Dehesa

I love Dehesa. I've been here a few times now and it's been excellent each and every time. Having to book in two hour slots is a bit frustrating, but even with a largish group on my last visit, two hours was plenty to eat ourselves silly and to enjoy a huge variety of the menu.

Starting with arrival – once you get in the door past the ever hopeful last minute drop-ins who crowd the doorway, it's cosy, friendly and welcoming. I prefer to sit at the bar or at the back, finding the long tables near the front a bit impersonal and lacking in privacy but have had a couple of good meals there too so can't really complain. Dehesa is particularly welcoming on a cold night – with golden light, warm wooden tables and a bar that shouts, “have a drink, you deserve it”.

Servive is generally good, mostly friendly and very efficient. Which is particularly appreciated if you've been told you have to leave by a certain time.

But it's the food that I love. Even the simple bread and aioli is incredible with the bread fresh, lightly toasted and with just the right amount of olive oil. And it just gets better from there. I always have to order a portion of the courgette flowers, goatscheese and honey for myself as I am simply too selfish to share. On the meat dishes, the pork belly with beans is a classic and while rich, is absolutely delicious and if you like your meat pink ( I do) the onglet is suberb. I've had duck here on previous visits but I think it was a smoked version. Nonetheless, it was fantastic and I have no doubt the roasted duck currently on the menu will be as good.

A salad of aubergine, walnuts, tomato and goats curd went done extremely well on my last visit, as did the squash ravioli.

Of course, the ham is not to be trifled with. I admit to balking slightly at paying £13 for a plate of meat, but it's generous and whether you go for that or the cheaper version, it's delicious. Similarly, the cheeses are fantastic and the quince jelly (or whatever it is) perfectly accompanies it.

And then dessert. I can only swoon. The chocolate and hazlenut cake is simply heavenly while if you like fruit desserts, you can't go wrong with the grilled figs.

Total cost seems to vary a lot depending on amount of alcohol consumed and number of people – I find the large the group, the smaller the bill per person. I've spent as little as £30 a head and as much as £45. But every time I've come away feeling it was money well spent and that it was worth every penny.

What hits you when you walk in to Dehesa is not only the immediate warmth but the sense of buzz this little dining room has. No sign of ageing wood and rustic tiling here, Dehesa has taken a modern canteen approach complete with Scandinavian style furniture. Not quite a venue to get up close and personal with your date (unless your lucky enough to bag one of the two window booths), but perfect for a catch up with friends or a quick meal.

The menu continues the contemporary approach with clean and crisp versions of authentic tapas fare. Dishes are ample and include plates of superbly cooked food, such as the crispy courgette flowers with monte enegro and honey, tender and tangy prawns, juicy and spicy chorizo as well as a few surprises – the sea bass with creamy leek carbonara and broad beans was a particularly refreshing and well thought out dish. What stands out here is that each dish is made and presented with care, almost tapas meets haute cuisine.

Service is swift, accommodating and polite and I particularly liked when our waitress asked if we'd like three courgette flowers at no extra cost (one for each of us) as the dish usually only came with two. A special mention also goes to the soft and rich chocolate cake and frangelico ice cream, in a word, yum! Certainly one to go back to again and again.

Not a dud dish. Their Gloucester Old Spot belly pork is a benchmark for how to cook pork (and a perfect illustration of how different properly reared outdoor pork tastes compared to the dry, stringy indoor lean beasts tortured for our low-fat pleasure). Everything perfectly balanced. Terrific service. The most delicious prosecco in town. £60 for two—that bought four shared dishes plus excellent grilled sourdough bread, a shared pud and 4 glasses of wine. London bargain.

A friend and I tried Dehesa randomly on a Wed night, we had both heard of it and new it came from good stock, plus it looked really inviting. We were greeted straight away and offered the choice of counter seating or the communal tables. We chose to sit at the counter, which was great because everytime we needed something the bar tender was right there to assist. We arrived @ about 7pm, and it was quickly buzzing and the ambience was great, and the decor and service allows the feeling of luxury even though this is a fairly casual venue.
We orderd 6 items altogether from the tapas menu, the padron peppers were yummy and not too salty, the spanish omlette was huge! We tried trout as a wild card dish and it was delicious in fact everything we ate tasted good, fresh and the portions were far from stingy making it great value too. We didn't drink, and with service the bill was £22.50, a bargain! We are going back again this Wed, so let's see if consistency is another plus for this newcomer.