Catherine's Reviews

I went to Tendido Cero on a recommendation from a friend at the Instituto Cervantes and can happily say that it is easily one of the best tapas restaurants I have been to in London…and I'm working my way through a few!

We tried the sobrasada pastries – which you don't often find and which were delicious. Tendido Cero has a ‘new’ take on patatas bravas too – rather than giving you chunks of fried potato in salsa rosa or aioli, they serve them cut into small cylinders, scooped out and filled with a creamy sauce – personally I wasn't keen on the texture but my two friends loved them. We also tried their fabada, which is done simply and elegantly, without morcilla or too much fatty ham, and their tortilla, which was cooked almost to perfection – a little runnier and it would have been spot on.

The wine list is extensive and offers something to suit most budgets. We tried the Elias Mora from Toro – which is a good choice if you want a nice mid priced bottle! The kitchen is bustling and there is an opening from the restaurant, which gives the place a nice buzz and demonstrates how attentive the waiters are as they chase up the next dish for their customers.

The decor is all appropriately themed around bull fighting, and we were sat by a large photographic canvas of a Torero's rear, almost exposed following a costume-destroying near miss with a bull!

The service was excellent (from our charming waiter from Salamanca) and our glasses were topped almost without us realising. Plates of food were brought at the perfect pace for us to enjoy each two or three dishes at our leisure, before proceeding to the next.

If you love Spanish food, this is definitely a place you should try (though please note that there were not a large number of vegetarian options)!

For quality and variety of food El Pirata is a shining example of Spanish fare. They have a varied menu – from the ubiquitous chorizo al vino and bravas to have more unusual, but typically rustic latin dishes like fabada and baby eels. The salpicón de mariscos (which, in the few places it is done, is often done badly) was really fresh and is a personal favourite. They also have a decent selection for vegetarians, which can be difficult to find in a tapas restaurant!

The wine list is fantastic, divided by D.O. (region) and really extensive! I really liked the fact that I could get Ondarre (mid priced and nice Tempranillio blend) or splash out and go for a Marques de Murrieta Ygay Reserva! It's tempting to try too many!

The atmosphere is also wonderfully vibrant and the decor is crustily latin, you could imagine a good fiesta happening in El Pirata! The first time I went, we sat downstairs which I recommend – sitting down there you could believe you were in Spain.

The service is where Pirata sometimes falls down. On my first visit the service was excellent – the waiter was friendly, attentive and had a chat (and shared my birthday chocolates with us). The third time I went it was a different story. We arrived at our booked time (9:00) and were told dismissively that our table was not ready so we'd have to wait and were waved in the general direction of the bar. No one offered to serve us a drink on our 20 minute wait. When we finished our food, we still had half a bottle of wine to finish but the waiter asked us if we wanted the bill. When we said ‘not yet’, he waited five minutes before asking again – this time leaning over us. When we said we would like to finish our wine, he said they wanted the table and brought it over anyway (despite us having had to wait 20 minutes to be seated in the first place, and having wine left that we had paid for).

That said, a friend I recommended Pirata to loved it and had good service – so in summary, this is definitely one to try –… More