Spanish: Oops

Oops
31 Catherine St
WC2B 5JS
Tel: 020 7836 3609

Date of Last Visit: A week night in February that escapes me.

The Victims: Jose, Bernard, Santanu, Cristina, Nacho, Yolanda

The Damage: £20 each

The Background: Somtimes, I sorta wish I didn't have a blog. I don't always want to pick the restaurant. That's a lot of pressure! And throw in one real Spanish person (Jose) when you want to go to a Spanish restaurant...that always make me nervous. Turn up to find three more real Spanish people...and well...aacck! I hope they like it.

Santanu was in town from Chicago, Back in 2004, Santanu and Alex and Al and Michael and I had some good times, exploring London. Santanu is gone now, Michael too. I miss them! So it's good to have him back in town.

The Food: We put the Spaniards in charge. The garlic bread is okay. The croquettas are great. The plate of jamon is pretty great too, as is the manchego cheese. There's a cod dish of some sort that's only average. Bernard likes the mussels, which look nice, but a little too deep-fried for my healthy living. All in all, everyone seems more than marginally pleased.

The Service: Isn't Spanish. The funny part is when Bernard, who's South African, starts placing his order in Spanish and the waitress doesn't understand him and he can't understand why she doesn't understand him. That was a moment.

The Atmosphere: Is kinda nice. We're upstairs, and we have it all to ourselves. The decor is really nice and it's a clean and neat place.

The Verdict: While they didn't knock my socks off, I thought it was pretty good. If I needed a pre-theatre type of place, I'd go back.