City, Spanish Restaurant Guide

“High-quality” Hispanic dishes, all delivered in “a fine setting” – across two floors of the former Lloyds Bank HQ near the Bank of England – help create an “amazing atmosphere” at this “bustling restaurant”: not just one of the most attractive dining options in the City but also one of London’s better Spanish restaurants. It’s occasionally let down by “rather glacial and not very attentive service”.

“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”.

2022 Review: This “great little tapas bar with simple service” at the edge of Borough Market is “a place where the food speaks for itself” – which may be a good thing, since its “cramped” accommodation inside a Victorian railway arch is “decidedly grotty”. There’s a definite meat bias to the menu, although the “squid with black rice is particularly good”.

This quintet of tapas bars from the well-known Iberian food importer attracts most attention for its locations – in particular its “lively and popular” original bar at the entrance to Borough Market; and most recent addition: a “lovely riverside spot overlooking the Thames at Richmond”. Despite its renown – and some praise for its “small plates but big flavours” – ratings are held down by prices many reporters consider “high” for what’s widely seen as “pretty standard tapas fare”.

If you’ve seen José P on telly and want to try one of his restaurants, maybe head south to Bermondsey rather than opt for this more anonymous unit in the City’s Broadgate Circle. By the standards of the Square Mile though, its mix of tapas, sherries and Spanish vino is fab and “always popular”. Top Tip – all day on Mon & Sat, choose three tapas for £20 per person.

Long-standing tapas bar in a tiny converted pub near Southwark tube that’s “great fun and like being in Spain” – tucked away in a backstreet, it is handily close to the South Bank’s arts venues, including Tate Modern, the Old Vic and the National Theatre.

“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”.

“Decent tapas for the price” – with “all the usual suspects (patatas bravas, padron peppers, tortilla, croquettas)” – win praise for this Hispanic quartet, now well into their second decade. These days the cooking is reckoned “competent”, if “not up to the earlier standards” – perhaps a reflection of improved competition. Top Menu Tip – “it’s worth checking out the vegetable dishes” (“with some left-field options for the adventurous; the beetroot with coffee was great!”)

“Just about edges Barrafina” – José Pizarro’s tiny tapas bar is a mainstay of Bermondsey Street, and is renowned for his “excellent tapas, with old favourite dishes joined by an array of changing specials” – “no wonder there’s always a queue”. “It’s cramped, but always relaxed and friendly”. José was honoured by King Felipe VI this year with The Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (loosely equivalent to a knighthood) for his contribution to popularising Spanish cuisine outside Spain… and it all began here! Top Menu Tips – “smoked sardine salad with frisé is delicious, as is fried goat’s cheese with honey”.

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”.

“Fancy? No. Value? Yes” – this bustling tapas bar directly opposite the Young Vic theatre offers “tasty, simple, quickly prepared dishes, delivered with energy and charm at a fair price”. Launched in 1987, well before London’s tapas boom, “it has survived for so long, it must be doing something right”. (“The real joy? Absolutely packed and not a single photo being taken!”).

Tomos Parry’s phenomenally successful haunt occupies the first floor of a converted Shoreditch pub (over the Smoking Goat, see also), but with its own separate entrance. Somehow, he brilliantly captured the zeitgeist with his Basque-influenced cooking over fire, producing food that’s as “simple” as it is “outstanding”. “Ingredients are carefully sourced, prepared with care and the flavours really come through”. Many reports recommend you “order the turbot!” (‘Brat’ meaning Turbot in Parry’s native Welsh), but it’s a rather large dish if you are just a couple and the rest of the menu is just as worthy of exploration. “The room is casual and buzzy” and tightly packed, but “despite the cosy tables it still feels like you have your own space”. Top Menu Tip – “Basque cheesecake is a highlight: great flavour and so light”.

“More formal than older sibling José up the road, but still relaxed and good fun” – José P’s “splendid” and “buzzing” Bermondsey restaurant provides “wonderful Spanish flavours” from a menu focused on tapas and sharing dishes; alongside “a wine list which encourages you to explore lesser known Spanish varieties”. “José Pizarro himself often eats here: what more endorsement do you need?!”. One issue – it’s a “noisy” room so a “great place for a rowdy lunch with friends” but it “could be a touch quieter”. Top Menu Tips – “the jamon was as good as you’d expect”; “suckling leg of lamb, which was succulent and truly memorable”; “the croquetas and the fideua are cracking bursts of umami punch”.

“Still great even after all these years” and “still an absolute favourite” – Sam & Sam Clark’s inspired stalwart helped put Exmouth Market on London’s foodie map when it opened in 1997, with its “super-flavoursome” Spanish/North African food from an “ever-changing menu”, all “washed down with wonderful wines” (predominantly Spanish, and also from Portugal and Lebanon) and fine selection of sherries. Fans say there’s “a lovely buzz” too, but the room can be horribly “noisy”… “is it getting worse?”

This “buzzy and enjoyable location” for “very well-executed Mediterranean small dishes” is the more casual offspring of Sam & Sam Clark’s Moro next door in Exmouth Market – and now has its own spin-off in Hackney Road. The original Spanish/Moorish fusion has taken on additional influences from further afield, including Crete and the Middle East. Top Menu Tip – “good cheese fritters with Cretan honey and Cretan sausage and yoghurt with first rate flatbread”.