Jose, Bermondsey - London restaurants

Normally, I don't like to eat standing up. However, I will put on my best ballerina flats and make an exception for Jose. As they say, tired of tapas bars, tired of life.

This is pretty much as close as it gets to your own little Madrid tapas bar in London.

Bite into a plate full of bright green, salty Padron peppers with a side of nutty Iberico ham from an acorn fed pig, perfectly carved, wafer thin, to melt on the tongue, and wash it down with a its perfect partner - chaser of marzanilla sherry. Simple bliss.

Jose Pizarro has already established himself on London's Spanish restaurant scene through his previous work at the Brindisa restaurants. Breaking off on his own with Jose in Bermondsey, this popular little gaffe is worthy of all the praise with which its being lavished.

Perch up against the bar or a barrel, and work your way through the list of sherries and wines, while sampling all the lovely bits and pieces from the menu -  salty razor clams with the heady goodness of paprika laden chorizo, sea bass with blood orange, fatty blood sausage with broad beans, fresh, zingy gazpacho, or a big hearty chunk of spot on tortilla. All this at reasonable prices (with the usual small plates disclaimer - you can spend as much or as little as you want).

It's busy and crowded - and if you can handle that, its heaps of fun. Big love. You can't reserve - just turn up.

Jose, 104 Bermondsey Street, Bermondsey, London, SE1 3 UB

Pinxtos and Sherry in San Sebastian, Spain - Gluttonous Travels

Coooeeee! Yes, my blog posts have been few and far between. I have been busily finishing up at work and preparing to move across the globe, all while cramming in last minute travels like I might never cross the equator again. But I finished work on Thursday, met TPG on the Eurostar with a bottle of champagne to celebrate with dinner in Paris (long story of adventure and mayhem) and now I'm back. And I won't be in the office again until 5 December! 


So expect lots of travel tales and London reminiscences from me until I land in Melbourne. After that, I'm not sure what's in store for the GD. But for now, let me tell you about San Sebastian....

Yes, San Sebastian has more Michelin star restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the world, and is the culinary capital of Basque from where great chefs, the likes of Arzak and Subijana, have brought Spanish haute cuisine to heights that were previously reserved only to the French. But it's the combination of the laid back beauty of the place, the amazing beach, the huge tables of families taking for granted the excellent quality, well cooked produce making up the feasts before them, and the non stop carnival of hilariously fun pinxtos bars lighting up the streets from morning to night that won me over. And possibly the chocolate that tastes like cinnamon. And the lovely custard flans.

We ate juicy, perfectly cooked steak and juicy roast pork a short ride out of town at Rekondo, with its enormous 250 page wine list - famed for selling rare and beautiful wines at a fraction of the mark up you'll find them anywhere else. Wine buffs should not miss it.

My rice with baby cuttlefish oil and slivers of Idiazabal cheese at Bodegon Alejandro was the best I've ever eaten, and although the room is plain and the service a shambles, fare like anchovy lasagne, glazed Iberian veal cheek and junket with heather honey will make it all worthwhile.

We had a reservation at classic fine dining establishment, Akelarre, then cancelled it in favour of spending our 3 days lapping up some much needed hot September weather on the beach, in between necking aroxtas (a local fizzy white poured from great heights to encourage the fizz) and delicious (yet insanely cheap) glasses of rioja and ribera del dueros at the local pinxtos bars. Superb wines that would cost 9 quid per glass in London can be yours for around 2 euros per glass. Oh, what a time we had.

Each of the pinxtos bars has their own specialty. A favourite was Ganbara where we jostled at the bar for plates of grilled wild mushrooms, slices of nutty iberico jamon rammed into buttery little croissants (great wedding dress preparation), pastries filled with crab or prawns, layered tortillas and plates of fresh octopus or salty anchovy. I also loved the local specialities like the uber tender braised beef cheeks, and seared foie gras with tart apple sauce, at La Cuchara de San Telmo and Bar Zeruko is another great one - but the whole point is to ramble between them haphazardly and discover what takes your fancy.

Here are some snaps for inspiration. One of my all time favourite weekend destinations  - and I wish we'd stayed for a week. When the weather starts to fade next year, book yourself a flight to San Sebastian.

The epic wine list at Rekondo

I am not telling how many of these I ate...

This cost 4 euros

Cod cheeks - a local speciality

We flew to Bilbao with Easyjet for around €150 each. The last bus from the airport to San Sebastian leaves at 12.30am and takes around an hour. It costs around 12 euros. Alternatively, a taxi will cost around 100 euros so beware of cheap flight deals arriving late.

We stayed at Pension Aldamar. I highly recommend it for simple, good value comfort and an unbeatable location, right on the edge of the old town and a 5 min walk to the main surf beach. The only drawback was the noise of other guests checking out early that awoke me each morning (each room faces onto a communal hall area).

If we had more time, we would definitely have eaten at Mugaritz - please try it and report back to me.

Opera Tavern, Covent Garden

Mini Iberico pork and foie gras burgers. Yes, that's mini Iberico pork and foie gras burgers. Ooomph.

Opera Tavern opened in Covent Garden in February, joining it siblings (and Greedy Diva favourites), Salt Yard and Dehesa to provide a range of small plates inspired by Spanish tapas, with an Italian cicchetti twist. The biggest difference is the addition of the robata charcoal grill, where "pinchos morunos" are quickly sizzled up and skewered in all their smoky deliciousness.

A selection of skewered meats( pinchos morunos) from the robata charcoal grill

The restaurant is small (and rather noisy from the celebrations in the dining room upstairs on the night I visited with Gourmet Chick, MTV Boyfriend and A Girl Has to Eat) - perhaps not one to take your hard of hearing grandparents). Downstairs near the bar, where we're seated, feels like a typical Covent Garden pub turned simply into a place to eat ham and drink sherry with abandon.

Grilled Octopus & Chorizo

Although the pig's head terrine is catches my attention among the range of bar snacks (priced from £2.55 - £4.25), we move straight to the offerings of the charcoal grill for mini Iberico pork and foie gras burgers, juicy and medium rare, topped with oozey grilled manchego, aioli and onion jam on a mini brioche bun - phwoar. Incontrovertible proof that size is not everything.

Deep fried courgettes with goats cheese and honey

We try a selection of grilled pinchos morunos - there's marinated Iberico pork, Gresshingham duck with fig, and octopus with chorizo, green tomatoes, cucumber and pomegranate (ranging from £3.25 - £3.95). The deep fried courgettes with oozy goats cheese and honey are a favourite from Salt Yard and are just as good here.

Chargrilled Saltmarsh Lamb

Try the range of hams, charcuterie and cheeses, or move straight on to the tapas - FISH like crispy squid and sea purslane with chilli aioli (£6.75) or roasted monkfish with crab and chickpea sauce and crab fritter (£7.50), MEATS like chargrilled salt mash lamb with faro, peas, broad beans, wild garlic and goat's curd (£7.25) or chargrilled beef sirloin with bone marrow, Iberico pork fat chips, garlic and thyme aioli (£12.50), or VEGETABLE dishes such as grilled asparagus with crispy duck egg yolk, fresh pea and truffle dressing (£5.75) or salad of grilled baby fennel and trope onion with orange and black olive (£6.25).

Patatas bravas

We manage to work our way through a couple of bottles of wine, both lovely and reasonably priced.

Warm hazelnut cake with lemon thyme ice-cream

Of the lovely puddings, my favorite was the warm hazelnut cake with lemon thyme ice cream (£5.35), or you might like the tonka bean pannacotta with English strawberries and white chocolate almonds (£5.35).

As usual when 4 gluttons get together and start ordering small plates, the bill sneaks up on you, although I think we manage to get away at around £40 per head including wine and service.

For atmosphere and stylish surrounds, I prefer Salt Yard and Dehesa, but Opera Tavern is certainly a welcome addition to the restaurants of substance infiltrating the former tourist trap haven of Covent Garden.

Opera Tavern, 23 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2 (Tel: 020 7836 3680)




You can see my earlier review of Dehesa here. Another good addition to the Covent Garden area is da Polpo (sibling to Polpo, Polpetto and Spuntino) - I've visited da Polpo twice but have not reviewed as there's really not much to add to my reviews of its siblings. It's a place for fun food rather than anything gourmet, and as much as I like it, it lacks some of the buzz and charm of its Soho siblings (you can read my reviews of them at the above links). Nevertheless, it's much easier to get a table (walk ins only) at the Covent Garden newbie.

Pepito, Kings Cross

Bar Pepito has sherry flights. SHERRY FLIGHTS, people.

A small Andalusian bar across the courtyard from related Spanish restaurant, Camino, Pepito is fun, it's friendly and it's teeny weeny. Cram around a wine barrel with your mates and slug back delicious dry, nutty sherries, with a side of hand carved, creamy jamon, a selection of cheeses or some piggy chorizo. And it's all reasonably priced.

I've been a few times now and I love it every time. It's rare that I don't leave singing. And I'm not alone - Pepito won Time Out's Best New Bar in 2010. But I never get around to writing about it (sherry hangover perhaps). So, I'll keep it short and sweet. Pepito is one of my favourite bars. You need to go. Experiment with the sherries - be brave. Enjoy.

Bar Pepito, 3 Varnishers Yard, The Regent Quarter, Kings Cross, N1 9FD (Tel: 020 7481 7331)

Camino - Puerto del Canario, Docklands (yes, the new one)

Camino has all the edgy good looks of a converted warehouse - with exposed brickwork, high ceilings, floor boards, industrial fittings and opens onto a funky bar next door. One wall is all windows, looking out onto the Thames, outdoor seating in summer and presumably some excellent sunsets. Unfortunately, I spent the prime romantic moments of sunset running around Canary Wharf like a stunned rabbit in the headlights - the place remains a black hole maze of mystery to me. But arrive by ferry and you'll land right on Camino's doorstep, a mere tip toe from your first glass of dry, palate cleansing Manzanilla.

About the ferry. Who knew? It's called the Thames Clipper and zips along the Thames past the magical sights and lights of London, picking up and dropping off at stops along the way - including Canary Wharf, Embankment and Waterloo. It's exxie (I paid £4.80 for a single) but it proved to be a wonderful way to to by-pass the disgusting late night Tube to end a fantastic evening.

Camino means "path" or "roadway", in this case between the wonderful regional specialities and wines of Spain on offer. We start with a dry vino de Jerez (sherry), tasting both the Manzanilla "La Gitana" (salty, yeasty, nutty) and the Amontillado (9 years old with almond and hazelnut flavours) before settling on a luxuriously smooth Oloroso Antique, Fernando De Castilla (£5.50/glass). All I can think about is how I would like to start every night with a sherry for the rest of my life.

Our waiter (who proves to be a delight every step of the way) recommends we nibble on a simple txigorki as we fall further in love with our sherry. It's a Basque style bread with sun dried tomato, oregano, peppers and grilled goats cheese (£5). It's alright - and the mellow goats cheese is a good accompaniment to our wine - but it's a bit non descript and, as we suspect, there are better things to come.

Pulpo A La Parrilla arrives straight from the charcoal grill - a hefty, wonderfully tender octopus tentacle with silky olive oil mash and smoky paprika (£9.75). Also from the grill, the Presa Iberica 6oz - luscious slices of charred Iberico black pig shoulder, cooked medium rare (£9.50). It's exquisitely rich and piggy - pure, heavenly indulgence on a plate. Steak lovers will be converted. Pork lovers will lap this one up and lick the plate. If there's one dish not to miss, this is it.

I am almost always disappointed by croquetas but our waiter recommends the Croquetas de Jamon (£4.75) and I'm enjoying the wine so much I go along for the ride. They're surprisingly good - crisp giving way to creamy and, I write on my menu, "grorgois" which I now translate as "gorgeous". And it's still early in the night.

No Spanish feast would be complete without some Jamon Iberico (cured for 36 months), the acorn diet of the pigs giving the ham its unique, sweet flavour. We share a plate which is creamy and delicious, although cut slightly too thick (£7.25). TPG even prefers the Jamon Serrano, meat from the grain fed pig, which has been cured for 18 months (£5.25) -  it's lovely, but for me it's no match for the more decadent Iberico.

Arroz Negro Con Calamares is a garlicky mix of black rice, made from cuttlefish, squid ink and calasparra rice, with baby squid and alioli (£6.50). It sounds like my idea of heaven but unfortunately its saltier than the Dead Sea which throws it out of balance. If they get the seasoning right (and I have a feeling they will), this could be a fabulous dish of contrasting textures which I would have on my table every time.

All fresh meats and eggs are said to be free range and all fish from sustainable sources, mostly caught on the coast of the British Isles.  The all Spanish wine list deserves a special mention. There's so much fun to be had here, even aside from the delectable sherries. Wines are available by the glass, carafe and bottle at reasonable prices, and are listed in order of weight. We accompany our meal with bottle of Petalos, Descendientes De Palacios, 2007/08 (£30) - it's quite a big wine, with cherry flavours and goes well with the food.

For dessert, I have a lovely trio of ice-creams (including ginger and leche) which I slurp up with a sweet, raisoney Pedro Ximinez (£5.50). The Peanut Gallery enjoys the gooey, rich Pastel Chocolate (£5.00) with a satisfying glass of port.

For a significant meal, expect to pay between £35 - £55 per head including wine and service. However, portions are generous so be careful not to over-order on the basis that it's "just" tapas. Before I sign off - there is but one unspeakable horror that needs to be aired. I hope you're sitting down. Nearly every dish (excepting desserts) comes decorated with an inexplicable ... sprig of parsley. A singular sprig. Parsley, be gone.

Greenery aside, this is a terrific little place which the workers of Canary Wharf will likely come to see as a welcome, gluttonous refuge. Nothing less would entice me to the Docklands - but put me on the sherry ferry bound for Camino any day, and I'll be back.


Camino, 28 Westferry Circus, Docklands, London E14  (Tel: 020 7230 7709) 


Greedy Diva was invited to dine as a guest of Camino.


(Camino at Canary Wharf is the newest branch of the original Camino located at Kings Cross. Across from the King's Cross branch is Bar Pepito - a tiny sherry bar (or Andalusian bodega) of the same ownership which I am now bursting to visit. It recently won Time Out London's Best New Bar Award for 2010).

Barrica: Tapas in Fitzrovia, London

It was a scene straight from "Revenge of the Nerds". A Rather Unusual Chinaman and I entered Barrica for an impromptu "I'm tipsy, starving and need to soak up those cocktails" emergency feed on Friday night. We walked in, stepped 2 paces and turned to each other with respective glasses fogged over. Just too cool.

However, we managed to de-mist and recover our composure sufficiently to obtain a barside table in amongst the bustling, Barcelona-like commotion.

Setting up Barrica in its Goodge St locale is one brave move, given the terrific Fino and Salt Yard restaurants can be found within 10 paces. However, Barrica is a slightly more relaxed option than its nearby contemporaries (it is more "tapas bar" than "restaurant"), and - for me - while the food may not be of the same quality, it is more evocative of walking into to your average Barcelona tapas joint on a teeming Friday night.

It boasts chef James Knight, formerly of the much lauded Moro in Exmouth Market, as its head chef as well as a really lovely selection of wines (including over 20 sherries - hooray to that!). It's not a place for a tranquil meal (bah, who wants it?!), or perhaps even ultra fine dining quality or creative fare, but we tried a thorougly enjoyable selection of tapas in a fun and boisterous atmosphere.

I started with a glass of the easy drinking, smooth Tinto Fino ordered from our friendly, Spanish speaking waiter - I got the sense that all of the staff were Spanish.

The finely sliced Jamon Iberico Cebo (£6.50) was not the highest grade jamon on the menu (the pigs are fed on just a cereal feed diet, no acorns - so the taste is less nutty, with less marbling, than higher grades), but it was lovely and creamy. It was a fairly decent serving size for the price and quality.

Other dishes included the bright green and juicy Pimiento del Padron (peppers) and some absolutely delicious mushrooms with jamon and Fino sherry sauce were a highlight. This serving was also quite generous in size, compared to some of the other dishes at our table and those surrounding us.

The breaded pig's trotter with tomato and capers (below) was scrumptious and was wolfed down accordingly.

My very poor photography does not show the black pudding sausages for the delights that they were. Yes, they were ugly little runts but the taste was all fatty goodness. We both loved the flavour and somehow managed to share them between us without coming to blows.

The lowlight was probably the charcoal grilled aubergine, pepper and onions which were not bad, but not particularly great, and oilier than expected.

Service was friendly and helpful. And delivered with a Spanish accent to boot.

In all, I think the traditional and lively ambience here has the edge over the food. This is good, unpretentious, wine-accompanying fare, done Spanish style. For the prices (although only £20 per head for us), you should of course expect very reasonable quality food, which we obtained on the night. And it's certainly a fun place for a drink and a nibble or a widespread graze.

I knew I loved Barrica the moment I walked in (once the glasses had de-fogged) and it did not disappoint. I'll be back.

62 Goodge Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 4NE

Dehesa, Soho (London)

 

Here's a hypothetical for you. You're booking dinner for a group which includes a steadfast Spaniard who respectfully considers that most Spanish restaurants in London are rubbish. So what type of establishment do you not go to?

Yuh. So, naturally, I booked us into Dehesa. No pressure.

And, of course, then I discovered that I wasn't even pronouncing it properly - it's De-esa, not De-Heesa. Not a flying start.

My companions on Tuesday were my lovable Peanut Gallery, the fun-loving Chris NC (again), Chris' fabulous wife Maggie, the lovely Yinglei from Beijing and our die hard Spaniard (and litmus test for all things authentically Spanish), Oscar.

Fortunately, De-esa is always pretty good. Its fare is a flashy combination of Spanish and Italian influences, with a modern London spin, so eating there is never going to mentally transport you straight to Madrid.

Some of its offerings are more authentically Spanish than others. I have it on good authority from my faithful Spaniard that the pork belly was true to the test. Delicious and crispy in all the right places, and set in a clay dish with flavoursome, rosemary scented cannellini beans, this was one of the favourite dishes of the night (£6.25).

The Jamon Iberica de Bellota "5J" Cinco Jotas (£12.80) also passed the litmus test. And more. Eating it in polite company was quite problematic - rich, creamy and mouth watering, it almost necessitated a minute's silence to worship each mouthful lovingly in all its glory. I could quite happily have limited the meal to a plate of each of the jamon, some bread, cheese and wine. Glorious.

The Spanish selection charcuterie was fine, but not in the same league - a nice selection of mild chorizo, salami, iberico pork with oregano and paprika edged loin ($8.60).

De-esa also offers up some of the Salt Yard essentials, such as our much loved courgette flowers with goats cheese and honey. But at only 2 per plate, they are hard to share without a surgeon's knife and a steady hand, and at £7.25 per plate it's pricey to order more.

We also sampled the classic tortilla - our Spaniard noted (head shaking, despairing tone) that the potatoes were not correctly sliced (£4). Our other dishes included some lovely chorizo (£4), the beetroot carpaccio with goats cheese, pinenuts and merlot dressing (£4.50), spiced butternut squash with chilli, ricotta and marcona almonds (great almonds, weirdly spiced squash - £4.75), patatas (always good - £3.50), braised shoulder of lamb with gnocchi, wild mushroom and speck (lovely! better than it looks above - £6.50), seared scallops with sweetcorn puree, truffle and peashoots (£9) and prawns with borlotti bean stew (I somehow missed this one, but it was Maggie's favourite dish which is good enough for me - £6.50).

Our puddings were chocolate cake with frangelico ice-cream matched with a glass of Pedro Ximenez, and calasparra rice pudding with stewed figs and cinnamon ice-cream knocked back with a sweet, golden Gerwurztraminer Passito.

The wines were among the winners of the evening. We shared a lovely full Rioja to start, followed by a bottle or two of red from Ribera del Duero (always delectable).

Runner up in the Time Out Best New Restaurant Awards 2008, my only real criticism of Dehesa is the prices. Ok, we drank a bit and ate a lot. However, at £45 a head, I would expect all dishes to be the quality of the Iberico, or at least somewhat more ample in size.

So, it's a really fun place to eat, drink and be merry, and the food is generally delicious. But watch your purse strings, and don't promise Madrid to your Spanish amigos. Salud!

Dehesa, 25 Ganton Street, Soho, London, W1F 9BP