Bloomsbury, Spanish Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “A wonderful menu with a good choice of tapas to suit all tastes” again wins recommendations for this buzzy and good-value bar on Goodge Street.

“This small, unassuming restaurant is a favourite haunt” in Soho, featuring “imaginative, unfussy and tasty food”, with “attentive service in a buzzy environment”. Founders Cameron Emirali & Luke Wilson are “lovely people” who “get everything right”, so “the ambience is fun, with everyone enjoying themselves”. Top Tip – “it’s worth sharing plates to get twice as much pleasure for the same price”.

Tapas and brioche sarnies (from oxtail to red prawns to an octopus ‘hot dog’) are the mainstay at this informal April 2025 newcomer on Fitzrovia’s restaurant row. It’s a retread of Boca a Boca (RIP), under the same Ukrainian owner, Andrii Nokonov. Why he tweaked the formula is unclear as its predecessor was well reviewed in our annual diners’ poll. Bodes well? (There is also a stand-alone wine and cocktail bar downstairs).

“A perfect drop-in spot for a tasty bite” – this “tiny and rather cramped (nowhere to put a bag)” 16-seater tucked into Neal’s Yard next to its big brother (The Barbary, see also) makes a “great choice pre-show or meeting a friend” – “amiable counter service makes going on your own or as a duo the best option”. The Spanish/North African menu offers a “good mix of vegetarian, fish and meat dishes”, while “tandoor-type ovens means they do good breads, too”.