London Restaurant Guide | London Restaurant Blog and Reviews | Londonelicious

Jose Luis, Madrid

Jose Luis
C/Serrano 89-91
Madrid, Spain

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, June 7th and then again on Monday, June 8th, 2009

The Victims: Myself the first time. Fernando, Guillermo and William the second time.

The Damage: About 25 euros the first time, and unknown the second time because Fernando paid.

The Background: I had all these grand plans of having a big day out in Madrid on Sunday.

Until I figured out that getting to Spain takes a long time. A really long time.

Not sure how I missed that.

My flight was at 9:30 a.m. from Heathrow and we took off on time. I landed in Madrid around 1 p.m. and then my luggage came out around 1:40 p.m. By the time I bought my metro tickets and figured out where I was going, it was after 2 p.m. And by the time I checked into my hotel, it was nearly 3 p.m. So by the time I was ready to go anywhere, it was 5 p.m. (I squeezed in a quick workout at the hotel gym.)

So--worst possible time to eat in Madrid?

5 p.m.

Lunch is over and dinner won't start til 9:30 p.m. (10, really.) But it was 5 p.m. and I was STARVING. And so the hotel directed me to Jose Luis. And it was okay. Just okay. (I had the squid--a different squid than what I talk about below.)

And Even More Background: Now fast-forward to the next evening. My colleagues suggest taking me out to dinner. I say sure. And we start walking. And we're walking some more. And eventually I say, "Are we going to Jose Luis?"

And we are.

Really, what are the chances?

The Entrance: My waiter from the previous evening doesn't recognize me. I think this is a bit of a bummer. Even after we had this whole discussion where he said everything in Spanish and I said everything in English and we totally understood each other.

The Food: I put myself in the hands of my Spanish colleagues. (I don't mind someone else ordering for me when I've asked them to order for me.) And so the parade begins. The first dish of the night is the best dish, and it leave me with high hopes for Jose Luis. It's squid and the batter is great. Super great. And then there's some jamon serrano, roughly cut. It's pretty darn good too. And the manchego cheese. I have no complaints. We've started this meal on a high note.

But then the pulpo arrives. And it looks great, with great big chunks of octopus. But it's not so good. It's tough and chewy. Poor reviews from around the table...my Spanish colleagues apologize to me for it.

 

The Pimientos de Padron arrive, and they look like they've been through a lot, just to get here. They're okay. But they seem slightly overcooked. And I like them with a bit of rock salt.

In between, there's some forgettable calamari (for which my colleagues, again, apologize) and then we have fun with Google Translate trying to figure out what this next dish is. It's cuttlefish. And it's chewy. But the garlicky mayonnaise is good.

The Verdict: There are lots of people who probably love this restaurant and give it rave reviews. I thought it was just okay. But the squid (the second time) was great.

God I Love Spain

Depintxos
Calle Castello 115
28006 Madrid

Date of Last Visit: Monday, June 8, 2009

The Victims: Many

The Damage: No idea. My colleagues paid.

The Verdict: This is just a little chain. It's nothing special, really. But why do places like this exist in Madrid but not London? (I can't vouch for the food. We just had drinks and lovely roasted peanuts.) I'd go back here for after-work drinks and snacks again.

Barrafina

Barrafina
54 Frith Street
W1D 4SL

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 10 January 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: Um, £35. I got a little carried away.

The Background: So I've had my muffin and I've taken care of the errands I needed to run. And I just happen to wander past Barrafina and hey, it's 1 p.m. and they've just opened and there are seats available!

Now firstly, I want to talk about this 1 p.m. lunch thing. Again. (I know. I'm sorry.) I just don't get it. Why can't I have lunch at 12? Or 11:30? In America, this is possible everywhere. Not in this country, sadly.

But regardless, I am lucky because it is seriously 1:03 p.m. and Barrafina is almost nearly full except for maybe four seats. And one of them is mine.

The Entrance: They are puzzled that I am alone. Really, just one seat? Is that it? They don't want me to sit in the midst of the empty seats. They want me to sit bang up against the family of four. That's fine. The family of four keeps to themselves. There's no counter banter.

The Food: I order the toast with alioli. (Very nice, although I feel like the toast wasn't freshly toasted. It's almost like they expected a rush and made a lot of toast an hour earlier and now I have some of it.) And then I wait. And I wait and wait. Service today is not of the "let me deliver all your dishes within two minutes of each other" variety. I don't want to eat two slices of toast now though so I sit and continue to wait. And I wait and wait.

And finally, the octopus arrives. With capers. And it's good. But slightly cold. Almost like they made it, but really wanted me to finish my toast before giving it to me. I find this all very odd because the kitchen is right there in front of me. So maybe my octopus has been ready all this time, but they just forgot to give it to me. No bother. It's very nice and I forgive them.

But again, I'm waiting and waiting. I'm done with the octopus. I am NOT done with the toast. But yet they take the toast away from me! I make one of the petulant whiny noises when they do it. "But waaaiiiittt...." They only somewhat apologetically return the toast to me. And I'm left wondering...are they in a rush? Maybe they want me out of here? But still, there's no one waiting really. Odd.

Eventually, my spinach and sultanas and pine nuts arrive. It's pretty darn good, although maybe a little too heavy on the sultanas for my taste. But still, it's sweet and salty and crunchy and I've got my folic acid fix for the day.

The Service: A bit off. Not super-friendly. And I'm still mad at her for taking away my toast.

The Verdict: Good. But I still prefer Fernandez & Wells.

El Molino

El Molino
379 Holloway Road
N7 0RN

Date of Last Visit:Saturday, November 21st, 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: Less than £15

The Background: Muna is getting married soon. It's black tie. I need something to wear. She sends me to one of the most bizarre places in London I have yet to experience. Fonthill Road by Finsbury Park tube.One shop after another, filled with strange and sparkly poufy things.

You know I'm more a Boden-kind-of-gal. Or Banana Republic. Hmmm.

But I'm here. And I need a dress. A long one. It takes me a while. But I persevere. And I'm done at lunchtime! How convenient!

Now, Google Maps. I love Google Maps. I GPS my location. I search for restaurants in the nearby area. And hey, there's a Japanese one. You know I like Japanese food. It's called Hana and it's on Seven Sisters.

And well, at 12 noon, it's not open. So I Google again. And I'm taken to a Spanish place on Holloway Road. So I go.

And I'm the only one there. And no one really seems to speak Spanish, as far as I can tell. (Although maybe it was Catalan?) 

One tortilla. (Very good. Just the right size.) Some croquetas. (OK. Just okay.) And my big mistake...asparagus with bread crumbs, which turned out to be CANNED/TINNED asparagus, deep fried. Revolting. Yuk.

The Verdict: Everyone seems to really like this place. Except for me. But really, the tortilla was good.

Tierra Brindisa

   

Tierra Brindisa
46 Broadwick Street
W1F 7AF
http://www.tierrabrindisa.com

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 8 November 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £16?

The Background: Cancel on me once at the last minute, and I'll forgive you. I'm a forgiving sort. Cancel on me twice within four days, however, and we have a problem. Are you trying to tell me something? So it was that I found myself in Soho, all dressed up with no place to go. But Flat White. And well, Liberty. (Unfortunately, my American Express card hasn't gotten the message about this credit crunch thing that's going on.)

In for a penny, in for a pound. Rather than turn back home, I decided to take myself out to lunch. (I know, I know. Not all that unusual for me. But normally I plan these things. This was unplanned.)

I tend to go for cheap and cheerful when I'm on my own. More anonymous that way. But on Saturday, I took myself to Tierra Brindisa.

The Entrance: They've just opened for the day and I'm their first customer. The place smells like a forest...all that fresh wood. Just like Hibiscus smelled that one night I was there. I'm offered a table, or if I'd like, I can grab a seat at the bar in the back. I opt for the back bar.

The Food: Spinach tortilla and the Catalan spinach. I really like the spinach at Tapas Brindisa and this was just as good, although I feel like it was a larger portion. And well, if you can't tell, I do really like spinach. (One of the staff said as much to me as I was getting ready to leave.) I also went for some of the crusty bread with alioli and God, do I love alioli. Also, their bread was nicely grilled, which I appreciated. Ah yes, and they brought me three really big olives stuffed with peppers to start things off. A nice touch. Plus, they plonked a whole big bottle of tap water down in front of me.

The Verdict: I liked it here, although the spinach tortilla probably wasn't my favorite thing in the world. I would go back. Hopefully with someone who understands how to keep a date.

Lunch: Fernandez & Wells

Fernandez & Wells
43 Lexington St
W1F 9AL
Tel: 020 7734 1546

Date of Last Visit: 7 June 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: Less than £10?

The Background: I've become a compulsive shopper as of late. I really can't help myself.

I think it's because I normally go back to the U.S. with two empty suitcases around this time of year and stock up on all sorts of new duds. I don't, unfortunately, have time for that this summer. So Oxford Street is getting to know me better than ever before. It knew me pretty well, that's for sure, but I was more a looker than a buyer. Now the AMEX is primed and ready and I own four too many purses than ever before.

The Entrance: I've had Fernandez & Wells on my To-Do List ever since I watched the Trusted Places video with Niamh of Eat Like a Girl.  A Saturday on Oxford Street provides the perfect excuse.

It's buzzy when I enter...it's not  big place, maybe just eight stools? Five are full and I pick mine overlooking the cash register. (Photo taken from my stool.) The staff are fun and jovial and pleased to see me, a total stranger. I order a chorizo sandwich and because I got my ass kicked that morning by my personal trainer and it's just coming up on 3 p.m. (when I think drinkng during the day becomes acceptable), I do treat myself to a sneaky glass of rioja.

The Food: The sandwich arrives in all its crispness and it is fantastic. I want it to go on and on and on. I watch them plate up ham and cheese for other guests, and I wish I was hungrier and/or already thinner so I could join in the fun. In short, I have a lovely sandwich and a lovely time and me and my AMEX are refueled and ready to hit the streets again. Which we do.

The Verdict: Love, love, love Fernandez & Wells. Simple is perfect and perfect is simple. Why haven't I been here before? I will be back.

Spanish: Camino

Camino
3 Varnishers Yard
N1 9AF
Tel: 020 7841 7331

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, June 4

The Victim: Chris

The Damage: £65 for two

The Background: I've been wanting to try Camino since the wine exhibition in Islington a while back. The Camino guys were there serving Jamon and Tio Pepe. We had a good time that night. A very good time.

Chris is in town from the U.S. and suggests dinner, which you know of course I am up for. If I ever I turn down a dinner suggestion, you know there's something wrong with me. Or my blog.

The Entrance: As a single woman in her 30s, I like it. Now what does THAT say about me? It's big and open and airy and there's a great courtyard so we stand outsiding the restaurant chatting and drinking txacoli (my new favorite drink) and enjoying the rare London sunshine.

We ask if we can take our table at 7:15 instead of 7 and they're a bit weird about it, which is odd considering that even when we leave at 9:30, they're still not full. Restaurants are so weird.

The Food: Some jamon to start which is just fine. Good bread. And then the mains arrive and I'm sorry for suggesting Camino because Chris' entree looks like wedding reception food and my entree--black risotto with octopus--is bland and well, just rice and octopus. No oomph. It looks nice upon arrival though.

The Verdict: Dig the atmosphere at the bar and the courtyard. Like the jamon. And our server was nice. But the rest? Eh.

Tapas: Dehesa

Dehesa
25 Ganton Street
W1F 9BP
Tel: 020 7494 4170

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, April 3, 2008

The Victim: Anonymous

The Damage: £30 each

The Background: Jess is raffling me off. OK, maybe not raffling. But she is accepting applications on my behalf. Anonymous suggests Dehesa, which I'm excited about because Howard, Ben, Antonia and I tried to get in there the other week and were sadly denied. 

The Entrance: Dehesa is small. And it gets crowded later on. But for now, we have two seats at the bar, which is good because we're not surrounded on all sides, like the other seats. And I get to watch the bartenders scrupulously clean all the glasses.

The Food: Now I have to preface this by saying that I am "in training" for the British 10k. Imagine someone who has a pretty healthy appetite to begin with. Now imagine that person running 3 miles three to five times a week. Yeah, I'm hungry. I also made the mistake of eating lunch at around 11:15 and now it's close to 7 p.m. So now I'm STARVING.

Padron peppers. (Excellent.) Marcona almonds. Two of my favorite things. Pork belly (pictured), with a good almost of crispy skin. The pork was better than the beans, which were on the bland side. Grilled artichokes (only okay). Baby squid. (Lovely.) Manchego cheese. (Always nice.) Gnocchi. (Odd.) Rice pudding brulee. (DENSE.) Biscotti. Yes, a lot of food.

Interesting: Anonymous is an Economist, and I forget how much I love economist talk. I talk about my time and aggravation theory. He calls it my implied wage rate. We discuss the ethnic sub-groups of cleaning people. (I am in with the Romanians.) We briefly debate eBay and the efficiency of markets. And we wonder why the U.S. has one of the developed world's highest birthrates, although Americans generally get some of the worst maternity and paternity benefits in the developed world.  Hmm.

The Loos: Spic and span.

The Verdict: Honestly, I thought the food at Dehesa was just okay. The pork belly was the standout for me. And the padron peppers. If I go back, I'd go back for the atmosphere and I'd order differently.

*****Don't Forget: Submit Your Guest Blog and Get Your Chance to Win Dinner with Me*****

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.

Spanish: Fino

Fino
33 Charlotte Street
W1T 1RR
Tel: 0207 813 8010

Date of Last Visit: Friday, January 4

The Victims: K&A

The Damage: £35ish for me. K&A let me off easy.

The Background: We've been to see Atonement in Leicester Square. I cried. A lot. It was awful. I didn't expect to get that teary. So I look awful. I feel awful. Do you know that feeling? When you've been crying? It took me an hour or so to shake it.

K&A have booked us into Fino and I endear myself to them forever when I confidently insist I know exactly how to get there, and then I take them down that strange back alley with all the Spanish bars north of Tottenham Court. They lose all confidence in me.

The Entrance: So we are glad to arrive at Fino. Our table is ready, and it's a little weird. It's a table for three. Yes...it's a booth that fits two on one side and two anorexic people on the other. But it's fine and we get some olives and I get a Cranberry soda (off the sauce this month) and we settle in to order.

The Service: Around this time, it's obvious the waitstaff is not happy with each other. They are arguing so much that I have to ask what the problem is. Apparently, a table for eight has booked but multiplied on the way over. They are now 13. And Fino is not happy. Not happy at all. Parties of eight can order off the regular menu, but if you're more than eight, set menus are their preferred option to keep things easy on the kitchen. Our waitress would have waited on that table had they been eight, but now that they are 13, the manager takes over so the other tables aren't negatively affected. Good thinking. But next time, keep the upset-ness to the back-of-house.

The Starters: Anyhow...K&A start ordering...we have the mixed plate of meats, of which the chorizo is my fave. The tortilla is average. It looks lovely, but they've stuffed it with cooked, wet onions which I haven't expected and they are gooey and not to my liking. We have some squid which is nice.  And some almonds which are of course nice. But the star at this point are the ham croquettas, which we order more of and which take ages to arrive and which we have to ask after twice. Oh, and we don't really want to order the Bread with Marques de Valdueza Olive Oil--only K does--but we do and it's FANTASTIC.

The food is coming so quickly and we are so hungry that I am worried that this will be the fastest meal on record. I ask the staff to slow down and they tell me not to worry, these are just the starters and of course there will be a break between these and the next batch. Thank God.

Intermission: I check out the ladies and I like the set up. It's clean and I have my own sink and there are nice candles in the hallway. I also like the look of the bar area which you pass through on your way to the ladies--very 70s den. I would consider coming back here to hang out in the bar. I should mention that I check out the ladies a couple of times because of the pace at which I'm drinking my cranberry sodas and TAP WATER which is provided without blinking. But then I get a bit upset with myself for ordering the tap water because the bottled water they are serving is Belu and I've missed my chance to be a better person today.

The Second Act: The crisp pork belly with crackling is GREAT. The fries are sprinkled with garlic and rosemary, which is a very winning combination and one I'd like to see more of in 2008. We like the fries so much we order more. The octopus is not for me, and this is strange because I LOVE octopus. A. orders the brussel sprouts and we ask our server if they sell a lot of brussel sprouts and she says her last order was before Christmas. Hmmm. TMI. Pimentos de Padron are average--they are wet. At Eyre Brothers, they are served a bit more crispy and grilled, which I prefer. (Although in the grand scheme of things, I prefer Fino to Eyre Brothers, food-wise. 70s den-wise? Eyre Brothers still has the edge.)

The Verdict: I can't decide. It would be a good celebratory business dinner kind of place. (A business-business dinner would be weird because how can you share food and negotiate a contract at the same time? ) I would go back to the bar. Not sure if I would seek out the restaurant again for myself or friends and family.