us we paid just over £50. Which doesn't sound outrageous. But I've had much better tapas for much less. Still on the lookout for London's best tapas. read more

It's ok, I've never been really overwhelmed by it. It's usually the amount of Rioja I drink that makes it a good time. read more

Great food, good service and a great atmosphere! I love it here everytime. As good as what I've eaten in Spain!

Great little tapas bar in a super location. Right across the road from Clapham Common tube station you will find this little bit of paradise! Really authentic food and atmosphere - also very reasonably priced. I came across it after a night out - love the fact that they're open until late! read more

Tasty enough, but fairly average in terms of price and service. Carmen was fairly empty when we arrived, probably at about 8:30, and did not fill up. The restaurant is quite small and has a few more tables than perhaps it should, but I suppose this makes it cozy. Tapas can be quite a difficult thing to pull off successfully, particularly in Britain where food sharing is not something that immediately springs to mind for most people, and Carmen seems to have made a good attempt. Unfortunately, I can hardly say I was blown away by this decidedly average restaurant. read more

Nice service and wine selection. The tapas we tried (4-5 dishes) were barely edible as I thought they were reheated and lacked flavor. I will only be back for drinks as it is conveniently close to the tube stop. read more

Nice place, nice staff, good food, but not of extreme qualitybut you need to drink their cortado (a coffee similar to espresso machiato, but far much better). They also have churros con chocolate for desayuno. Very much looking forward to it! read more

Love this place! great taps bar in Clapham, great atmosphere. You can't book and it does get busy but you can sit at the bar drinking rioja while waiting so who cares. Food is pretty good, particularly the blue cheese croquettes and the mushrooms in bechemel sauce. Loads of dishes to choose from but 5 per couple is more than enough. REALLY lovely staff. Good value for money, average dish costs about 6 quid. Is in the heart of busy clapham so is a perefect stop to line your stomach before hitting the bars read more

This authentic tapas place is wonderful. The staff are always friendly and the tapas plates themselves are really tasty. The staff are very helpful at making suggestions and going out of their way to recommend dishes that might compliment each other. Really good value for money too. They serve really late too so it's a great place for a late dinner. read more

Carmen bar de tapas has been our favourite restaurant for a few years, we always go there for special occasions. We were very disappointed by our last visit. They had clearly got a new chef who was not as good. The food tasted different, presented differently and had lost its sparkle. Before we would rant and rave about this restaurant to any one looking for a lovely place to eat, with good food and atmosphere but we will now not be recommending it, and if anything telling people the food is not great there. Calamari used to be my favourite dish, but the batter fell off, there wasn't that lovely lemon mayo sauce served with and then i was chewing the squid like bumble gum all night. the bread was different, instead of a rustic brown sliced loaf, it seemed like a synthetic par-bake roll. the meatball sauce was bland, just like an english gravy. the aubergine wedges were also bland and greasy. Served with an over sweet tomato sauce, it wasn't what we expected when we ordered it, hoping it would be lightly toasted aubergine in a creamy, spicy tomato sauce. Not bland chips with a sweet salsa. usually there are lots of garlic and chilli flavours which we love, but overall it felt bland. The best thing was the salad if we wasn't so hungry we would of left the restaurant not eating a thing, read more

I just love Carmen's, but only when I get to sit at the bar and eat my meal Spanish style. It's a very popular place and there are plenty of tables, but it can be a bit crowded. And personally I like a bit of elbowroom. The food is excellent, and reasonably priced at £4.50 to £5.00per tapa, which consists of the traditional classics, the sardines, albondegas, calamers, lentejas etc. Mmmm! The wine is unsurprisingly well chosen and splendid, Rioja for me every time...about £22 if I remember correctly for one that isn't too young. Love it! read more

I had a really nice lunch in here on Friday. As a vegetarian I sometimes find the choice limited, but was really impressed by what Carmen has to offer, I was spoilt for choice! I have lived in Spain before, and find that this is as authentic as it comes. Lovely, friendly atmosphere, I highly recommend! read more

Tapas at their best!

Good honest food! It's difficult to find good tapas restaurant in London! Most places are so commercial, this little place by Clapham common tube makes you remind of that lovely Spanish holiday that you went on! Very European, hand written bill, not he Brits way of customer service. But I must say, best tapas in south west London! read more