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The best Spanish restaurants in London for tapas and more

Hankering after a taste of your hols or simply fancy hoovering up some jamon with a lovely glass of Albarino? We pick out London's best Spanish restaurants for you to try.

 

barrfina.jpgBarrafina

Soho, Covent Garden, King's Cross, Borough

Barrafina changed the landscape of the Spanish food scene in London. When Sam and Eddie opened the first Barrafina on Frith Street in 2007 it was to evoke their best times sitting up at the counter at Barcelona's Cal Pep. They succeeded in introducing Londoners to a new level of tapas by cunningly procuring the talented Nieves Barragán (now at Sabor) to run the show. Barrafina has since grown to five restaurants across town, and it still serves up some of the very best tapas in London. 

More about Barrafina 

Also see: Parrillan (King's Cross, Borough) - the Barrafina spin-off with some larger dishes and a grill-your-own meat option

 

SaborSabor

Mayfair - 35-37 Heddon St, London W1B 4BR

Expectations were sky-high when Nieves Barragan moved from Barrafina to set up her own restaurant with GM José Etura. From the word go it was a huge success and you honestly feel like you could be sat in a tapas bar in Madrid rather than just off Regent Street. It won a Michelin star in its first year and has gone from strength to strength since. 

More about Sabor

 

JoseJose

Bermondsey - 104 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3UB

They say great things come in small packages and that’s 100% the case with chef José Pizarro’s Bermondsey tapas spot. He has a number of restaurants across town that are all well worth visiting, but this is probably the one you’re most likely to spot him in, chatting to customers as they prop up the bar or nab one of the must-prized stools.

More about José Tapas Bar

Also try:  There's Pizarro in Bermondsey, just down the road from the tapas bar, José Pizarro Broadgate and, one of our favourites, Jose Pizarro at The Royal Academy, perfect for pairing tapas with culture. 

 

barrfina.jpgMaresco

45 Berwick St, London W1F 8SF

Expect Scottish seafood in a range of Spanish tapas in this first central London restaurant from North London restaurateur Stephen Lironi. The window counter on the ground floor is perfect for Soho people watching over a plate of razor clams fresh from the Scottish coast that day, served up with some amazing Spanish wines.

More about Maresco 

 

barrfina.jpgBar Kroketa

21 Beak St, London W1F 9RR

The clue to this tapas bar's speciality is in the name (that's the Basque way of spelling croqueta). With a regularly changing menu of inventive croquetas and pintxo, this Carnaby spot is great place to while away an hour or two. If it's on, the king prawn croquetas with prawn head alioli are the absolute business.

More about Bar Kroketa 

 

BiboBibo

Shoreditch - 45 Curtain Rd, Hackney, London EC2A 3PT

Bibo comes from Dani Garcia, a top Spanish chef with Michelin stars to his name. He's brought his Bibo restaurant to London with some of its signature dishes like the oxtail brioche and a pretty amazing Russian salad. There's a great scene here too - so it's definitely the place to be if you're after excellent Spanish food and a buzzy vibe. 

More about Bibo

 

Arros QDArros QD

Fitzrovia - 64 Eastcastle St, Fitzrovia, London W1W 8NQ

The QD in the name stands for multiple Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Quique Dacosta. This is his London restaurant and focuses not on tapas but on another great Spanish tradition - paellla. Expect some of the very best paella in town, cooked over their bespoke burners alongside some excellent dishes like their cheese stones (not a typo).

More about Arros QD

 

lurraissy.jpgLurra

Marylebone - 9 Seymour Pl, London W1H 5BA

Lurra specialises as a Basque grill and imports its own Galician beef (supplying other restaurants in town), so you will want to make sure to order the Galician steak here (to share), alongside some Presa Iberica. The sourdough with bone marrow is also excellent. (Lurra pic by Issy Croker)

More about Lurra

See also: Just across the road is their sister restaurant, the tapas bar Donostia

 

MoritoMorito

Exmouth Market and Hackney

Sam and Sam Clark first opened this tiny offshoot of their popular Exmouth Market restaurant Moro in 2010. Part tapas, part mezze bar, it’s now expanded to Hackney and both places serve up a super selection of twists on classic tapas and dishes that flirt with a North African theme.

More about Morito Exmouth Market and Morito Hackney

 

bartozino.jpgBar Tozino

Bermondsey- Lassco Ropewalk, Maltby St, London SE1 3PA

This little jamon bar, under the arches at Maltby Street, will really bring back memories of Spain. Owner Chuse Valero was working as a carver in Barcelona when Monika Linton from Brindisa enticed him over to London. Now, together with friend Zac Fingal-Rock Innes (whose family are the Fingal-Rock wine merchants), he runs this tight ship of excellent jamon and very good wines.

More about Bar Tozino

 

CopitaCopita

Soho - 27 D'Arblay St, Soho, London W1F 8EP

Noisy and vibrant, this Soho spot packs them in year-round and its mixture of standing space and stools gives it an authentic tapas bar vibe. Don’t forget to peruse their excellent sherry list.

More about Copita

Also try: Barrica, their sister restaurant in Fitzrovia

 

elpirata.jpgEl Pirata of Mayfair

Mayfair - 5-6 Down St, London W1J 7AQ

A true London classic, this restaurant has been in London for over 25 years - and has seen the odd celeb pop in from time to time. It's old-school in the best way, with excellent service and easily some of the best prices in the surrounding Mayfair area. The tapas menu here is more expansive than most, with dishes like sardines and artichoke hearts among more standards like croquetas and tortilla. There's a tapas sharing menu if you fancy going all-in.

More about El Pirata

 

tapasroom.jpgThe Tapas Room

Tooting, Brixton, Battersea

The Tapas Room originally started up under the name Donostia Social Club, appearing at Pop Brixton. They now preside over three restaurants, including a return to Brixton in Brixton Village. Expect classic tapas like cod croquetas and pan con tomate alongside larger plates like Confit Panceta or Chilled Octopus & Tomato Salad. 

More about The Tapas Room

 

boqueria.jpgBoqueria

Battersea - 278 Queenstown Rd, Nine Elms, London SW8 4LT

When you name your tapas bar after the biggest and best food market in Spain (maybe even Europe), then you’d better have the goods to go with that. Happily, Boqueria does. Barcelona-born co-owner Jaime Armenter serves up a menu that covers all the classics but also showcases modern dishes like Beef Tenderloin, Foie & Pedro Ximénez on toasted bread.

More about Boqueria

 

brindisa.jpgBrindisa

London Bridge, South Ken, Soho, Battersea and Richmond

Brindisa founder Monika Linton's contribution to the London tapas scene can't be underestimated. Way back in 1988 she began importing top-quality Spanish produce to London. Restaurants inevitably followed and the group now have five dotted around London. Our favourite is still the Borough Market one, even though it's probably the hardest to get into. 

More about Brindisa

 

camino.jpgCamino

King's Cross, Monument, Shoreditch

Camino's group of restaurants have a menu that covers Spanish tapas from all over Spain. All the classics are here, from jamon croquetas through to calamari, chiorizo, presa Iberica and more. They have pretty large bar spaces too - so it's often easy just to pop in for a drink and a couple of tapas. 

More about Camino

See also: In King's Cross, they have a Spanish Quarter going with the newly-opened Bar Rioja in the same courtyard. 

 

littletaperia.jpgLittle Taperia

Tooting - 143 Tooting High St, London SW17 0RU

This Tooting tapas bar comes from locals Hikmat Antippa (who also owns Meza in Tooting) and Madeleine Lim. The aim here is for more innovative tapas, so alongside croquetas and tortilla, you'll also find dishes like morcilla scotch eggs and grilled hispi cabbage with romanesco sauce.

More about Little Taperia

 

llerena.jpgLlerena

167 Upper St, Islington, London N1 1US

Llerena comes from Extramadura jamon specialists Jamon & Salud who have been raising Iberian pigs since before the second world war - so you'll definitely want to make a beeline for the jamon section of the menu here. You should also try the platter of pork cuts with presa and secreto Iberica too. 

More about Llerena

 

lobos.jpgLobos

London Bridge and Soho

Lobos chef Roberto Castro was originally at Brindisa and brought an ex-Brindisa crew with him to Lobos, realising their dream of opening their first garito (neighbourhood joint) in Borough. Of the two branches, the Borough is definitely the more atmospheric. Meat is as big a focus as the tapas, with the secreto Iberico a must-have.

More about Lobos

 

saltyard.jpgSalt Yard

Fitzrovia (the original), London Bridge, Shepherds Bush

Any tapas roundup is going to have a lot of jamon mentions, but if you're looking for a top veggie pick, then Salt Yard is just the place, the flagship in the group with the same name. Since opening way back in 2005 their courgette flowers, stuffed with Monte Enebro goat’s cheese, lightly deep-fried and drizzled with honey haven't been off the menu. They've started expanding with more Salt Yards, but the original remains the best.

More about Salt Yard

Also try: The sister restaurants in the group, Ember YardDehesa and Opera Tavern

 

trangallan.jpgTranga

61 Newington Green, London N16 9PX

Trangallan was a big hit on Newington Green, but they came back post-pandemic in a slightly new guise. They still focus on Galician tapas, though. Standard tapas like tortilla, Padron peppers and jamon croquetas sit alongside a market paella with aioli and keep an eye on the daily specials board too. 

More about Tranga

 

 

See also: 

Barcelona Tapas - old school bar in Whitechapel

Escocesa - Scottish/Spanish hybrid tapas bar in Stokey

El Ganso - Broadway Market spot with Valencian chef Marcelo Sánchez Cabrer in charge 

Iberica - Michelin-starred exec chef Nacho Manzano runs the show, making this mini-chain always worth checking out

 

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