Fino Restaurant and Bar

I dined at fino last week for lunch and was really impressed with the quality of food served. The restaurant was surprisingly busy for a wednesday and i was glad we had booked and not just turned up on spec. Crab croquetas were delicately flavoured but tasty all the same, spring lamb was mouthwateringly good and incredibly tender as was the pork chop.Pimientos de padron were not as hot as normal but as anyone who has had the "russian roulette" approach with them before will atest is not such a bad thing. Morcilla and fried egg is something i have always been a bit afraid to try in the past but i cannot believe what i have been missing out on - apparently you are supposed to mash it all together so it doesn't look great but boy is it tatsy! The chipperone baby squid were perfectly seasoned and cooked and i will be returning for those alone. I was persuaded to try a glass of dry fino as opposed to a glass of wine and this too was very good - hardly surprising as this is what they are named afterall. As for one of the comments below from a lady saying she wasn't their type of clientele" I must have been in a different restaurant as me and my girlfriends were very well looked after indeed.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, April 18, 2008

I personaly love Fino, and its scenario. I had one time bad experience only, but that can happen in any place. Reading some reviews on this site it looks like some people have no idea what it is suppose to be about. Its not what you want, its what they offer. If you dont like it, go somewhere else.

To the rest of the less educated: 12.5% service charge is normal in many places, discretionary means it can be removed and you should always leave a tip if you enjoyed the night. Where you shouldn't expect service charge: MC Donald, Burger King etc...
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Hannah
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, April 05, 2008

I went to Fino last week with some friends and we had a lovely evening. We arrived early and so it was not that busy yet but were made to feel very welcome by all the staff and the bar soon became busy and had a lot of atmosphere. We had some delicious cocktails in the bar and then moved down to the restaurant which was very spacious and pleasant. We ordered lots of food as we wanted to try everything and on the whole everything was excellent, we loved the squid and the padron peppers!! however, everything was very good and we left feeling very full !! We were served by a lovely waitress who really knew the menu/wines etc and was more than happy to help and advise us on the dishes and help us with the ordering which is very rare in London!! I would recomend Fino to anyone!! That is anyone who knows good food which judging from other reviews on this site many people don't!! Also, anyone who eats out in London would know 12.5% service is standard, even in cheap cafes let alones one of Londons finest restaurants!!!
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sophia taylor-smith
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, March 20, 2008

I went to Fino on Saturday and found the experience to be a huge disppointment. It seems that the restaurant may have fallen into that age old trap that many in London seem to. They work hard to establish a good reputation then trade of former glories rather than current excellence. Fino has let it slip. Every sinlge course was poor quality. Even the fries were overcooked and dry. Fries! I've had better in McDonalds. The chorizo was bland and oily. The jerusalem artichokes were burned and for a while we couldn't work out what they were. The tortilla was doughy and unappealing and the scallops flavourless. The crab croquettes only tasted of black pepper, nothing else. The squid was chewy and the batter dry and over crisp. In summary, extremely poor food if you were paying £10 a head. Daylight robbery when payingFino's prices.
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Stuart
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, February 17, 2008

After seeing Sam & Eddie Hart make croquetas ages ago, I longed to try Spanish tapas for the first time. So when my old university friend came to London I recommended we have our pre-theatre dinner at Fino.

When we arrived just before 6pm there were only a few people waiting in the cocktail lounge to be seated. We had the whole restaurant pretty much to ourselves so we anticipated getting a table in the centre, from where we could see and enjoy the surroundings. Unfortunately we were given one of the worst tables: in a corner behind a pillar, near the kitchen door. All through the meal and when we left an hour & a quarter later, we were painfully aware of the numerous empty tables for 2 in the centre of Fino, and kept wondering why we'd been given the worst table.

Could it be that 2 young women in their frilly pink tops and pink pashminas aren't the kind of customers Fino welcomes? Everyone in a suit jacket was given the good tables.

The croquetas were nice afterall, but as our whole dining experience had to rest on the food (thanks to the table we were given), we left feeling disappointed.

My friend didn't enjoy her main course, & I simply couldn't eat mine: the "Morcilla and Duck Egg" consisted of a an egg that was much too well browned on the base and much too salty to tell what kind of egg it was, and the morcilla was a bed of mushy brown stuff that had the consistency of scrambled eggs. Is that how Morcilla is meant to be served? Compared to British and french black puddings the Fino Morcilla was dreadful.

We get the message Fino, and we won't be coming back or recommending you to food lovers.
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A. Balasubramaniam
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Saturday, February 02, 2008

I am shocked and annoyed about some of the reviews on here.

There are a few rules that some people should adhere to.

1. If you are eating at a top west end restaurant your bill will come to £70 per head. (if you think thats expensive, dont eat out)

2. 12.5% service charge is the norm in restaurants and most people who know how to behave will leave a cash tip on top of that. If you cant afford the service dont eat out!

3. If a waiter tells you that the food is supposed to be served in a particular way e.g. the tortilla with a runny middle. it probably is cause its no sweat of the waiters back to order you a new one cooked to you requirements.

Sorry about the rant but I used to work in the restaurant industry and can remember some of the badly behaved, rude, impolite customers in London.

Fino is a great restaurant for the following reasons:

The food is simple, well sourced and excellently cooked.

The wine list is unique, all Iberian!

The service is slick and knowledgeable.

It isnt one of the consistently best restaurants in London for nothing!

Keep it up.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, January 13, 2008

What a great restaurant, of course not all the dishes are perfect but overall an excellent all round package.

Elegant inviting and comfortable dining room, very quick and polite service, no faults there.

Croquetas were excellent as most reviewers say, prawns not as good as Barrafina but still great flavor. tortilla seemed overcooked but the chorizo inside was tasty. pot belly was excellent with crisp crackling. Salad, baby squid, pimientos were also just great, so not many faults really... wished they had more things on the menu as would have been nice to try more things, especially as Barrafina has such great seafood, but then would have been even fuller than i was by the end and we didn't even have dessert - the portions weren't huge but then the prices aren't huge either.

Great restaurant for business or with friends, great service, excellent food for the money and good wines, i would have no trouble recommending to people, don't why such mixed reviews, it was my first time there so maybe i had a "good" day. I willdefinitely go back
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Derek
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, January 09, 2008

María's review here is exaclty right. I am Spanish and can cook as well so I know what I am talking about. Many of the dishes that are supposed to be 'tapas' are absolute rubbish. They are not cooked the proper way nor are they presented the proper way. For example, Gambas al Ajillo (Prawns cooked in garlic) should be cooked in a clay dish, about half way full with olive oil, several thin slices of fresh garlic and a few small bits of dried Spanish (only) chili...oh, and they should be completely peeled.....what did Fino serve? Prawns that had been grilled un-peeled, with the heads still on and then strewn with chopped garlic (not cooked)and red chili (more akin to a Thai chili).....and that was just one of the many sub-standard dishes we were served. Whilst the atmosphere is ok, it's more like a wine bar rather than a tapas restaurant/bar......let's put it this way: if you went to any average tapas bar whether in Madrid, Sevilla, Bilbao, Malaga, Cuenca or Cadiz, it would be nothing like Fino. This place is being passed off to Londoners as an authentic tapas experience and nothing could be further from the truth.....
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Pablo Rodríguez Sastre
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Monday, September 24, 2007

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