Tapas Brindisa

When the Brindisa opened its restaurant in London bridge a few years ago, it was by far the best tapas / Spanish restaurant in London. It was an example and a benchmark to all other tapas places. For far too long, Londoners idea of a tapas bar was la tasca or other poor so-called Spanish / tapas restaurants. Brindisa was a breath of fresh air. Great ingredients, top wines and stunning food. I don’t know maybe with popularity comes complacency. I have definitely noticed a gradual deterioration at Brindisa. The standard is no longer where it was. The price has increased but the quality of food and end product has declined. I was on a date on Friday night gone and I decided to go there. I had the one of cheapest Rioja, the chops, the peppers (pardons), Spanish omelette, croquettes and the prawns. The final bill was £76 which I thought was pretty punchy. Bar the Spanish omelette and the prawns (only ok), everything else was pretty average. The chops (only 2) was priced at £9.75. Once big and juicy, what we were served was shrivelled up tiny meatless chops. The little peppers, if we got 10 we were lucky at £4.50. Brindisa is a quirky little place. It’s always busy and I have never had problem with the wait. The atmosphere and the location is great. Its just such a shame, to see a place that was once so good now being very average and dishing out over priced sub-standard tapas. I don’t usually write negative reviews. I was on a date at the time and didn’t want to make a scene complaining at the restaurant. I use to love brindisa, but I have now had 3 / 4 ok and very average meals so I don’t think I am going to return.

Tapas bars in Spain are that: bars. In the UK, we tend to think of them as destination restaurants (think the very excellent Fino). Maybe this is why there have been so many people let down by Tapas Brindisa which is, after all, pretty authentically Spanish.

It has a bar complete with stools. It has bustle. The cutlery comes in old pepper tins. You cannot book, but you can sit outside on the pavement. In fact all it lacks is rows of hams hanging from the ceiling, gently oozing fat into those white plastic cones to make it properly Spanish. I am guessing that there is a health and safety issue with this, although it doesn’t seem to have overly harmed our Iberian colleagues.

The food is basic tapas, like jamon (we had the selection of Serrano, Iberica and Bellota, all very pleasant, growing in strength from left to right), which came with the obligatory tomato bread. There was also piping hot ham croquettes and some spicy chorizo on toast. Nothing special, nothing outstanding. Just good honest tapas in a nice friendly bar. Sort of what tapas should be, yet in this country rarely is.

Were there to be a complaint, it would be the price. It is not that the food is any more expensive than, say, Fino, it is just that Fino is a real destination restaurant and Tapas Brindisa is a real tapas bar. That cannot be right: £30 a head for what was a light snack is just plain wrong. Far better to save your pennies and go to Seville: start in the old town behind the Alcazar and just wander. Stand at the bar. Sup a cruzcampo here, taste a tapas there; each bar has a speciality that brings people in, so just follow the locals. A bit like a Spaniard coming to London and doing a pub crawl.

I went to this restaurant on good recommendation.
A pleasant meal was spoilt by the following-
Mussels dish. Four out of twelve mussels were completely closed. We ate the eight good ones and asked the waitress about the other four. She said she would replace them. After a long wait nothing happened and when asked again she said she had spoken to the kitchen who didn't feel they needed to provide four mussels as we had eaten the other eight! I didnt want to make further fuss and embarrass my guests.
I settled the £90 bill for a very light meal for three and left feeling that the lack of grace was not becoming for a restaurant as expensive as this.
Kind regards
Dr. Peter Dickens

I arrived at 7:30 pm on a Friday (they don't take reservations), we where seated at 9:20. Luckily my dining partner ran a bit late so i was happy to go to the pub across the road which lead to a few glasses of wine and some awesome wasabi nuts (the culinary highlight of the evening). Mainly we didn't go anywhere else due to the lack of other restaurants in the area. So after more than 90min of wait we where finally seated.

We chose because for a very long time I would walk, jog pass, visit the market and think, ah it looks such a busy and lovely place… Surely it must be a great. Well its not.

The staff was friendly enough, as helpful as staff in a very very busy restaurant can be. The average red wine on the menu was about £20 so not really a easy going, relaxed, table wine kinda place.

We ordered 5 tapas between two and was hungry after. I started with lame dry bread and ended with highly overpriced tiny portion cheese. In between we were treated to black rice and calamari was 3 rings of dry, battered calamari on a pile of soggy black rice. Half a bowl full of tiny steamed mussels in a very salty white wine and fresh herbs broth. Some chorizo, potato and pepper omelette with allioli without any chirizo served very chilled and dry. The only tasty part of the evening (aside from the wasabi nuts) was the Iberian ham croquettes. Tasty.

We where still hungry so after the food we decided to opt for the ‘Selection of regional Spanish cheeses with toast £ 13.75’. Now don't get me wrong. I am not a whole chicken swallowing, rugby playing giant. I am a average girl with an healthy appetite but seriously. Why the frikkin tiny portions. If you would charge less I would be less annoyed.

In total the evening cost us £73. We shared a bottle of table wine, had 4 tapas dishes and a cheese platter and was charged £1 for a glass of tap water.

Go if you have more money than sense. A wanky over rated restaurant. I guess its location close to borough market makes for a ‘foodie’ experience but in my opinion I'd rather opt for a Nandos and get what I pay for. A disappointing night of dining, to say the least.

A very busy little tapas bar / restaurant at the edge of Borough market. Décor is as you would expect for a tapas bar ! We’ve eaten here 4-5 times in the last 12 months, most recently end Jan 2010. Our main reason for not eating here more frequently is that unless you turn up at an odd time of day, it can be a long wait.

The staff are generally pleasant and professional, and seem to cope reasonably well with the high customer turnover, although it can sometimes be difficult to get attention.

Brindisa carries quite a limited menu which doesn’t change much, so its fine for the occasional visit. As a result, we normally end up choosing the same dishes – Olives, chartuterie, cheese, salad, Spanish omelette, etc. They don’t serve white bait, meat balls, kidneys and some other Tapas standards. I think the food is good, but not great, with their particular strength being the charcuterie. The highlight of our last visit was the superb large Gordal olives, but at effectively 40p each they should be quite good ! One of their better mixed meat platters was very good, but was £24. The mixed cheese platter of 4 cheeses to share was quite good, but at £15.50 it did not represent great value compared to a good restaurant.

They carry a reasonably good wine choice. We normally end up paying £30- £35 inc service.

Brindisa is very atmospheric, but as another reviewer intimated, it is not cheap and not necessarily good value for what you get – a bit like my experiences in Spain itself, you need to pay a lot to get decent quality. I think the pricing means you come away with a Tapas bar experience but a restaurant level bill – A basic Tapas style evening meal normally costs us circa £30 pp, inc service, but exc all drinks.

I finally visited Tapas Brindisa on a Thursday afternoon prior to a spot of shopping in the market. The service was prompt and friendly and we sat to our table immediately.
The food was ok, not spectacular and I was disappointed that I had to de-vein the prawns in chilli and garlic for my guest. I was also disppointed with the potato bravas. I remember eating potato bravas @ Meza on Wardour Street a few years back and how wonderful it was for a veggie dish. Meza was my first experience of Tapas and unfortunately the Brindisa version wasn't half as good.
The highlight was the ham croquettes and I could easily eat 2 or 3 portions alone! Also the anchovies with roasted vegetables was tasty. Unfortunately the clams in bacon & butter beans was sold out so I was unable to try this combination that on paper read nicely.
I wouldn't rush back here in a hurry but if I was invited to eat there again, I would go.

I've long been a fan of Tapas Brindisa, always been very happy with the exemplary cooking. It was a disappointment last night though :( I've loved this palce for a long time but the food last night was half hearted, lots of little things were missing ofr example the lick of olive oil on the pan tomate, the much overcooked chicken livers needing a splash of sherry vinegar and the very average octopus with potatoes. I wondered if perhaps the expansion into Soho and Kensington has diluted their standards.

I'll be heading off to Barrafina next time, similar prices but far more inspired.

BTW squaremeal, your prices for Brindisa a very low, i'd suggest £30-35 a head without wine is more realistic.

After Barrafina my favourite Spanish restaurant in London although no booking policy and long waits can put me off going but I guess thats what is about. Food is good and its got a great atmosphere…also like the simple interior and location on the corner of Borough Market is fab! There are also a couple of good pubs in the market (the Market Porter and Wheatsheaf) so you can always go for a drink while you are waiting (it has got its own bar) but this can also get busy. Otherwise a wonder around he market is always worth it…

Without a doubt the best place for tapas in London. Tapas Brindisa has had rave reviews from all restaurant critics over the years, and its reputation is certainly derserved.

High quality sourced ingredients, a buzzy cosmopolitan atmosphere that provides as close a feeling of being in Barcelona without being there, and friendly chatty and prompt staff make for a perfect place to enjoy a bit of tapas and a bottle of rioja.

The restaurant does not take bookings, and tables are done on a first come first served basis. The host writes your name up on a board and gets you when it's your turn. Turn around is quick, but during busy times you may have to wait an hour to get seated, however the wait is well worth it.

Better than most tapas bars in Barcelona, this hugely authentic tapas bar uses the best ingredients money can buy. Simple dishes like a chorizo tortilla with aoili, or even country toast with tomato, are executed brilliantly and can't be faulted. Some of the dishes are expensive for what they are, but choose wisely and you can eat fantastically well for an average price. The staff help make the buzzy atmosphere, and get away with just the right amount of 'manyana' attitude! A top spot for people-watching or a quick glasses of cava after a visit to Borough Market