Head under one of the arches by the entrance to Borough Yards and you'll find Parrillan waiting for you
What can you tell us about Parrillan?
Coming from The Harts Group (also behind El Pastor) Parrillan started as a spin-off from Barrafina with a focus on Spanish cooking over fire, particularly with individual parrilla grills that are brought to the table. It launched in King's Cross at Coal Drops Yard as an all-alfresco restaurant. This is the second Parrillan, this time in the new Borough Yards development.
What's to know about this new one?
The biggest change from before is that there's a large indoors dining room, something that they didn't have at King's Cross. So as well as being bigger, the extra kitchen space means that they've been able to add some bigger sharing dishes to the menu.
Here's the main terrace for dining outside - you'll be able to order the individual parrilla grills here.
The inside space is pretty big too - with a few larger spaces and a good view of the kitchen
Where is it?
It's part of the new Borough Yards development that's opened just off the market, featuring lots of new restaurants and a new Everyman cinema too. Walk down Stoney Street and you'll see the main entrance to the Yards just past BAO. They've taken over a section of buildings under the arches beside Borough Market on the evocatively titled Dirty Lane (the 18th-century street name had fallen into disuse but was brought back as part of the Borough Yards development). As you'd expect, the nearest tube and train station is London Bridge.
For the Harts, it's not just about Parrillan either. Connected under one roof, but split apart by corridors and in very different spaces you'll not only find Parrillan, but also a big new Barrafina (opening soon) and Bar Daskal, their Mallorcan-inspired wine and sherry bar.
Where should we meet for a drink first?
When Daskal opens in mid-June that'll be an obvious spot, but Parillan also has a proper dedicated lounge area outside on the terrace which is a lovely spot for a glass of chilled fino pre-dinner.
There's a pretty big bar space outside
Do we want to be inside or outside?
That largely depends on whether you're going to go for the individual parrilla grill element of the dinner. If you do, you'll need to be outside. Inside the large open kitchen creates a bustley vibe and one wall is open to the elements so you get a sense of the terrace inside anyway.
It's worth noting that the terrace features one innovation we hadn't seen before, in addition to umbrellas and outdoor heaters, each seat comes with electrically heated seat cushions which were surprisingly effective.
So what's on the menu.
There are a number of brand new dishes on the menu - including one popular addition - the wood roast shank of veal which does look rather spectacacular. Chef Director Angel Zapata Martin has taken inspiration from all across Spain and the dishes are generally designed for sharing. We went for a mix of old and new dishes to get a feel for the place. Here's what we had:
Pan de coca con tomàquet de penjar (£8) - honestly, this Catalan tomato bread was better than literally anything we had in Barcelona recently. Those tomatoes were insanely delicious.
Lamb sweetbreads with tropea onions (£22) - all smokey from the grill but with an added hit of sweetness from those onions.
We felt obliged to give the parilla grill a go, not least because we can't resist a bit of DIY dinner. For £45 you get a selection of Iberico pork cuts to cook yourself on your own tabletop grill. It also comes with a very moreish pot of aioli.
Our waiter gave us a few tips on which cuts would benefit from less or more time on the grill. It's all very straightforward, and pretty rewarding too.
Pimentos Asados (£8) - urged by our waiter to add this main, we were so glad we did. Heavenly, heavenly roasted peppers.
What's on the menu for vegetarians?
For a restaurant with grilled meats at its heart, there's quite a lot on the veggie side of things. In addition to the usual olives (which are smoked here) and padron peppers, there was a seasonal dish of English asparagus with mayonnaise & hazelnut vinaigrette and a large main of arroz de primavera.
And then there's this, which we feel is a must-order:
We were particularly impressed by this Wild mushroom and leek tart, St George and morels sauce (£26), particularly with that amazing topping.
Room for dessert?
There's a short list of around five desserts including sorbet of the day. But there was one clear option we had to try:
The whole pina Catalana to share (£30) is a real showstopper. Essentially it's crema Catalana served inside a pineapple (with the chunks of the pineapple below the custard) along with a separate slice filled with pineapple gelato. This would be a benefit of being inside the restaurant as you'd get to see it being bruleed - we reckon they should do it at the table, if health and safety would allow.
And to drink?
The fully Spanish drinks list ranges from Sangria Blanco to start or a short list of Spanish G&Ts. Glasses of wine start at as little as £6.50 (for 125ml) and there's a decent selection available by the glass and carafe. That said, wine does start at a fairly punchy £35 a bottle with most in the £40-£60 mark. Our Godello was a very decent option at £38.
Overall thoughts
This may be a second outing for the Parrillan brand, but it feels like quite a different beast to the King's Cross original. Its setting underneath the arches here at Borough has been very cleverly (and beautifully) kitted out. The addition of the inside restaurant along with that large lounge area makes it an even better bet to sit and enjoy a wonderful Spanish lunch or dinner.
More about Parrillan
Where is it? 4 Dirty Lane, London SE1 9PA
How to book? Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @parrillanlondon.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Parrillan. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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