PINCHITOtapas

Restaurant & Bar in Soho
PINCHITOtapas image
Ad

8 / 10 from 1 review
Address
11 Bayley Street
Soho
London
WC1B 3HD
Map
Telephone
020 7637 3977
Region
Soho
Nearest Station
Tottenham Court Road
0.16 miles

PINCHITOtapas is the award winning tapas group which adheres to a mantra inspired by Spanish culture and cuisine. Following the success of the original EC1 site the restaurant has recently launched a second site on Bayley Street, WC1.

Winner of many prestigious awards PINCHITOtapas upholds neighbourhood values, promoting congenial, communal eating – the small dishes and platters are designed to inspire sharing and conversation – plus an expertly created cocktail list.

All In London Review

It really is quite an extraordinarily good tapas bar

On Friday – after stopping for a drink at the super-busy pub The Jack Horner (in between Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road tube stations) I took along an old friend who is a tapas fanatic to check out the new West End branch of Pinchito (the original branch is over in the City).

The neon red outline of a chap eating pinchito (bite sized tapas) gleams like a beacon on a dark night. Outside there is a row of tiny topiaries protecting some wooden tables and a couple of large Tio Pepe barrels – bet it’s nice in the summer.

It’s warm and already busy inside as we arrive around 8pm. There are tables and chairs to the front and some elevated booths alongside a massive bar at which there are already lots of folk drinking and eating. I am loving the huge red poster saying “Sex and pinchixo and rock and roll”…

Seated in a booth alongside a softly lit patterned mirror a friendly waiter comes to explain the dishes of the day (tapas del dia) and the main menu. He is knowledgeable about the restaurant’s more popular dishes and enthusiastic about his own favourites. And while he does a great job trying to persuade us to try a cocktail or a sherry we opt for a couple of glasses of house red and he explains that they don’t have a house red but that the rioja (£3.75) is very good. Delighted to see it comes in sensible tumbler glasses and it is really rather smooth.

He is genuine in his suggestion that we choose around 5-7 dishes as “it is better to order too little than too much – you can always order more if you are still hungry”. So our choices are a blend of our personal favourites and his recommendations.

First up is one of my favourites – manchego cheese (£6.50) which is presented simply in large flat triangles alongside a dish containing small circles of toasted bread and a dish of fresh tomato salsa. Luckily, my companion’s favourite arrives quickly – pimientos do Padron (£5). This is a generous dish of very deep green soft and warm chilli like vegetables with a sea salt coating – apparently, one in ten is super hot so it’s like Russian Roulette. We both escaped harm.

My colleague – who considers herself an expert having eaten tapas in many places both here in Spain – declared the impressive chunk of warm, moist tortilla with a delicate garlic mayonnaise on a bed of crisp lettuce (£4.50) “spectacular” and “as good as any I have tasted in Spain”. So that’s some recommendation.

I admit I was a little disappointed at the all time favourite patatas bravas (£4) – a good idea that the sauté potatoes arrived in a separate dish but the spicy tomato sauce alongside it just seemed to be missing something to me…it was really light and fresh…but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Our selection from the day’s specials – tuna empanadillas (£4.50) were crispy parcels containing a dry tuna mix which was pleasant enough. For me, the highlight dish was the recommended hanger steak with paprika ailoli (£6.50) – seven tiny slices of perfectly cooked heavenly steak with a creamy sauce alongside. Beautiful from my perspective although my colleague felt that the “medium” request left it a little too rare for her taste.

For once, I felt I had enough space for a dessert. The dolce menu is limited but we couldn’t resist chocolate con churros (£4.50) – I was immediately transported back to strolling around the towns in Mexico with that! Good size dish of chocolate sauce for us to fight over as well. We also sampled the doll size portion of crème caramel (£2.50) which had a light and not too sweet sauce.

Despite the fact that you are supposed to drink your sherry at the start of the meal, my companion was finally tempted by the sherry – and tried an amontialldo (£4) – dry and very strong. So she also tried the Tio Pepe fino (£3.50). These put a glow in her already rosy cheeks!

The choice of red (tintos), white (blancos) and sparkling (epumosos) was extensive. I also tried a glass of the “rising star” peique (£4) but I must say that I preferred the earlier smoother house red. The espresso (£1.50) came in a small glass and they knew exactly how to serve the courtado (espresso with a “cut” of milk) I requested. Impressive.

Although I have focused on the food, I must add that the music was excellent too. Modern Spanish music – just about audible above the happy chattering of the many people in the place. By 9pm the place was hopping with couples and groups of all size arriving. Everyone was having a great time – it was a warm, friendly and felt like rather a happening place to be (maybe I am just very old!). And all this made all the more better by delightful staff who are passionate about the place, the food, the wine and everything Spanish. It really is quite an extraordinarily good tapas bar – and I’ve been in a fair few. Apparently at weekends they are always busy so it’s best to book.

Overall, our bill came to £58. Not cheap but extremely good value bearing in mind the excellent quality of the food, the lovely staff and the really buzzy atmosphere. Before we left, my companion had sent texts to her nearest and dearest to tell them that she would bringing them all for a visit in the very near future.

Reviewed by KimT
Published on Mar 11, 2010


User Reviews

There are no user reviews
Have your say

Add a review or useful tip for this restaurant