Pinchito Tapas (Bloomsbury)

I went there for a business lunch last week and was decidedly unimpressed. I thought the food was pretty grim, actually. We ordered a large range of dishes, and while some were OK, none were excellent, and some were pretty unpleasant - oily, not fresh, and it seemed like there was little care taken over the food. It did not strike me as decent, honest food. The service was OKish - although two additional dishes mercifully didn't arrive, and we had to ask a few times for extra drinks.
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RDM
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Went there on Friday last week by chance. It was early evening and we wanted a quick meal before a show. The staff were very friendly and pleasant but you could see that it was their first week as it was a little disorganised and looked over staffed (I imagine that later on the evening the place is buzzing with customers, so they'd be needed).

But the main thing was that on the whole the food was great! Our favourite was the slow cooked pork cheeks with pumpkin,. Stunning! We also had a selection of cold meats which was excellent, patatas bravas (of course), an octopus dish which was average (warm in parts and cold in others), the bread with tomato was delicious, We also had 2 small glasses of rose wine. We ordered coffees and a pudding to share, which never arrived. When we asked a member of staff, they went and checked, then returned to say that they had ran out! Unfortunately the pudding appeared on the bill! When I mentioned this to the manager, he was very good about it and apologies straight away. He had been to our tables a couple of times before, checking on the food and explaining a few dishes. He was the most helpful and friendly person of the team.

Good atmosphere, good food and friendly staff. One thing though, as it was their first week, the food was discounted by 50%, which was great as we still paid £50 for two. The full price would have been a little expensive for us as this is not like having a 3 course meal. By the way, we had to pay cash as credit card payment were not available at the time!

We would be back with friends but only for drinks and perhaps a couple of small dishes to go along. Afterall this is a tapas bar and one shouldn't try to make a meal of it!
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DJ
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Saturday, October 10, 2009

My girlfriend and I visited this restaurant on Monday, and really enjoyed it.

The staff were all very friendly and welcoming, and the food was great! We had the belly pork (one of the day's specials) which was crispy and tender, patatas bravas, serrano ham, garlic prawns, calamari and crunchy bread with tomato. The servings looked quite small but we were totally full up with these 5 dishes and they were all very tasty.

For dessert (after finding some more room in our bellies!) we had chocolate con churros - thick, dark, almost liquid chocolate with hot sugared doughnut-type breadsticks to dip into it - gorgeous!

The homemade lemonade was refreshing and delicious, and waitresses always on hand to help or supply more drinks/food. The atmosphere was pleasant, even though there were few customers - it was early on a Monday night - and I got the impression that the staff enjoy working there, which gives it a good vibe.

Overall, we were very happy with our meal and will be returning in a couple of weeks time with friends for a birthday party!
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ollybee - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, October 08, 2009

Nice new branch of Pinchito (used to visit the other one in EC1). Good after-work or before shopping cos its just off TCR, not far from Oxford St etc.

The tapas is a fairly standard selection, not up to the same level of creativity/quality as Fino, Dehesa etc, but still nice, filling and fresh. Pimientos were good, as were the gambas (garlic prawns) and chorizo. Some of the dishes were just ok. Overall, not a 'wow' meal but good enough for mid-week and great value with their opening week discount.

Cocktails were very good, not stingy with the alcohol. I will be back and so will my colleagues as they loved the jugs of sangria!
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Emz
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, October 06, 2009