Mayfair, Spanish Restaurant Guide

This “great little bistro” in Mayfair no longer excites as it did at launch 10 years ago (when former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Sam Cam were regulars). Fans reckon it’s “still a top dining option in Shepherd Market” thanks to its menu of sophisticated “comfort food”; but increasingly it “doesn’t quite live up to expectations” (“all a bit crowded and the food was just about OK”).

2024 Review: Madrid-born Arian and Alberto Zandi added this new Mayfair venture to their portfolio (alongside Zuaya and Como Garden) in November 2021. On the plus side, results from the Spanish menu can be excellent. On the downside, the bill here can mount and feedback is sufficiently up-and-down to preclude a fully wholehearted endorsement.

“Way above average for a gallery” – “authentic, high-quality Spanish cuisine” from the Bermondsey-based tapas supremo “always impresses” at this august venue, which is highly commented-on nowadays. The “gracious” (“almost stately”) Royal Academy surroundings “add to the pleasure”, so “match lunch with an exhibition for a perfect day out” (although given the central location, it’s “worth coming even if you are not visiting for the art”). Top Tip – “you need to book if you want to sit in the lovely room with well-spaced tables, otherwise they may put you out in the corridor!”

2022 Review: Joining José Pizarro at the RA is this less-formal tapas bar from the star Spaniard. The RA’s food operations in recent years have always conformed to the low expectations of gallery catering generally, but our hunch is that José didn’t get the memo telling him that no great shakes are expected, and that actually it may be rather good...