Aqua Nueva

I came to the restaurant with a few friends of mine who are adventrous and in and around London's finest at least once a week so I thought I would join in on the action.

Upon entering the staff were very welcoming and warm, reflecting the atmosphere of the bar area which you come through to.
Being a fan of Tapas, it was by far the best I have had in very long time. Sitting near the terrace was a bonus in terms of the scenic views and relaxed spanish styled atmosphere.

Taking into consideration the standard service, quality and diversity of dishes and perfect London locations it is indeed great value for money.

My sister organised my birthday dinner at aqua nueva and we had an amazing evening, the food was awesome, service was timely and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. The restaurant birthday cake was a wonderful treat indeed. Will definitely be back for more!

The food was really good, we ordered the entire tapas menu and all of it was nice. Very expensive as well, but we thought it was worth it for a great evening out. The waiters at the tables were also nice. Not always the fastest, but absolutely ok. They did spill an entire drink over our table, but apologized and brought a new one.

The staff at the door, however, were so incredibly unfriendly that they spoilt the entire experience for us. I was chased by a security guard for attempting to leave a piece of paper at reception. I had asked nicely whether they could throw it into the bin for me. They told me they didn't have a bin at the desk. And when I left the piece of paper (it literally was a piece of paper, nothing disgusting) there, asking whether they can then throw it into a bin somewhere else, they chased the security guard after me and one of my friends picked it up to avoid them going completely wild. I appreciate that I can't ask random people to do me favors. But the service personnel in a place where we just spent £80 each for dinner could be a little bit more accommodating than your average bistander. The way they treated us was absolutely disgusting.

This was definitely my first and last time at Aqua Nueva. Such a service is simply not acceptable in places that charge prices like Aqua Nueva does.

Only went following a last minute recommendation from a mate when we were looking to impress some potential new clients, and boy is this the right place to do this. We were there on a Thursday evening and the restaurant and the rest of the bar were buzzing. Tried lots of different dishes on the tapas menu and then shared some main dishes and none of them strayed far from superb. Staff were attentive but discrete. Good recommendations on the wine. The piece de resistance was the after dinner drinks on the terrace which overlooks Regents Street – a very unique view from the 5th floor of the buidling. Highly recommended.

I believe it is important to read a review before heading out to the actual place. Doing so, you avoid going to the wrong establishment on the wrong occasion… I mean why take your first date to a sophisticated underground gourmet, and vice versa take your best mate to a romantic Oriental club in Mayfair.

And this exactly what you should keep in mind before approaching Aqua Nueva. It is not a place to impress your gourmet friends, yet if you are trying to get some action with a lady well, this is it! So for your first date needs, this venue tick all the boxes. Probably the most stunning interior and location (especially on a sunny day) around Oxford Circus, however the glamorous bar does not actually serve food, so perhaps I should not get myself influenced by the bar in the restaurant review

Anyway the restaurant: First of all do not confuse aqua nueva with aqua kyoto, as the 2 experiences are completely different.

Let’s stick to topic, aqua nueva… it is made of the tapas bar and the more formal dining restaurant. I' d avoid the restaurant, I didnt eat there, but it feels like it could easily consume you £200 for a good but not excellent experience…So if you are looking for top class upmarket food go somewhere else…

I decided to sit at the tapas bar – here is where it gets more funny; closer to the ladies, closer to the bar, more enjoyable and less formal. And I have actually enjoyed my night at the Tapas bar. Why? Ok ignore the service, (quite sub-standard and not the sort of warm attentive service you'd expect from your local tapas bar) – yet if you have a passion for food it is interesting to observe how the chef prepares and composes the plates. Very tidy and well organized open air kitchen, that feels almot like a laboratory. Anyone with the slightest experience in a restaurant kitchen would appreciate that

And what about the actual food? The results are good (yet places like brindisa or el pirata de tapas deliver better value for money). My selection included a toast with cured meat (not the best spanish saucisson, but a very innovative flat pizza or tomato bread as bruschetta) skew of cattlefish (good to look at, slightly too hard to eat) a plate of Spanish cured meat (good selection of meats for the affordable price), pancetta wrapped scallops with saffron onion (probably the best plate) a sous vide cooked lamb with finely cut root vegetable (simple but perfectly executed) chorizo and quail egg (simple dish, yet not too convinced by the choice of sausage on the plate)

All the plates are fairly priced (remember that it s not an east London venue in a warehouse, but the most sumptuous central London location). In conclusion go on a date, sit at the bar, be prepared and finally, to thoroughly enjoy the experience, look at, and engage with the chef standing in front you methodically preparing the tapas… You will be going home feeling that “ok it was enjoyable and i have even learnt some cooking skills

“this will be classed as ‘The’ experience of 2011, I can't get over the beautiful lighting, decor, terraces, food and staff. All absolutely charming and I'm very, very impressed”

Aqua Nueva is the Quaglinos of today – a big, noisy, fashionable central london hangout with lots of sponsored tables. That is not to say it a bad place, in fact it's great fun for a crowd looking for an ‘inclusive’ experience of bar, dinner and dancing – but the food suffers. Cold Tapas was great as expected but I had to fight with the grilled Octopus for some time, this was followed by a bar of Oxtail which was also a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately the service was good, we had plenty to drink and a fun night, but not a great meal.

Went for dinner last night and the food was very poor indeed. The tapas seemed to have been sitting out plated for ages and did not look fresh at all. We had to send an octopus dish back as it was so bad.

The bar is quite nice, as is the decor in the restaurant, so if that's important to you then you might enjoy Aqua, but if you're looking for good food, based on my experience, you'll be unlikely to find it here.

I wanted to see how this restaurant fared in comparrison to the morro restaurant , which is one of my favourite spanish restaurants. I went with my best friend , as we entered the top floor we I felt like we were worlds away from central London, what stunning decor.
The restaurants are completely different in size and decor, so I cant compare them in that way.
I will say that auqua nueva is a labyrinth of a restaurant and has lots of cream colours with a distinctive Mediterranean feel that really makes you feel relaxed and comfortable, I did prefer it to the other restaurant you walk by to go to the spanish one.
I think the Tapas bar is amazing, I havent seen ice sculptures like this in a restaurant before, its a must see and the chef is quite dishy , pardon the pun! he was really helpfull and prepared everything as we sat watching him.
I went for the langoustine carpaccio which was such a visual treat, my friend had the lamb chops with tarragon sauce. these dishes really stood out but on the whole a very pleasurable menu. The waiters were attentative and really nice. I have found my new spanish rstaurant.

I really enjoyed Aqua Nueva. The food is absolutely fantastic, in fact the oxtail is possibly the nicest thing I've ever eaten!!! The atmosphere made me feel really special and the service is impeccable. We got there at 6pm and stayed till closing time and I had a really brilliant evening. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy fine cuisine in suave, relaxed surroundings.