The sheer amount of graphic design evident on the menu at this Smithfield newcomer immediately tells you it’s part of a chain. As it turns out, it’s the latest concept from Tragus Holdings. Tragus may hardly be a household name, but its brands Café Rouge and Bella Italia certainly are. They make up quite a considerable business: sold to Blackstone for £267 million last July.
Especially judged by the standards of its faux-French stablemate, these spacious premises – decorated in strong, dark colours – are pretty classy. Staff are well turned out, too, if not especially speedy – just one of the ways in which this is a tapas bar of a sort they wouldn’t necessarily recognise in many parts of Spain. The presumption here is that you’re going to sit down, and eat something resembling a full meal, with a knife and fork. And in a setting that’s more comfortably furnished, and flatteringly lit, than is strictly authentic.
It goes without saying that the food here is in no way as artful as at the much-hyped Barrafina, recently opened in Soho. Nor does it have – as real tapas does – the raw charm of native snacks produced from great local ingredients. It’s certainly a step up from La Tasca, though, and we were surprised by the consistently enjoyable realisation of the long and varied menu.
In short, this place turns out to be equally suited to a flirtatious lunch à deux, a small office celebration or a lightweight business meeting – all gatherings in evidence on the day of our visit. Perhaps we have seen the future of Café Rouge. And it is Spanish?
