Probably the best tapas in London. It's in a quieter corner of Soho and the place is buzzing inside. The menu isn't overwhelming with choices but that's the way it should be. The quality of the ingredients and produce is absolutely fantastic. I particularly loved the cheeses: Roncal with quince paste is a favorite. read more

I had a blind date meeting the lovely Skinny Bib for the first time at Tapas Brindisa. (Look at the Skinny Bib's excellent write up here, I almost have nothing to add!) Unfortunately the food was not as pleasant as the company. Tapas Brindisa in Soho has just opened a couple of weeks ago (there was 'Tierra Brindisa' before) and we went in the soft opening period with 20% off the food. Its older brother on the corner of Borough Market has been around what seems like forever and is always completely packed. I ate there once and was not as blown away by the food as many others. Mind you, Spanish is not my favourite cuisine and so I might need a little bit more then just 'good' to convince me. Convinced I was not by new Tapas Brindisa. But let's start with the some positive notes. I did love the space of the Soho joint which is bright with rustic wood furniture and direct view of the kitchen. We went on a sunny day and the room was bathed in beautiful light. But now the food. For me the highlight of the meal was the the Pan de Coca (3.50), basically pan con tomate which I couldn't get enough of on my holiday in Catalonia. Toasted country bread is rubbed with garlic and ripe tomato and drizzled with olive oil. Yum! But in the end it's just bread and doesn't require a huge amount of cooking skill. I rather liked the Padron Peppers (3.50). Apart from the amazing colour, they were nicely seasoned and non-greasy. An excellent bar snack. I am glad my dinner companion insisted on the Iberico de Bellota Ham (22) which was lean and beautifully flavoured. Not cheap though! I am not a ham expert at all so I can't judge if it REALLY was worth 22 pounds. I kind of doubt it though. The meal went downwards with the cooked dishes. We only tried a couple of them as the waitress pointed out that they recommend only 4-5 dishes per two people. I liked this actually as one tends to over-order in small plate restaurants but on the other hand we ended up with a maybe slightly imbalanced selection of dishes. The Traditional Potato Tortilla (4.50) was tremendously bland and of soggy consistency. We didn't like it at all. Even worse the Escalivada (5.50) which was one of the least attractive dishes I have seen in a long time. I easily forgive bad presentation if the food is good which was not the case here. The aubergines and red peppers were tasteless and drowned in olive oil. Don't get me wrong, I love olive oil, but enough is enough! Pan de Coca (3.50) Padron Peppers (3.50) Iberico de Bellota Ham (22) Traditional Potato Tortilla (4.50) Escalivada (5.50) One problem we had when ordering was that the menu is really confusing and difficult to navigate. There are 'Tapas, Brindisa Classics and Parrilla Soho as subheading. The dishes in each category all seemed to be tapas? As I say confusing. I do prefer the way it's done for example at the Opera Tavern where you have Meat, Fish and Vegetarian Tapas subheadings which enables you to order a balanced selection of dishes without having to study the menu for hours. I am sure Tapas Brindisa is going to do well in the current small plate hype but I think you can do much better than that. I got a strong recommendation for Barrafina (which I never managed to go to because I don't like queuing) and the new tapas place (Jose Tapas) in Bermondsey Street. Maybe these will finally convince me of the brilliance of the Spanish cuisine. I shall keep you posted. here some pictures http://hungryinlondon.com/2011/06/tapas-brindisa-soho/ read more

We loved the food here and the service. We had the charcuterie tray, the manchego croquette and the garlic prawns.

Friday night kicked off with a couple of pints of Landlord in the Feathers pub opposite St James tube as I waited with my old pals Kailesh and Mr Murphy for B to join us, and then it was off to Broadwick Street in Soho for a bit of food and a catch up at Tierra Brindisa. This branch of the growing Brindisa empire got our vote as it's nice and central but, more crucially when you are an eight strong party, you can book in advance. It has quite a different vibe from the London Bridge branch but that's no bad thing and in many ways it's a better choice if you want to spend the whole evening just drinking and chatting. We had bumped into another pal at the Feathers, the Hodge, and he was keen to join us so B gave them a call to see if they could accommodate another lover of fine tapas. Their advice that we could try to squeeze him onto our table at our own risk proved to be well founded when we arrived and surveyed the scene. However, we will no doubt be back with the Hodge in tow on another occasion. The restaurant has two two rooms, the larger of which is at the front with a smaller space out back with stools clustered around the bar for couples or solitary diners. The decor is all very neutral and simple, the lighting is well thought out and the furnishings are tasteful without being obtrusive. The focus here is on the food, providing a great setting for romance and/or conversation. Knowing our other guests only too well we ordered up some of the fragrant, floral "house" white along with some of the wonderful orange stuffed olives and alioli with quince paste, to supplement the "gratis" variety of nuts provided on our arrival, to stave off the hunger pangs and keep us in a cheery mood. As predicted some time around 8pm Maria and Priya arrived, with J and Julie Johnson rocking up shortly after, only a paltry 30 minutes late (some kind of record there J as my money was on 9pm!!) and we were good to go. The wine had been flowing pretty constantly since the moment we arrived so my recollection begins to get a bit hazy but we followed our normal plan of action at Brindisa and it's one that has served us well on many visits. We had an initial run at the menu ordering probably a dish each with a few orders of the tomato bread on top to start with; mainly focusing on the seafood and tortilla offerings. A second pass at the menu got a bit more messy but involved plenty of meat, yet more seafood and some vegetables and salad. J was in control of the wine by this stage and I vaguely recollect a fine bottle of Rioja. Stand-out dishes were plentiful but a special mention must be made of the divine little scallops with tiny rashers of bacon and minute new potatoes, the sardines which put me in mind of many wonderful meals in my spiritual home of Tavira, the pork fillet with sage, morcilla and roasted apple, the perfectly cooked lamb and a truely tasty version of the classic mushrooms on toast. In fact every dish was pretty much perfect other than the mussels which were a bit on the large side with a rubbery texture, just not the fresh and juicy specimens we have come to expect at Brindisa. However, that one complaint aside this was yet again another fine dining experience and it's a restaurant I would not hesitate to recommend. A crisp palate cleansing mango sorbet topped off with a candle was a lovely touch from the ever thoughtful Priya. A divine PX Valdespino sherry bursting with the flavour of raisins, with a whiff of sunnier climates, was followed by a quick espresso as we said a fond adieu to the guys and rushed yet again for the last train home in order to be up at the crack of dawn to travel North. As I checked my watch I realised that the lovely restaurant staff had obviously long since given up on their attempts to get us to vacate our table at 10pm and I wondered what lay ahead for the rest of the crew........ A very memorable evening and based on this experience a great venue for a fairly large party who want to eat top notch tapas, drink and make merry. read more

Had the octopus that was good and cheeses that were nice.. staff was great from front of house to the back of house (who walked me though the cheeses) would have loved to eat more but was 10pm when i walked in. Little late to indulge. read more

You can't go wrong with tapas can you really? If you don't like one thing, you can move on to the next, and it's almost rude not to get drunk. I really enjoy the pick and mix approach to food that tapas provides, and when the selection is as good as it as at Brindisa then I'm like a kid in sweet shop. Terrific tortilla, champion chorizo, even the octopus (not the psychic one!) went down a treat. And I drank more sherry than my great aunty has drunk in her lifetime. And you don't need a second mortgage to cover the bill. Spot on. read more

Went to this place on my last night in London and my experience helped make it one of the best nights of my month-long stay in England. We got a bottle of wine to split between four of us and enjoyed the outdoor seating with a view of the Market. We split aioli with bread that I only wish I could recreate. I got the wilted spinach with pine nuts and chorizo with rocket and roasted red peppers on grilled bread. I have tried to recreate both because they were so insanely delicious. There are certain spots that I've encountered in my travels that make me want to go back to the city just to experience again. I can't wait for the next time I travel to London so that I can order that meal one more time. I won't even go near any tapas places in New York because I'm afraid it'll taint my experience at Brindasa. Great to walk around Borough Market first and then stop off for dinner before a show at the Globe or some sight-seeing. Also great date spot. I went in early August during the last week of the 2012 Olympics and even then it was peaceful, relaxing, and not at all over-crowded. read more

Compelling wine list, interesting menu, worst service I've ever encountered. Ordered six or so dishes and requested they furnish me with the bill after getting only three over an interminable 45 minutes. Three dishes they bought in succession, not bringing the next until the previous one was duly finished. Between two of us. Perhaps they were just hoping we'd order more bread. The evening was capped off by the joyless waitress querying why I'd not left the optional 12.5% services charge. If you've hours to waste, knock yourself out, the food, what I had of it, was excellent, as was the wine. Perhaps it's better in the evening, but in the afternoon, with only four other tables occupied, one really does expect better. read more

I absolutely love Tapas, I like to drink wine and pick, this restaurant is deceptively bigger than it looks but still intimate and cosy. It has a lovely atmosphere and the staff are friendly and helpful, the food is great even if a tad on the expensive side but to be expected in London!!! Really enjoyed our evening out here!! read more

Really nice, I stayed for 2-3 hours, order the house wine and the charketuri dishes, very tasty! Great service too!

Food and atmosphere pleasant but unfortunately the trend of any 'Tapas' type restaurant overcharging for fairly pedestrian (but still reasonable quality) Spanish fare continues. That ordinarily wouldn't have been so much of an issue had the service made up for it. Interesting wine list, and dessert options which could have easily been explored further had we been able to attract the attention of either of the two waitresses standing not five feet away. I did manage to make eye contact several times but as a paying customer I didn't seem to rate much of a mention in comparison to a detailed discussion regarding the relative merits of various rental properties in London's Soho. We went very early on a Saturday night and the restaurant was only about a 3rd full - maybe the staff work best under pressure and hence the other reviews? To add final insult, a 12.5% 'discretionary' tip was automatically added to the bill, which we literally had to stand up and make as if to walk out to receive. To his credit, the manager asked what went wrong and then apologized profusely for the shortcomings - but only after our discretion was employed re the tip. Unfortunately this all occurred in front of one of the staff members - resulting in a rather frosty farewell. I'd recommend considering using your discretion and steering clear. read more

Nice little joint in central. We didn't have a reservation for an after work sitting but managed to get a table for two without a long wait. Quite busy, ambience was ok, little noisy. Good wine, food was lovely and service was great. I wouldn't order their coffee though.. That was definitely not so great. read more

Great little tapas spot in Soho. I went on a Friday for lunch and got a table outside (there are only 2 outside!) Service was excellent - our waitress recommended an amazing bottle of wine and had the perfect recommendations for what to order and how much. Everything was great. A bit pricey, but typical for the area. read more

One of the better tapas places in London IMO. Quality of the food was good and so was the atmosphere but it was a little on the pricey side

If half stars were allowed, I'd add one to my review for this place. To start with, the food was quite good, but our visit started off on the wrong foot. I arrived early for once, and grabbed prime seating by the window. My other friends joined shortly and one of the guys went to the men's room to wash his hands while the rest of us perused the menu. He came back, a bit disturbed, and quickly grabbed the attention of a waitress. Apparently, one of the cooks in the kitchen had rushed out of the toilet when he entered, and proceeded to exit without washing his hands! The hostess rushed back to talk to the chefs, then returned to reassure us that he had subsequently washed his hands, but it was a bit of a disturbing start to the evening. Once food and wine were ordered, however, the experience only got better. The potato omelette, as mentioned previously, is well worth a try. The octopus and the gambas were also of note -- though the servings were a bit on the small side (there were exactly 4 prawns). Dessert was a definite highlight, consisting of a near perfect molten chocolate cake, but by that point the wine probably took over the taste buds. Overall a pretty good experience, but I'd be a bit concerned if their sanitary habits weren't improved... read more

Food was OK taste wise, but the portions were quite stingy and overpriced for the quality. Sangria was mediocre.

Small, casual style restaurant with authentic, delicious tapas at a great price. The scallops and lamb are particularly delicious! Service was friendly, efficient and discreet and I'd definitely recommend it! read more

My favourite tapas place in London. Freshly cooked food from fresh ingredients. You can watch huge number of chefs preparing your food in open kitchen. Feels like being really in Spain! Not the cheapest place in the world yet it's the closest to real tapas experience as it gets! read more

Possibly the best tapas I've had in London. One frustration of the evening was that many items that we wanted off the menu were unavailable. But the lentil stew was sublime, the ham was like melting butter in the mouth. The wine we had was pretty fine too. Friendly staff and despite being a very busy Saturday night, there was no sense of being rushed out to turn the table. Will be coming back definitely! read more

Full disclosure: I dragged my friends here for it's ties to BBC Sherlock (Don't look at me like that, they didn't have any better suggestions) We really enjoyed our meal. It's been a while, but I remember loving and wanting more of almost everything we ordered. The drinks were absolutely to die for as well. After seeing my love of all things goats cheese, the waiter suggested an off-menu item that they were trying out. (Lightly fried squashblossom stuffed with goat's cheese and drizzled with honey) and I have been craving it ever since. read more

Yum. Just got back from a work lunch which was a very reasonable £20 for 2 people with more than enough tapas to share. The vibe in here is relaxed and the restaurant is deceptively bigger than expected but cosy.. We sat at the back on the high chairs that look into the kitchen. Any place that's proud of showing off their kitchens always gets a thumbs up from me. We chose the £20 tapas as it was chosen for us, but the menu selection is huge. I'd definitely recommend the chorizo tortilla and padron peppers. Service was speedy, efficient and not in your face. It's automatically added onto the bill but I definitely didn't mind paying. Will visit again soon! read more

We have eaten here twice and both times we found it delicious. The garlic prawns are so good that my mouth waters just thinking about them. The garlic scallops are also delicious and we enjoyed the ham. I've forgotten the other things we tried as the garlic prawns and garlic scallops overshadow the rest. The sangria was nice but didn't seem to have much alcohol in it. read more

The food wasn't that bad (normal food, not disgusting but neither amazing) but it was really too EXPENSIVE. The plates were so small that when we finished eating we were still really HUNGRY and we had to go to eat a sandwich in a cafe. We spent 50£ just for then have to go to eat in a cafe... I'll never come back to this restaurant read more

All tapas we had were excellent! The service was great and the price very reasonable. I particularly recommend the Gordal Olives, the Ox Cheeks and the Pulpo a la Gallega. read more

It's a bit hard to notice with scaffolding across the front, but it was a lovely find. The wine list is fairly broad, ranging from the low-20's and up for a 750 ml bottle. The asparagus with caramelized goat cheese was lovely--a nice mix of textures and flavors. The chorizo with rocket on toast was spicy and filling. The croquettes were very fluffy with a crisp coating. Service was excellent and very friendly. Definitely worth a visit. read more

This place is really realy lovely. It is part of the growing trend of the cut-above tapas restaurant. There is nothing ordinary about the food, service or drink in this place. We ordered 4 dishes between the two of us, and there was plenty of food. The Red mullet and the Port fillet (rare) must have a special mention as they were just amazing. read more