Pincho

My son was home from University for the Easter holidays and after spending some time at the gym we decided to get out and enjoy the fabulous weather by the river in Twickenham. On our way to the riverside pubs where we had planned to lunch, we decided to walk down Church Street which is famous for its many restaurants and al fresco eating in the evenings.

I was surprised to learn that he had never tried tapas so we took the opportunity to sample what Pincho had in store. Previously, this was the location of Café du Bonne Heure which used to be one of my favourite French bistros in the area – I was worried that its replacement wouldn’t live up to its reputation.

The main outside area – in a really lovely courtyard – was full. Mostly with families with younger kids but some couples and child free groups. It’s nice to find places where you can take youngsters, my only plea is that parents are sensitive to other diners when their kids decide to go into meltdown. I never inflicted my kids on others when they were playing up.

We resigned ourselves to having to sit inside – which is decorated in an authentic Mediterranean style with tiled floors, dark wood, wrought iron window shutters and big glass doors that open up to allow the fresh air in – when we spied an empty table at the smaller rear area. OK, the view isn’t as lovely (the nearby recycling bins are a distinct turn off) but it was outside and in the sunshine. And there are some beautiful plants to distract you.

We ordered lots of table water and a jug of Pimms – which came complete with the cucumber, strawberry, mint and orange components. And lots of ice. I had been tempted by the sangria but it was St George’s Day the next day so I thought the English angle on a Spanish lunch was in order.

We were both really hungry so I ordered some tapas favourites – garlic prawns (very garlicky), tortilla (a fabulously fat slice of omelette with potatoes and peppers), meatballs, patatas bravas (sauté potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce and a side dip of garlic mayonnaise) and a plate of manchego cheese and jamon (ham). I also experimented with the Moroccan chicken skewers (delicious) and the chargrilled halloumi (squeaky good).

It was excellent and we managed to finish it all off. But we were completely full, which was a shame as some of the other dishes – particularly the paella - looked good at a nearby table. We also decided that we could bring the younger member of our family sometime as well as there were staples of burgers on the menu too.

The bill came to £49.90 without service which seemed reasonable. My only grumble was that the service was a little slow – but that was probably because the staff were racing around like mad things serving lots of people enjoying the unseasonably good weather. Perhaps they were caught out by the fine weather? We might have had another drink or a cup of coffee or even a dessert – but we didn’t have all day. Maybe the others did – it was Good Friday after all.

Apparently the owner is called Panos – and he was off overseas when we were there. And he was a little bit unhappy that whilst his weather was rather chilly, we were basking in brilliant sunshine.