Spanish Restaurants in Watford
1. Salt Yard
Spanish restaurant in Fitzrovia
54 Goodge St - W1
“The original Salt Yard in W1 used to be one of London’s best new tapas restaurants” – but it opened over 15 years ago and “the subsequent roll-out of the brand as multiple branches” under Urban Pubs & Bars “has seen quality drop quite a lot”. As “a pleasant option for well-produced Med-inspired dishes”, they maintain a fair number of fans, if without the pizzazz once conjured by the name. The year-old branch near the entrance to Westfield is the highest rated, and the newest near Borough Market is also seen as “a handy addition to the group”.
2. Dehesa
Italian restaurant in Soho
25 Ganton Street - W1
We’re in two minds about the inclusion of this former star of London’s tapas scene, which generates very little feedback nowadays despite a prime mid-Soho site. Fans do still laud its “well-crafted dishes and Spanish wines”, but others say “the food has that ‘here’s one I made earlier’ quality. OK, but not very exciting”.
3. Ember Yard
Spanish restaurant in Soho
60 Berwick Street - W1
2021 Review: Up-and-down reports on this “lovely” Soho haunt, specialising in wood-fired, Mediterranean, grilled dishes – part of Salt Yard Group (all of which was absorbed into the Urban Pubs portfolio in November 2018). Fans applaud the “delicious tapas from this ever-reliable family” but quite a few reports express disappointment: “maybe there’s a sense it isn’t quite what it was”.
4. 28 Church Row
Spanish restaurant in Hampstead
28 Church Row - NW3
Under a picturesque Georgian terrace, close to St John-in-Hampstead church, this basement tapas bar is a prime destination in the area thanks to its “consistently delicious food, attentive staff” and “lovely atmosphere”. The menu adds Italian elements to its Spanish core, and there’s a “very good wine selection”.
5. The Duke of Sussex
British, Modern restaurant in Chiswick
75 South Pde - W4
“Avoiding a typical pub-forgettable menu” – this Victorian tavern on a prominent corner overlooking Acton Green Common “offers a tapas selection of real quality and a lovely interior to boot”. That’s it on a good day, though – it’s not consistent and some “unexceptional” results dragged on the rating a little this year. You can eat anywhere in the pub, although the grand dining room at the rear is the most comfy location, and “the garden is very pleasant on a fine day”.
6. Bar Esteban
Spanish restaurant in Crouch End
29 Park Rd - N8
This Crouch End spot has built a strong local name over more than a decade, and is known for its superior tapas and a “really good selection of Spanish wine, by the glass or bottle”. Founder Stephen (‘Esteban’) Lironi is a Glasgow-born music producer and sherry aficionado, while Barcelona-born chef Pablo Rodriguez arrived via Barrafina.
7. Twist Connubio
Fusion restaurant in Marylebone
42 Crawford Street - W1
“Tucked away in Marylebone, with a friendly vibe and tasty food”, this creative outfit marries flavours from Spanish, Italian and Japanese cuisine. “Some of the tapas are very good indeed”, and they are supported by a serious wine list focused on Spain and Italy.
8. Donostia
Spanish restaurant in Marylebone
10 Seymour Pl - W1
“Delicious baby-brother alternative to Lurra” (the more formal restaurant across the road) – this “rather crowded” bar/restaurant provides a “superb Basque tapas” plus a “small but select wine list”. “It’s especially good sitting at the bar” – less so in the somewhat stranded rear tables.
9. Lurra
Spanish restaurant in Marble Arch
9 Seymour Place - W1
“Totally amazing in every way” – this Basque specialist in Seymour Village has a very short menu focusing on aged dairy beef ribs or whole turbot grilled over a wood fire, and is both “extraordinary, and eye-wateringly expensive” – “we spent well north of £1,000 for four, but it was worth it”. “The morel and black garlic croquetas are sublime”, too. Its sibling tapas bar Donostia is close by (see also).
10. Ibérica
Spanish restaurant in Fitzrovia
195 Great Portland St - W1
This “buzzy but very noisy” Hispanic quartet (in Marylebone, Farringdon, Victoria and Canary Wharf) offers a “good range of tapas” and “interesting wines by the glass and the bottle”. They still have plenty of admirers as a “reliable” option, even if they “no longer provide the novelty or the high standards they once did”.
11. Barrafina
Spanish restaurant in King’s Cross
Coal Drops Yard - N1C
“It’s a great show to watch the chefs at work”, perched on a stool at the counter of the Hart Bros’ “incredibly busy and buzzy” bars – their hyper-successful homage to Barcelona’s Cal Pep. “The tapas is always first rate” with “succulent grilled seafood all prepared in front of your very eyes” a highlight. “Staff are friendly and efficient and take such pride in the dishes and their presentation”. (In April 2023, executive chef Angel Zapata Martin left the group after six years, leaving Antonio Gonzales Milla minding the central Barrafina locations, and Francisco Jose Torrico in charge of Coal Drops Yard and Borough).
12. Vermuteria
Spanish restaurant in Camden
38-39 Coal Drops Yard - N1C
2023 Review: The vintage styling – that of a classic European café – is at odds with ever-more über-sleek Coal Drops Yard. Reports on Anthony Demetre’s all-day operation (named for the vermouth which is a feature of its drink offering) are still few, but suggest its well-sourced tapas, charcuterie and more substantial fare (including steak) can make it a handy refuge, from breakfast onwards (for which there’s a dedicated selection).
13. Parrillan
Spanish restaurant in Camden
Coal Drops Yard - N1C
“Taking the good bits from Parrillan Coal Drops Yard and improving on it X 2” – the attractive Borough Yards branch of the Hart Bros Hispanic duo has eclipsed its N1 sibling in terms of feedback. At both sites, the parrilla grill is a DIY job if you sit outside (you order para picar, and then chicken, seafood and meat for the BBQ); but at SE1 there’s also a stylish, brick-lined interior section, complete with chefs and a more conventional menu-style service. The younger branch is not beyond criticism though: as in CDY it can seem “a good all-round experience, but overpriced” and the odd reporter finds it all too “hyped”.
14. Decimo
Spanish restaurant in King's Cross
The Standard, 10 Argyle St - WC1H
“A spectacular room with spectacular views (including from the loos!)” sets a high-octane scene at Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’s dramatic Mexican venue: a high-ceilinged space on the top of King’s Cross’s über-hip Standard Hotel, with a breathtaking outlook over St Pancras station next door, and accessed via an exterior, red, glass-walled lift. “It seems less busy at lunch – it looks more like one for the cool kids after dark”. Most reporters are “pleasantly surprised by the food” which majors in ribs, steaks and seafood from the grill “(I thought it was going to be yet another celebrity rip-off)”. It’s far from a cheap experience, though, and one or two dud meals were also reported.
15. Camino King's Cross
Spanish restaurant in King's Cross
3 Varnishers Yard, Regent Quarter - N1
“Reliable tapas in handy locations” is the USP of this 16-year-old trio with a flagship near King’s Cross station (by far the best known) and offshoots in Shoreditch and Monument. But while they’re “decent enough”, they offer “standard fayre” – it’s “nothing exceptional”.
16. Tendido Cero
Spanish restaurant in Earl's Court
174 Old Brompton Road - SW5
“Every dish is good” at this long-running tapas bar in South Kensington. Regulars, though, reckon it’s “not quite up to the experience” of its sibling opposite, Cambio de Tercio, with which it shares a list of “excellent” Spanish wines (“it’s clearly tapas from a chef more familiar with fine dining, leaning towards the elegant rather than a solid punch of flavour”).
17. Cambio de Tercio
Spanish restaurant in Earl's Court
163 Old Brompton Rd - SW5
“You leave feeling everything is good in the world” according to fans of Abel Lusa’s accomplished stalwart (est. 1995) on the borders of South Ken and Earl’s Court: one of London’s original Spanish restaurants of quality and still at the cutting edge, with its “luxurious tapas”, “excellent Iberian wines” and “wonderfully fun and atmospheric” style. A slip in ratings, though, accompanies one or two concerns that “it should offer better value”; or that “it risks slipping from a smart and exciting place to being lower-energy”. But that didn’t stop Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz from eating here with his family five times during the Championships this year – and on the days he didn’t go, he ordered deliveries to be sent to his accommodation. Apparently, his favourite dish is the crispy salmon nigiri (a Spanish version of sushi with sweet soy sauce, Spanish vinegar and chipotle mayonnaise).
18. Barrica
Spanish restaurant in Fitzrovia
62 Goodge St - W1
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.
19. Tapas Brindisa
Spanish restaurant in South Kensington
7-9 Exhibition Rd - SW7
“An excellent location overlooking the River Thames makes the Richmond branch very special if you are able to bag one of its outside tables on a balmy summer evening”; and it’s a highpoint of this chain run by a firm of well-known Iberian food importers. On the plus-side, its branches are generally “buzzy”, with “tasty” and “authentically flavoured” tapas. On the minus-side, for all the “high quality ingredients”, dishes can end up “indifferent” and “pricey for the size of the portions”; and “service can be a little too uneven”.
20. Arros QD
Spanish restaurant in
64 Eastcastle Street - W1W
No-one, it seems, told star Spanish chef Quique Dacosta (whose Alicante restaurants hold three Michelin stars) that you don’t launch an ambitious foodie venue just off the shopping hell of Oxford Street. This impressive-looking four-year-old – complete with a large open kitchen – offers high quality grills, with the speciality being a selection of paella dishes. Feedback remains quite limited (not helped by its location) – neither huge criticism, nor huge praise is present.
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