El Pirata de Tapas

115 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UP - View on a map
Telephone: 0207 727 5000

El Pirata de Tapas Restaurant In London
Details Image
Overall 6.7
Food 8.1
Service 5.6
Atmosphere 6.8
Value 6.4
Based on 9 reviews

what the critics say

Metro

Marina O'Loughlin - 4/5

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - El Pirata De Ttapas has a posh big brother, Mayfair's El Pirata, long a favourite among the moneyed, foodie crowd. The baby of the family is more relaxed and, like its Westbourne Grove location, much funkier… Spears of endive are served with an airy mousse of pungent, salty Valdeón cheese; scallops and black pudding are encased in a pasta 'canelon' with squash purée; roasted new potatoes with a blob of garlicky mojo picon sauce is a witty riff on bog standard patatas bravas.

This Is London

Rowan Moore - 3/5

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - El Pirata Detapas is not a radically new concept, but an iteration of something that has already worked its way into London’s culinary DNA. It offers a judicious mixture of the familiar — padron peppers, chorizo, prawns in olive oil, garlic and chilli — with sallies into sophistication, such as an octopus carpaccio with mandarin caviar, capers and paprika. It also offers slow-roasted pork belly with red wine, pear and parsnip purée, which happens to combine most of my favourite foodstuffs…

your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne

We ate at El Pirata de Tapas last night. We were really disappointed. The food was just passable and the paella was overcooked.

We are certainly not going back there.
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Overall rating 5 stars
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Saturday, December 11, 2010

We ate here last night after seeing it compete on Ramsays show for best restaurant. The restaurant, the food and the staff were amazing. How this did not end up in the final of his show I don’t know!

We had the chefs tasting menu which was just £25 a head and there was so much food - and all of great quality and packed with flavour. The endive and cheese foam was my absolute favourite swiftly followed by the pork cheeks

I cannot recommend this place highly enough!
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WIALN
Overall rating 10 stars
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Saturday may have been all about wandering around Chelsea finding somewhere to eat lunch whereas Sunday was more about going out for a walk and having lunch by accident. Baby G was fed and clothed and in need of some fresh air. It was one of those cold crisp clear days so we thought we would buggy up and take him out for a walk. The plan had been to go for a nice walk around Notting Hill before going home to cook lunch. However whilst waiting for the lights to change on Westbourne Grove I started to read the menu in "El Piratas de Tapas" window. My lovely wife had been here previously for dinner and raved about the food. Needless to say it didn't take much persuasion to convince her to curtail the walk for a quick bite. The only slight problem was what to do with baby G. He had been a little bit of a handful in "Santa Lucia" the day before which at least was very much a family restaurant. "El Pirata de Tapas" looked a lot more serious and foody. The decor is very modern and sleek accentuated by long lean dining room. However we needn't have worried the two waiters running the show were helpful, welcoming and found us a great table so we could eat and keep an eye on baby G. He was very taken with the waiters and was happy smiling away in his chair.

The set lunch menu looked very nice and excellent value but instead we went a la carte. The short walk was thirsty work so I had a great spamish beer and my lovely wife a creamy glass of cava whilst we picked our dishes. We went for tempura squid, tortilla, bread and olives, asparagus with manchego cheese and prawn in chilli and olive oil. It was all very nice. I love dipping bread into the warm olive oil and chilli, the squid was light and tasty and the aspagus covered in melted cheese oozed flavour. My only criticism was the tortilla which was not as runny as I had had at "Iberica". The food was brought promptly and I was so comfy I ordered a further glass of wine to go with our tapas. The restaurant was quiet when we entered but soon filled up giving it a nice buzz.

I was really impressed with my lunch here and the hospitality we were shown. The two waiters handled the room fantastically well and were always ready to chat explain the dishes and smile at my little boy. The bill came to £57 which was a bit more than I was expecting to spend but I did have an expensive glass of wine. The food was definetly worth it and I do find with tapas in London that you get what you pay for. The service as I have previouly said was excellent. This was a really good find and I am keen to return this weekend for another crack at the delicious food. If you are up in the area it is well worth a visit a much better option I would imagine than the new "cote" over the road.
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 9 stars
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, October 28, 2010

We went to El Pirata for a hen party on May 29th, 2010 and had a fabulous meal. We had the set menus (both the taster and the vegetarian) and they were both delicious! Plenty of food, a great variety, good wine, great service. Overall a fabulous dinner experience! Can't recommend the place enough!
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Jess
Overall rating 9 stars
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, May 31, 2010

Great food we had at El Pirata de Tapas the other day. Tasty squid paprika, Spanish tortilla was made runny in the middle ( the way it should be) , loved their endives salad with valdeo cheese so nyummy. My friends and I also love their ham croquetas and aioli.I recommend anyone who enjoys great tasting food at this fantastic resto.
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Elizabeth Doncaster
Overall rating 10 stars
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 20, 2010

Really, bad restaurant, sorry but this is food is not spanish, is bad food.

Price expensive
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alcatraz - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 6 stars
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Saturday, April 24, 2010


what the bloggers say

Dos Hermanos

Dos Hermanos

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - There are aspects if El Pirata that show potential. The ingredients, on the whole, are good, the wine list strong, even if by law all wines offered by the glass have to suck and the service is friendly if forgetful. But for this to be a real player the execution needs to improve drastically or it will be cast adrift in the ever more ferocious London tapas wars.

Gourmet Chick

Gourmet Chick - 6/10

Saturday, November 22, 2008 - Our flurry of dishes arrived and creamy serrano ham croquettes, paprika crispy fried squid and asparagus topped with shavings of manchego cheese (pictured) were all spot on. The next dishes of chicken in garlic sauce and pobre potatos which comprised a medallion of slightly soggy potato slices topped with fried onion were a bit more lacklustre. Roasted pork belly with rioja jus was beautifully presented in a perfect square of pork belly dripping in jus and accompanied by a sliver of pear and roast potato. The flavours were delicious however I was disappointed to find a large bit of gristle in the pork belly.

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