ViVO

Strolling through Soho after a few drinks too many, a friend and I were attempting to find somewhere relatively quiet where we could continue our ranting over wine and maybe some food. After an endless procession of noisy bars and overspilling pubs we joyfully found a very colourful and distinctive ‘tapas’ venue located on Poland Street. The brightly painted outside décor and wooden interior immediately drew us in.

The menu was far from extensive but seemed interesting enough; my companion opted for swordfish and I chose the delicious sounding stuffed peppers with asparagus tips, stuffed peppers being a favourite Spanish dish of mine. This time however, I was to be disappointed.

Our starter to share of garlic bread with Spanish cheese was merely melted Cheddar, absolute sacrilege when you consider the vast possibilities of Spanish cheeses available (and that I was expecting!) The main was bland. Vivo used coarse asparagus, the kind you get in a bundle as the cheaper option in supermarkets, chewy, barely edible, yet enabling them to add this exotic vegetable on to the menu. The peppers were unimpressive, stuffed with rice that was mushy and cooked with some awful processed melted cheese, the best bit about this was the odd pine nut.

Perhaps I am being picky here, for the price (£9.25 for my main) it’s basically above average pub food, and after a few drinks if you’re not expecting gourmet cuisine it’s perfectly adequate. With a basement bar, Vivo is more of a drinking experience rather than a foodie one, and with offers like £4 cocktails between 5 and 8pm each day, it’s essentially Wetherspoons with a Latin menu. Perhaps they should stop advertising as an ‘authentic’ tapas restaurant then.