The food deserves. 5 stars... The portions 1 star. We were 4 people and most bite size tapas had 3 pieces each? How are we meant to share 3 scallops 4-ways? We actually cheered when they brought us some plates with 4 pieces, such as the chorizo. Excellent food with beautiful flavours. Shame about the portions. The staggering of the tapas (they came out one by one) was good for stalling our appetite, but those earlier ones sure disappeared fast! Except for the bread. At £1 per half slice... It's a bit ridiculous. I'm sure they could have spared a 4th half slice at least. (again the 3-piece portions! Puzzling!) I think i would go back. Dessert was delicious, and saved us from walking away hungry despite a meal for 4 (without the drinks) setting us back £140. Not a restaurant to walk into feeling ravenous. Save that for Relais de Venise or Gaucho... read more

What a delightful find this was! My friend and I discovered this place on the first night of a long London weekend and had such a great time I want to recommend it to everyone I know. The charcutuerie in particular was delicious, and the waitstaff was lovely. This is definitely on my list for future London visits!! read more

Actually 3.5 stars. I visited Salt Yard for a late lunch recently. Of the 3 dishes I had, the squid and chorizo dish was great, the slow-cooked octopus and potato dish was lacking in flavor, and the quail and ham dish did not seem to be well thought out in terms of flavors (I think using figs vs. grapes may have been preferable in terms of balancing out the ham). I will say that I had a nice glass of sparkling rose (or prosessco rosato), but I don't think that made up for the plates I found middling. I could say that perhaps I ordered the wrong thing, but, on a menu that is limited, should there really be a wrong thing? As far as ambience, Salt Yard is quite cosy, which was great at 2 in the afternoon, but could be a bit claustrophobic when it's busy. Earlier this year, I stood in line at Barrafina for an hour before being seated around a counter in a much smaller environment, and I enjoyed that experience to Salt Yard. read more

How easy is it to write reviews of places where the food is this good?! The problem is, how to remember all the amazing dishes you've had. My first visit to this fantastic Tapas, Charcuterie and wine bar was for a sit-down tapas meal at lunchtime with some colleagues. We selected a decent array of dishes but we had to order more Pork Belly (Confit of 'Gloucester Old Spot' Pork Belly with rosemary scented cannelini beans) because we ended up fighting over it. It was incredible. As were all the other dishes of course but this was a definite favourite. I ended up coming back the next week just to try some more! Subsequent visits have not disappointed either. The fish selections are first-rate with the Smoked Monkfish (Smoked Monkfish with Gooseberry Puree and Pancetta) and the scallops (Sauteed Scallops with Romanesque Puree & PX Caramel) really standing out. This is also one of those tapas restaurants where vegetarians can also expect to leave satisfied with the non-meat options. Items such as the Stuffed Cougette flowers and the sautéed Girolles sure to excite even the most carnivorous members of your group. Finally, the upstairs area also serves as a very pleasant wine bar with it's own bar snacks menu. Surely any place that boasts quails' eggs and acorn-fed Iberico ham as 'bar snacks' has got to be worth a visit. read more

From the outside Salt Yard looks fairly nice - nice décor, fairly intimate and dark, and modern. The service was pretty good with our Aussie waiter fairly attentive and friendly when we needed him but otherwise was welcomingly absent for the rest of the night (it was a pleasure not to feel too much pressure to leave once we'd finished eating.) Unfortunately the food was a bit of a let down and very pricey. The menu is apparently constantly changing. Everything was presented beautifully except for the strangely barren Chorizo. Ironically the most simply presented (the Courgette Flowers, Squid and Chorizo) were definitely the tastiest dishes whilst the dishes with the more complicated presentation (the Beef and Salmon) were disappointingly tasteless. Portion-wise I guess with tapas you can expect to eat quite a few dishes to get your fill and I was just glad that we'd had a gigantic lunch so I was feeling adequately satisfied sharing the above with Sandra. Salt Yard for me was just okay. read more

Fun tapas bar. Had a great time with my friends. I definitely recommend a reservation if you want to go. Loved the food! Everything I tried was delicious. Loved the wine selection! My only complaint is that they do not give you enough bread. The bread portions are extremely small. Else I would have given it 5 stars. read more

A pleasant well-cooked suprise! Tapas in London - and no chips. Smiling service, if not just a tad exhausted, and to-die-for ravioli, pork belly and lightly accented Italian staff. A British couple sat next to us whose combined ass span was 6 feet, so we guarded our glasses when they laughed, but otherwise i'd return for more prosciutto - but pick your seats well and avoid the dungeon table next to the loo and big-assed couples. Mainehigh: 4 read more

Truffle honey + cheese = they will have to kick me out. Lots of interesting choices & great wine list. Would get 5 stars if they'd add more healthy options. read more

Came here with my cousin when he visited London in 2010. Small dining area in the basement where everyone is almost sat next to each other and lighting dimmed that makes it hard to see the food you're eating. However, they managed to turn an otherwise uncomfortable situation into something classy by making the furniture swankier and the decorations cooler. Overall, a type of ambience suitable for its upper-class tapas prices. The tapas were tiny, but delicious. Loved, loved the cured meat (salami?) dish. Same goes for the desserts, we ordered something chocolatey (was it churros?) - really sinful and decadent. (if i can remember this even 3 years later, this means it's awesome) Overall the bill was a bit eye-popping (for the poor student in me), but it was a great experience. If I ever get rich enough to start spending lavishly on food, this will definitely be a regular hangout for me. read more

loved it. Service was very good, and there was plenty of food. Wouldn't get the mac & cheese again, but otherwise, it was wonderful. a good sleek experience. read more

Firstly Superb food! Took a good client here for a meal. Bit last minute so had to sit upstairs. However this wasn't a problem. Service really good. We asked the waiter to select our food and he did not let us down. Courgette flowers so many people say about.... Now I know why.... Good food, good atmosphere and priced reasonably for the quality you get. read more

We arrived after the theater. .they were getting ready to close but we got a order in ...staff very friendly and food amazing!

Superb service, not over baring, and very helpful, the wine recommendations were terrific and not overly priced. The food is fantastic. Amazing scallops, cheese and meats. A great setting for long boozy lunches or dinner with a gang of friends. read more

A disappointing experience but fabulous food. But how can that happen? My wife and I booked a table through saltyard.co.uk online for 7.00 pm last Saturday evening. We specifically let it be known that we would dine on tapas and requested a RESTAURANT table in a separate e-mail. When we arrived promptly at 7.00 pm we were told that the restaurant in the basement was fully booked - it had been allocated to 6.00 pm reservations. The basement restaurant actually looked very nice and would have been most acceptable. However, we had to make do with the ground floor bar, which I would describe as an uncomfortable, cramped but up-market snack bar, where diners may sit on bar stools or small tables to dine on gourmet bar snacks, charcuterie and fine wines. We were there for the much trumpeted RESTAURANT tapas and fine wine, not the snacks. We were very disppointed that we had not neen advised in advance that a table in the restaurant would be unavailable. One of the staff had telephoned me earlier at 3pm to request confirmation that we would arrive at 7pm, so there was no excuse for the absence of honest, couteous communication. Perhaps management correctly guess that people in my situation would normally cancel the reservation and dine elsewhere. I've been running my own business for many years so I'm naturally cynical. The small cramped tables along the wall facing the bar were awful. They are small, but worse still - there is not much space between them, so at a busy time like Saturday evening there is no privacy. We could hear our neighbours conversations on both sides. We ordered fantastic chargrilled bread with dips and just 6 tapas dishes to share. The tapas were delicious and from a quality (but not quantity) angle fully deserve the five star rating given by TimeOut. If it is possible to have a least favourite dish at the Salt Yard, it would be the potato and ham croquetas for me. The tapas portions were much smaller than I'm used to seeing, especiially the courgettes and chargrilled chorizo dishes. We also had the Classic Tortilla (which was the most substantial dish), the delicious spring chicken and a lovely Terise salad. At £22 the bottle, the Spanish red wine was superb. The staff were professional and helpful - they deserved the 12.5% service charge which is automatically added to the bill. Given the uncomfortable cramped conditions and that we were paying restaurant prices for sitting in a glorified snack bar, the food does not provide value for money. After ordering the food and wine my wife headed downstairs to the Ladies. Annoyingly she slipped on a wet floor on the way in and fell on her knee. Fortunately there was no damage, she was sober and she is lightweight and agile. If she had been tipsy, overweight and unfit, the accident could have been very nasty indeed. More attention to customer safety is required. We each had a quick espresso coffee, paid the bill (seventy something pounds) and left at 8.15 pm. We were actually allowed to stay until 9.00 pm and under normal circumstances I would have ordered perhaps two more tapas dishes, possibly cheese and/or puddings too. However I was frankly glad to get out of the place and will never go back. If it wasn't for the superb quality of the food and wine I would be giving this restaurant/snack bar the lowest rating of just 1 star. Zero marks for the management. read more

Mrs Cheesemonger and I Ioved this place so much on our last trip to London that we ate here twice.

Phenomenal tapas. I highly recommend the croquetas, pork belly, duck arancini, beef tartare, courgette, baby squid, and the tortilla. Amazing quality ingredients and lovely display. Still liked the octopus but there was too little of it; more potato than anything else. We got the red wine and that went perfectly with our selections. The restaurant is small and intimate... service was great. We finished the night by trying the ricotta dumplings, chocolate fondant and homemade cantucci. My favourite was surprisingly the first one, they were like fried sweet donuts! read more

I finally found my 1991 Chateau Breoun Cab-Sav here last night. Ahhh, the sovereign wine of my late youth, warmed my senses with memories and warm feelings of my Mum and family. My palette was equally pleased with the aromas flavors. What an inspirational little wine and food pub. Loved the liberal wine selection and the read more

A fantastic spot for my office's informal Second Christmas Lunch, Salt Yard treated my colleagues and me to rich, gorgeous tapas, friendly service, and a lovely atmosphere. The food was really, really terrific. Just wonderful. Rich, flavourful, diverse, exotic, and truly delicious. To be honest, we were glad that we didn't follow the "2-3 plates per person, plus patatas fritas, bread and ailoi, tortillas, olives and other nibbles for the table" recommendation for sharing, because we would have had absolutely no hope for rolling ourselves back to the office and getting our last bits of work done. We each ordered one or two plates--the Monte Enebro cheese-stuffed courgette flowers drizzled with honey and the chorizo were the absolute stars of the meal--plus tortillas, etc, and sent them round for sharing. There is an excellent mix of items on the menu, from the lovely-and-accessible grilled tiger prawns or lemon rosemary roasted chicken breast, all the way to the thrillingly-exotic stuffed baby squid with fennel or baby violet artichokes with pine nut puree. Everything I had was truly excellent, and I would auction off my first born for another serving of the stuffed courgette flowers. The server was friendly, patient, knowledgeable, and happy to help with suggestions and wine parings. For a decently large party peppered with picky eaters and tapas novices she was an absolute star in helping us get precisely what we wanted, and each of us walked away happy, relaxed, and full to the point of bursting. The only very small gripe any of us had with the meal was the space afforded to our party. There were, I believe, 9 of us, and we were seated at a corner booth that should have comfortably seated 6 or so. We were able to cram in just fine and it turned out to be far less of an imposition than it had initially appeared, but if we'd been allotted just a slightly bigger table the experience would have bordered on 5-star. read more

Before I start, I should probably say I wasn't in a Salt Yard kind of mood. At all. I've been once before about 4 years ago so had thought it was time for a return visit. But after a ridiculously annoying day dealing with a boiler that suddenly went kaput - and then an insane rigmarole with British Gas trying to fix a time for them to quote (yes, quote, not even fit!) for a new one...so I have to waste next Tuesday waiting in between 7am and 9pm... I craved comfort. Big, cosy, bowls of risotto-y, sausage-and-mash-y type of comfort. Not fiddly little plates of dainty stuff. But off I set for Salt Yard nonetheless, as I hate messing friends around by changing arrangments. It was chucking it down with rain. After about 3 minutes it became clear the boots I thought were waterproof were in fact totally broken across the sole. Arrived at Salt Yard at 7.15, wet feet and all - and luckily there was a table. We shared some safron and seafood arancini, courgette flowers with goats cheese and honey, and scallops. My friend also had some chorizo with peppers which I couldn't try as I am allergic to chilli. The arancini tasted solely of saffron, I couldn't detect any of the seafood which was apparently inside, but they were very small, so I might have missed it. The scallop was fine, but not very hot, and the cauliflower puree didn't really add anything. I liked the courgette flower. We seemed to have finished eating by 8.30 and I didn't like any of the desserts on offer - so merely to prolong the evening, I ordered some mint tea I didn't really want (the waitress said the decaff coffee was not very fresh) and a cantucci I didn't like (wierd aniseed taste). The bill came to £20 each which seemed a lot for what wasn't really a lot of food, and I'm not exactly full. So I am not really sure who Salt Yard is for. The food was good, with lots of interesting choices, but don't go when you're hungry. Or when you've just been landed with a £2,000 bill for a new gas boiler. read more

Excellent tapas in London's west end. Great food and good drinks. Highlights: truffle mac'n'cheese, chorizo and churros with chocolate. These are a must order, but all of their dishes are delicious! Went with a vegetarian friend and he found the vegetarian dishes (including the truffle mac'n'cheese) to be fabulous. Highly recommend! read more

The pork belly with white beans was a great dish and so was the zucchini flower. Everything else was okay. I'm probably being a little tough - my standards were set high given I just got back from Barcelona. My biggest gripe was that they charged 30 quid for each pitcher of sangria - that was high way robbery. read more

Three things: 1. Chewest lamb money can buy 2. Over salted food 3. Waitress who tries to explain to foreign looking people what tapas are. read more

For really good affordable tapas you really can't go past Salt Yard (Goodge St Tube). It is an award-winning bar and restaurant serving modern tapas inspired by the flavours and produce of Spain and Italy. The tapas are complemented by charcuterie and cheese boards. But if you find yourself more central, head to it's lovely sister restaurant- Dehesa- in Ganton Street, Soho. Dehesa is the unique woodland area in Spain which is home to the black-footed Iberico pigs- said to produce the best ham in the world. read more

Lovely tapas with a great selection of wines which comes recommended - found it quite pricey so dont visit regularly however well worth a visit!! Has outdoor seating so you can watch the world go by. Gets very busy so suggest booking rather than just turning up. You can sit at the bar as well! Croquettes were my favourite! read more

Beautiful tapas! Like how tapas should be, savour every mouthful for the unique and intriguing flavours that shine through. Yes it's a little more pricey than your standard traditional Spanish tapas but the ingredients are top class and you can see and taste the care given into each little dish. Strangely a bit quiet when I went and as such this along with the decor made the experience less casual and more formal than how tapas traditionally is, but that's a minor point and probably reflects the quality of the food, and protagonists more about me preferring to bum it out. read more

Each time I go I love the food, no nonsense service and good value.

It was one rainy evening we were tired and hungry and we saw this cozy and lovely looking restaurant, we did not think twice before we stepped in. The man sitting on the next table was eating some incredible looking tiger prawn tapas and he laugh when he noticed our hungry looking eyes staring his plate. After that we could not but order the same dish, accompanied with a cheese plate and two big classes of red wine to warm us up. The cheese was divine but just served with a tiny piece of bread. We had to ask some more, which they charged separately, of course. Also the dishes were really tiny, even for tapas, and still priced like a main dishes. This just left us feeling like it wasn't completely money worth and that we could have had a proper meals with the same price. read more

I decided to go with the Ricotta Dumplings with Lemon Curd and Homemade Raspberry Jam. While they looked impressive and were about the size of a small arancini, the flavor was a little disappointing. The ricotta center was not attached to the crust so that it easily fell off from the center. The outside crust was very much like a sugared donut in flavor and texture. I would have liked to have had a more lemony flavor coming from the lemon curd which was almost lost in the mild ricotta. The homemade raspberry jam was completely necessary to give the dish any flavor, but was much more of a sauce rather than a jam in consistency. I didn't try anything else, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this specific dessert. If you're going to go, I'd suggest picking one of the other dessert options or a cheese plate! read more

Saltyard is a Goodge Street haven for people with decent palates. I still dream about the courgette flowers stuffed with goats cheese and drizzled with truffle honey (around £4 per portion). Don't worry, there is a huge choice for meat-lovers as well, and an extensive cheese board to top up your cholesterol count. Needless to say, I can't afford to eat here very often, one gets carried away with the sheer choice on offer, and it's easy to go over budget with the decadence of it all. I've been here twice, and both times I've left with an incredibly full tummy. Each dish costs around £3-8. read more

I had lunch here today. We let the waitress choose all our dishes. Loved it. 5 stars and I wasn't even drinking.

This whole area has so many restaurants and after walking around checking out all the menus, we decided on this place. There are four small tables outside and then lots of seating inside on two floors. A simple menus with some very nice choices. We ordered the lamb, baby squid, and courgette flowers. The honey really complimented that dish. There were a few other dishes and then for dessert we had the churros with chocolate sauce and biscotti with a glass of dessert wine for dipping. Both were nice. I don't think the menu online has all the dishes they serve. What made the dinner memorable was Helena Bonham-Carter sat next to us for about a minute with her friend. They looked at the menu, laughed historically and then left. What was that about I will never know. read more

Check out my blog for photos and more: http://hungryinlondon.com/2011/06/salt-yard-fitzrovia/ I tremendously enjoyed some of the dishes I had at the Opera Tavern earlier this month and was therefore keen to try its two older siblings Salt Yard and Dehesa. All three restaurants serve a range of charcuterie and tapas-style dishes with strong Spanish and some Italian influence. While dishes like the pork and foie gras burger at the Opera Tavern were amongst the best things I have eaten in the past few months and showed signs of true genius, Salt Yard was a disappointment in comparison. All the non-cooked dishes such as Serano ham and cheese were highly enjoyable, but Salt Yard was let down by the dishes that required preparing. Padron Pepper (4.25) We nibbled some Padron Pepper (4.25) while choosing the wine and these were good and nicely seasoned, if a bit too oily for my liking. Also from the 'Bar Snack' menu was the Confit Tuna with Crostini (3.50) which was for me a rather unpleasant dish. The tuna was tough and far too salty but could possibly have been saved by proper Italian style crostini. Sadly, the bread that came with the dish was sliced too thinly and was much too hard, resembling bread crisps. You might feel differently, but I realised at this point that I am not very keen at all on bread crisps. Much better was the moist and flavoursome 18 months cured Serano Ham (8.40) served in thin slices (at this occasion thin slices were a good thing). Similar to the Opera Tavern, the bread had to be ordered separately. The only choice of bread was the Chargrilled Country Style Bread with Olive Oil OR Aioli (2.55) which I quite liked, but which was categorically rejected by dinner companion. All he had to say was 'This bread is crap'. 18 months cured Serano Ham (8.40) Confit Tuna with Crostini (3.50) From the main tapas menu we tried the Escabeche of Mackerel, Fennel and Broad Beans (7.25). Not exactly a dish to write home about as the mackerel was too dry (the kind of 'sticking between your teeth' dry, I am sure there is a good word for this in English, could anyone tell a poor foreigner what it is?). It resembled pickled herring, only pickled herring is better. The Asparagus, Broad Beans, St. George's Mushrooms and Peas with Summer Truffle and Shallot Dressing (7) sounded so delicious, it was let down however by several flaws in its execution. Asparagus and beans were overcooked, the chef was very stingy on the asparagus and we only got the back bits (I mean really, the nice thing about asparagus are the heads, right?) and the dressing was basically non-existent. The slices of summer truffles didn't taste the least bit of truffles either, so I had to satisfy my truffle craving with the dessert in the form of Truffle Pecorino (6.25). I love this cheese, and the piece served was generous. Escabeche of Mackerel, Fennel and Broad Beans (7.25) Asparagus, Broad Beans, St. George's Mushrooms and Peas with Summer Truffle and Shallot Dressing Salt Yard is not a bad place at all and I would surely go back there for some charcuterie, cheese and beautiful Spanish red wine. The atmosphere is buzzing and the crowd is young(ish) and relaxed. If I fancy cooked Spanish food however, my choice shall be Opera Tavern. Have a mentioned that they do amazing pork and foie gras burgers there??? Now I am wondering whether I should bother trying Dehesa or go back to Opera Tavern straight away. Any thoughts? read more

I'm not sure if I would call this tapas, some of the portions were quite big and could easily be mistaken for a maincourse. The food was ok but some of the dishes lacked salt and where kind of flat. We had to pay for bread even though it was offered in the beginning like it was free. I ordered a "black russian" which consists of two components but was denied because it "was not on the meny". Over all an OK restaurant, certainly not the higlight of our stay here. read more

Popped in here for a quick happy hour. Small bites were tasty, wine was great, ambiance was cute and staff was super nice. Would definitely recommend. read more

I Love Spanish food and red wine. The Salt Yard offers excellant examples of both. Served in daintey portions the food is very fresh and tasty. We enjoyed scollops, asparigas and cheese flowers, pepper squid with aioli, tuna capachio. My advise would be to book as you can wait a long time for a table upstairs - they are fully booked most of time, the tables upstairs are seated on a first come basis. A little pricey so I would not descibe this as a cheap date - dinner for 2 with one bottle of wine and 2 extra glasses just short of £100. But great food none the less. read more

Recommended by a friend and did not fail to deliver. Low key, but cool decor. Exceptionally friendly service and great twists on tapas classics. 3 dishes pet person is plenty and the cheeses and meats are fantastic. Recommended wine was perfect accompaniment. Hard to fault and a rare 10/10 find in an otherwise indifferent London restaurant scene. read more

What a great spot! We sat at the bar and got great service and help with wine from the bartender. The goat cheese platter had some excellent choices and it paired nicely with the Spanish charcuterie platter. Make sure to get the grilled bread to go with your cheeses. Such a nice break from all of the pub food we encounted on our trip. If I'm ever back to visit London again, I will definitely eat here! read more

Full review and photos on http://thehappinessprojectlondon.wordpress.com The Salt Yard is sort of posh Spanish tapas, with charcuterie platters as well as hot plates, and the food was pretty awesome. We ordered a glass of Selva Capuzza (Groppello, Lake Garda 2009) (not picked by me but amaaazing, £6.50 each) and tucked into the delicious-sounding menu they suggest about 3 plates each. We had the Spanish charcuterie board which was perfect with the wine and very nom, and the Courgette Flowers stuffed with Goats Cheese in a light batter and a wonderful honey sauce which were just mouth-watering. And then Jamon Croquetas with Manchego which were light and delicious too. And then the big guns the delicious Salt Marsh Lamb with Cipollini Onions, Wet Garlic and Fennel Pickle which was mouth-wateringly tender and just YUM and then Chargrilled Bavette with Pumpkin Caponata, Shallots and Crispy Bone Marrow which was cooked wonderfully rare and juicy and was probably my favourite dish and finally the Crispy Squid with Sea Purslane and Shellfish Alioli which was delicate and light and crispy. The menu is bloody brilliant, we kept stopping to nod and mumble praise at each plate, and I'd like to go back to try other things like the pork belly and chorizo with peppers. So we then had another glass of wine because it was just THAT GOOD it would be rude not to, and left feeling warm and happy for the rest of the afternoon. We both agreed it was a spectacular lunch beautifully cooked, interesting and delicious. The downside was that it ain't cheap - for 2 glasses of wine each, a huge lunch and 2 coffees, it was just under £100 or £50 each and just popping in to sit at the bar to have a glass of wine and charcuterie board to share (which looks ace) would set you back at least £30 each I reckon. But I wasn't paying so it was all good. And although I wouldn't make it a regular lunch venue at that price, for a special-ish occasion, it would be the perfect place to take your best mate / mum / beloved for lunch or a wine-and-charcuterie snack, like after Christmas shopping in town. Yes, for me shopping is a special occasion. Alternatively, do like the HPL and wangle an invite for a free lunch. read more

Great, friendly service and they magically were able to seat us when we showed up on a weekend evening without a reservation. The decor is chic and upmarket with (slightly) more spacious seating than most crammed London restaurants. The tapas were modern style with some unique twists. read more

One of the best tapas restaurants in London, if not THE best. Every dish that I have ever tried has been delicious, and I still salivate over the aubergine flowers. Tapas is really hard to do, and Salt Yard appears to get it right every time. Great wine selection too. read more