South Kensington, Spanish Restaurant Guide

“Every dish is good” at this long-running tapas bar in South Kensington. Regulars, though, reckon it’s “not quite up to the experience” of its sibling opposite, Cambio de Tercio, with which it shares a list of “excellent” Spanish wines (“it’s clearly tapas from a chef more familiar with fine dining, leaning towards the elegant rather than a solid punch of flavour”).

“You leave feeling everything is good in the world” according to fans of Abel Lusa’s accomplished stalwart (est. 1995) on the borders of South Ken and Earl’s Court: one of London’s original Spanish restaurants of quality and still at the cutting edge, with its “luxurious tapas”, “excellent Iberian wines” and “wonderfully fun and atmospheric” style. A slip in ratings, though, accompanies one or two concerns that “it should offer better value”; or that “it risks slipping from a smart and exciting place to being lower-energy”. But that didn’t stop Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz from eating here with his family five times during the Championships this year – and on the days he didn’t go, he ordered deliveries to be sent to his accommodation. Apparently, his favourite dish is the crispy salmon nigiri (a Spanish version of sushi with sweet soy sauce, Spanish vinegar and chipotle mayonnaise).

“An excellent location overlooking the River Thames makes the Richmond branch very special if you are able to bag one of its outside tables on a balmy summer evening”; and it’s a highpoint of this chain run by a firm of well-known Iberian food importers. On the plus-side, its branches are generally “buzzy”, with “tasty” and “authentically flavoured” tapas. On the minus-side, for all the “high quality ingredients”, dishes can end up “indifferent” and “pricey for the size of the portions”; and “service can be a little too uneven”.