El Pirata

....hmm while perfectly ok, unfortunately this did not live up to expectation. Nothing was wrong as such, it was all very nice but from the reviews we expected more. We had the £17ish set menu which did have quite a good variety but nothing was particularly better than tapas we have in other places. In fact i think the food at Mar y Terra Soho is far tastier and much cheaper. Like i say it was all fine, we ate it all and the bread and aioli was particularly good but we were a bit let down after reading so many great things about how special it was.

It was though great value for the mayfair area, we had set menu for 2, glass of cava, beer, bottle of £21 red, which was good-all for £67. Don't get me wrong, if we lived in this area we would definitely go often as it is good and the atmosphere is nice but after all the fantastic reviews on here it was a bit of an anti climax.
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HG001
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, May 28, 2011

I have been going to El Pirata for many years and i have NEVER been dissapointed. I have been there for intamate dinners for 2 and larger groups of 20 plus people and they are always accomodating.

The food is wonderful, the set menu's are great value and full of variety, the bread with aoili is to die for, and the dessert menu has a great selection.

I will always take peole here for dinner/lunch and so far everyone Ihave taken has enjoyed it just as much as me. Long may it continue.
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Lisa B
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 24, 2011

I've had worse but I've also had far better. A large group of us went for a birthday celebration last weekend. The birthday girl was told we would all be on the same table - we weren't, we were on two different tables. The whole point of tapas is to share dishes etc - as we had to order the party menu, the vegetarians of the group just had one large plate full of food.... kind of defeats the point of tapas doesn't it? The food was ok although the dishes really varied in quality! The cold tapas to start was supposed to feature an avocado, tomato and mozzarella salad, couscous, artichokes, white asparagus and mixed lettuce salad. It all came served on one plate per person - again that isn't how tapas is supposed to be served! The triclore salad was a joke, I received one tiny piece of mozzarella (half the size of a matchbox) on my plate and no white asparagus. The rest was ok - I mean how tasty can a few lettuce leaves with artichoke be???

The main meal was a complete disappointment - mushrooms supposedly cooked with garlic yet you couldn't taste the garlic, the bravas patatas was spicy but certainly didn't taste how it should nor did it look the part - it was a pale beige colour and didn't even have a hint of tomatoes... the rest was ok.... the highlight would have been the Spanish tortilla but it certainly would be hard to get this wrong! Oh also the garlic mayonnaise with bread was nice but there wasn't nearly enough for all of us...

The service wasn't consistent - they kept on forgetting drinks, we had to keep on reminding them.... some may say that it could be because we were a large group but we ended up paying over £600, of that £55 was a tip.... For this kind of money, I expect much better service and much better food. I doubt any of us will be returning. El Pirata, such a shame, as I was really expecting good things from you! This could have been an opportunity to capitalise on impressing a large group so that we would all return... a missed opportunity for you.
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7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Went with friends last night and the prices were reasonable, the service speedy and friendly and the food of a very high standard. We go for tapas in London a lot and thought the quality was generally much better here than in most tapas bars. The patatas bravas, monkfish and chicken croquettes were particularly delicious. The only dish that fell short was the meatballs which were a bit dense. Some people might be put off by the fact that it really doesn't feel anything like a tapas bar - yes there are groups but the whole ambience is just too 'Mayfair wine bar' to be properly Spanish! Still, would recommend for a midweek meal if you're in the Green Park area.
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Jeremy Liebster
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, March 13, 2009