Fino Restaurant and Bar

its so good to read some review like the one from john scotts finaly somebody who agree with me fino IS the best spanich restaurant in london

and for all the other people who complain, of the price, the atmosphere ,the service charge and any this and that i have just one thing to say dont go back there leave fino to people who unsterdand and appreciate a very good fino(thats sherry) with some wonderfull cold meat some squid a la plancha so tender it melt in your mouth langoustine do die for morcilla and duck egg ,full of flavour AND the pork belly one of the best i ever tried

so i was there last tursday at 9.30 and the place was packed and we really enjoyed our nigth from start to finish we could fault this restaurant but thats my honest opinion

but rome was not build in a day and it will take a few more years for people to understand the real meaning of tapas .not some greassy morcel of food to be eaten while drinking but a real miriad of little dishes forming a wonderfull experience and thats what fino does best
View/Add comments (1)

Jany
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, August 14, 2007

It always amazes me that for one of the supposed gastronomic 'Capitals' of the world, we can still produce so many un-informed culinary opinions. Reading the reviews of Fino (having just returned from a fantastic dinner) is akin to reading a food review from people who have not quite progressed from 1970's school dinners. One guy even complained about the (totally normal and standard) 12.5% service charge as though it were some kind of extreme abnormality. Grow up you looser!

Another point; some feel that portions are small.. For G**s sake, that is the whole purpose and Genre of the experience; to graze and order more if required. Anyway, enough of that. Have just had a fantastic meal at Fino. Our order was taken by a very polite and chirpy Spanish lass who obviously knew menu extremely well. We started with a lovely crunchy tomato, garlic and olive oil toast which had just the right seasoning £1.50, to die for. Then in quick succession soft and unctuous melting in the mouth crab croquettas, tender squid a la plancha, razor clams (fabulous), tuna carpaccio, pimientos de padron (salty and hot). This was followed with perhaps the best pork belly I have tasted, soft and melting with beautiful crunchy crackling and an amazing sweet honey (carved) quail. All of this including a wonderful reccomended bottle of Farreido Albarino for the (oh so expensive....)?? price of £115 for two including service. Un-beatable!!
Comment on this reader review

John Scott - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, August 11, 2007

My friend and me, both Spanish, made the mistake of visiting this restaurant without reading your reviews first!

Ok let's be fair,

Good points:

- Very nice decor, the place certainly looks impressive, very elegant.

-Good location

Erm, I think that could be it.

Bad points:

- Complete lack of atmosphere for a Spanish restaurant, but, we could have been forgiving if the food was nice.

- Quite expensive, for a 'tapas' only menu

- Very dissapointing quality of the dishes.

We ordered Spanish omelette, which was salty, with undercooked egg and overcooked oily potatoes. Nothing to do with the real thing. And if they can't get Spanish tortilla right...

We also ordered 'piquillo croquetas', grilled squid, black pudding with duck egg, bread with tomato, and 'chipirones'

Of all the things we tried, the only thing I really liked was the 'croquetas', which were just perfect.

Everything else was sadly a let down.

The (French) waiter was polite but not particularly friendly, and happily recommended the most expensive wine in the wine list.

Next time I'll stick to 'Rebatos' in Vauxhall, much nicer atmosphere, cheaper, warm and friendly, and the food is fantastic every time! (especially the tortilla!).

Maria
Comment on this reader review

Maria
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, July 09, 2007

We dined there recently and overall I would not particularly rate this restaurant. To be fair there would some fine dishes but also some very medicore ones. The service left a lot to be desired and when we queried that the bill had a discretionary charge of ove 12% we were told it was not discretionary! Somone more senior needed to get involved and did not even offer an apology which really detracted from anything good about the restaurant. Very simply it is vast over priced for what you get and we will not return. Owner take heed and do something!
Comment on this reader review

- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Friday, July 06, 2007

went to fino's on saturday with my wife and had a mixed experience. The bar and restaurant are very chic and comfortable but as the restaurant filled up it became too noisy for my taste. We statred with cocktails in the bar, champagne cocktail and a bellini, both of which were very poor - should have stuck to straight champagne! food was genereally excellent, especialluy the scallops and quail. Service was indifferent and we were staggered that the bill included a discretionasry 12.5% service charge which the waitress failed to point out was discretionary and included it in the bill. Thought this was bang out of order and succeeded in having it removed but this was managed in a very off hand manner by one of the more senior members of staff - left a sour taste in the mouth at the end of the meal, taking away from some excellent cooking. Won't be going back and would recommend El Faro in Docklands for cuisine of easily the same standard and an overall much better value for money experience.
Comment on this reader review

Simon
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, July 02, 2007

Where should I start?

The bad reviews are highly justified. The real question is how do they get away with it?

Tapas charged like main courses. If people keep on praising one of the worst value for money spanish restaurant in London after "La tasca" chain, I'm afraid the hype will go on.

The menu offers no real surprise, at first, you want to give it a chance but as soon as the dishes arrived on the table there's a mixtures of disbelief and shock.

The charcuterie platter is a joke and not a good one, quantity is not what best describes the tiny plate and once tasted, you don't know whether to spit it out or stand up and abuse the waiter! At the same time you hope the next dish will cheer you up a bit.

Unfortunately it goes on and on... Crab croquettas seems to come straight out of the freezer with a distinctive lack of crab. Iceland must be the culprit or the chef is worryingly incompetent.

The crisp fried squid were chewy and floury, nothing that could justifies the £8.90 price tag, specially when it contains less than 10 small deceptive looking rings.

The crisp pork belly could have saved the evening but crisp it wasn't. I almost broke a tooth biting the re-cook many times over piece of meat. Maybe it explains the fact that portions were generous on this one.

Tortilla was dry and served in the smallest pan you will ever see.

Arroz negro was arroz negro! Salty and garlicky but only rice and two spoons of it for another £8.90.

The foie gras at £15.50 was good but not original nor distinctive enough still.

When the food fails to impress, you can always drown it with a decent glass of red. So you think! But to keep up with the standard, it was served in oversized glasses filled with125ml of wine (usually 175ml but not here).

You can't be bothered taking a chance at the desert menu after that, so you go for the sherry or Pedro ximenez as it was. Something unexpected happened at this point , it was delicious and at £6 for 75 ml almost a bargain!

The service was ordinary and almost friendly at times. The atmosphere was allright I guess but our table alongside the wall enabled us to listen to everyone's conversation unfortunately.

Not a pleasant experience at all. Worst than the first one 3 month ago.

And to think that the owners have opened a cheaper venue in the name of Barrafina is worrying at best.

Try something new, cheer up at "El Faro" and taste the real spain.
Comment on this reader review

Jerome Lecerf
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Saturday, June 30, 2007

great spinach food...wonderful guacomole !
Comment on this reader review

fp
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 31, 2007

I was searching for the best tapas place in London and I ended up in Fino for lunch. I certainly was impressed by the atmosphere and the overall service. As well as being underground, the whole setting of the place was quite chic. I was, however, not quite as impressed with the food, despite it being slightly on the expensive range. A few dishes that I would recommend to others include croquettes, pork belly and tuna with wasabi sauce.
Comment on this reader review

Caroline Wu
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Went there last night for the 2nd time, just to confirm my 1st time impressions: Nice atmosphere - makes you feel comfortable and you can spend a good couple of hours w/out noticing, liked particularly the fact that it has a bar where you can stay before/after your dinner, attentive service, good selection of wines... but food definetely overpriced for what it is and for its quality - questioned again whether the "jabugo" jamón and chorizo are actually so, or they're just normal one - you pay the premium for the supposedly extra flavour, but certainly don't get it.

I may still come back, but being aware that probably the venue, service and atmosphere will have to make up for overpriced and not that special food.
Comment on this reader review

E
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Friday, March 30, 2007

Had a lovely special night here, my wife and I last came 5 years ago and had great memories and we were not disappointed this second time. Had a wonderful waiter (French), the food was spectacular and the wine recommendation was inspired. Total bill was about £120 for 6 plates, one bottle of wine and a sherry with a desert each.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, March 01, 2007