Chigwell, Spanish Restaurant Guide

An “excellent Stokey local”, “deservedly very popular” for its Spanish tapas, in particular its “absolutely wonderful fish”: its Glasgow-born founder, former record producer Stephen Lironi, has made it his mission to intercept some of the top-quality Scottish fish usually exported to Spain. One quibble this year: “surely it’s time to upgrade the school chairs”. Top Tip – “half-price oysters before 7pm”.

Well predating the gentrification of Columbia Road, this “small, local Spanish restaurant” (est 1982) is worth remembering when browsing for blooms and designer flower pots. It probably won’t re-frame your understanding of Hispanic cuisine, but “prices are reasonable” and the “team are friendly and fun” (albeit sometimes under pressure at busy times).

The “lovely Moorish/Spanish sharing food” at the little sister of Sam & Sam Clark’s Moro next door in Exmouth Market – and also its spin-off in Hackney Road – makes them “a go-to place when you don’t know where to go”: “an all-round crowd-pleaser, good for meat and non-meat- eaters alike”.

This “buzzy but very noisy” Hispanic quartet (in Marylebone, Farringdon, Victoria and Canary Wharf) offers a “good range of tapas” and “interesting wines by the glass and the bottle”. They still have plenty of admirers as a “reliable” option, even if they “no longer provide the novelty or the high standards they once did”.

This Crouch End spot has built a strong local name over more than a decade, and is known for its superior tapas and a “really good selection of Spanish wine, by the glass or bottle”. Founder Stephen (‘Esteban’) Lironi is a Glasgow-born music producer and sherry aficionado, while Barcelona-born chef Pablo Rodriguez arrived via Barrafina.

“Simple things are done very, very well on a smoking fire and every dish is a wow!” at Tomos Parry’s Shoreditch superstar, which – now five years old – has proved “a superb addition to the London dining scene” .“It’s casual in style, but the truly original cooking” and “enthusiastic and informed staff” generate “a real buzz about the place” and create a “cosy” atmosphere in what might otherwise might seem a “somewhat lacklustre” and tightly packed space (on the first floor, above Smoking Goat downstairs). As well as the signature turbot for which the restaurant is named, many dishes here are praised in reports (“spider crab toast to die for…”; “clever duck rice, like paella…”; “beautifully flavoursome and light Basque cheesecake”).

Star chef Dani Garcia opened his first UK venture in Shoreditch’s Mondrian Hotel a couple of years ago, to mixed reviews. This up-and-down sentiment continues in feedback to date – some reporters think the Spanish cuisine – paellas, roast and grilled fish and meat, tapas – is “very good” (but encountered “an empty room on a Sunday lunch”); other well-travelled types thought it “underwhelming compared to the wonders of his native Andalusian restaurants”.

“Reliable tapas in handy locations” is the USP of this 16-year-old trio with a flagship near King’s Cross station (by far the best known) and offshoots in Shoreditch and Monument. But while they’re “decent enough”, they offer “standard fayre” – it’s “nothing exceptional”.

The Broadgate Circle tapas bar from the trailblazer of contemporary Hispanic cooking in London provides “excellent food in a modern environment” – even if aficionados of the more atmospheric original insist it “doesn’t replicate the better José across the river” in Bermondsey.

“Reliable tapas in handy locations” is the USP of this 16-year-old trio with a flagship near King’s Cross station (by far the best known) and offshoots in Shoreditch and Monument. But while they’re “decent enough”, they offer “standard fayre” – it’s “nothing exceptional”.

Set over two spacious floors in the grand Victorian former HQ of Lloyds Bank, this “classy Spanish restaurant is a great place to eat and drink” – with food and atmosphere that are more than a match for most of its City rivals.

“Have loved it forever!” – “After all these years Sam and Sam Clark’s vanguard player in the 1990s British restaurant revolution still punches well up to its weight” (and scored much more consistently again this year, with one or two diners noting a “marked improvement” after a soggy couple of years). “Still packed, still pushing out creative Spanish/Moorish food, still surprisingly good value, and still in a minimalist space that’s fundamentally 1990s”; it’s a “heartwarming delight” for its big and ultra-loyal fan club. Other plusses include “excellent Spanish wine list and relaxed-but-efficient service”. The “only issue is the noise level, which can make it difficult to hear your companion, even on a small table”.

The “lovely Moorish/Spanish sharing food” at the little sister of Sam & Sam Clark’s Moro next door in Exmouth Market – and also its spin-off in Hackney Road – makes them “a go-to place when you don’t know where to go”: “an all-round crowd-pleaser, good for meat and non-meat- eaters alike”.

This “buzzy but very noisy” Hispanic quartet (in Marylebone, Farringdon, Victoria and Canary Wharf) offers a “good range of tapas” and “interesting wines by the glass and the bottle”. They still have plenty of admirers as a “reliable” option, even if they “no longer provide the novelty or the high standards they once did”.

“Taking the good bits from Parrillan Coal Drops Yard and improving on it X 2” – the attractive Borough Yards branch of the Hart Bros Hispanic duo has eclipsed its N1 sibling in terms of feedback. At both sites, the parrilla grill is a DIY job if you sit outside (you order para picar, and then chicken, seafood and meat for the BBQ); but at SE1 there’s also a stylish, brick-lined interior section, complete with chefs and a more conventional menu-style service. The younger branch is not beyond criticism though: as in CDY it can seem “a good all-round experience, but overpriced” and the odd reporter finds it all too “hyped”.