Jose

After many months of waiting we finally got round to making a long overdue visit to Jose on Saturday. Having walked past the tiny corner bar many times, and seen the crowds hopefully waiting for a bit of space to free up inside, we were well aware that we would need to arrive early if we wanted to avoid queuing in the snow.

We turned up just before 6pm and were lucky to get a couple of stools by the window facing Morocco Street. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Jose it's probably worth pointing out that this is a bar not a restaurant and it's more than likely that you will be spending your evening propping up the bar or a strategically placed barrel.

The sherry list looked very inviting and after a bit of chat with the friendly and informative staff we started our evening off with a glass of the Manzanilla Pastrana for me and the Puerto Fino for B. When combined with a plate of hot, salty padron peppers this is possibly the perfect way to get the appetite up and running. 

The menu covers all the tapas classics and is supplemented by an ever changing selection of daily specials chalked up on a blackboard behind the bar. The prices are pretty reasonable and there is plenty to stimulate even the most jaded of palates.

We had a good run at both the daily specials and the normal menu; ordering a couple of plates at a time and then adding a few more later. If there are only two of you eating it's quite easy to get carried away and seriously over order!!! Stand out dishes were the sweet chilli prawns which were just divine, the hake with allioli and some very tasty meatballs.

The wine list was well put together with plenty of good things to drink without breaking the bank. We had a bottle of the Casa Maria Verdejo (£18) which went down very well and was a good accompaniment to the fish dishes.

By the time we were thinking about dessert it was after 8pm and London's first snow of the year was coming down thick and fast. Bermondsey Street was looking very picturesque, but sensing looming trouble with the rail network we decided to make a hasty exit well pleased with a lovely evening at Jose and vowing to come back for a long lunch next month. Highly recommended for both the food and quality of service.
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Numhead Neil
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, February 10, 2012

Been eating and drinking in here since it first opened, and have no fault with the food, drink and general service. Today, however was an eye-opener - had an irate, reactionary customer run after me - after I brushed passed him (impossible not to in a space so small) thinking I'd taken his wallet from his back pocket (when he'd put it elsewhere) No defence from the staff, whatsoever. Stuff like this leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

So, to end - great food, great drink, but be careful not to brush past anyone, lest you be treated like a criminal.
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Lockwoodhorne
6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

You haven't had tapas until you've been to Jose Pizarro's new tapas and sherry bar on Bermondsey Street. The food is stunning and consistently so (I've been a several times already). The Pluma Iberica is out of this world and the Gambas are incredible.The staff are very friendly and seem to know the menu and wine list very well. I knew nothing about sherry until I went here and I can see it is a great drink to have with the tapas. Chef Jose Pizarro is a really charming bloke (look like he knows everyone!) and his food, like the restaurant, is simple, clean, fresh and super-tasty. Awesome place! Thanks.
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Mike Greenslade
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, June 23, 2011

This place is absolutely fantastic! Jose really does offer something new to London (hopefully to the UK) because it is exactly like eating at La Boqueria market in Barcelona. As Brits we were excited about eating authentic tapas style. The atmosphere is so relaxed and the staff so friendly and we very quickly got into the Spanish spirit. This is such a great place to eat because it offers a space where you can be either very sociable (to me, tapas is very social eating), or you can eat alone there just as comfortably. It took a few moments to adjust to eating standing up at the bar but it soon became great fun and we really "got it". We enjoyed this so much that we actually refused the offer of seating when it was made. It is great to have found somewhere that has the capacity to transport you to another place. The very sweet Spanish waitress was so helpful and took time to explain what was on the menu, and also helped us choose an appropriate sherry. The food here is amazing. Every dish was so clean and simple and yet at the same time manages to be incredibly rich in colour, texture and flavour - Jose is a certainly a chef that has mastered his art. We haven't tasted such fresh, delicious food for a long time. We intended to just have a few tapas dishes and then move on for our full meal later (which I think is what the Spanish do) but I challenge anyone to not want to work their way through the entire menu - it's genuinely AMAZING!
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Sparky
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 22, 2011

This place deserves to be a huge success. Unlike any other tapas bar I have been to in Britain, this feels as close to Spain as you can get without actually being there. Real care and attention is paid to the dishes: the ali-oli is a good sign of this - it tastes like it has been made by hand from scratch that morning.

Yes it is crowded but who wants to go into an empty tapas bar?
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9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, June 14, 2011

We'd finally hit summer. Friday night spent lolling outside the pub and a perky Saturday of sun and fun with walks wearing shirt and no jumper. A continental day ended appropriately with a hoped for but unscheduled aperitif stop in Bermondsey tapas joint du jour Jose. Owned eponymously by Jose 'Brindisa' Pizarro and garrulous business partner front of house expert Herve, it's finishing the job that neighbour (and final dinner destination) Zucca kick started and making Bermondsey, Street at least, a real foodie destination.

I have a slight problem with tapas restaurants out of their native environments, and it's that you can't crawl. The joy of tapas for me comes with a gleeful bowl around the neighbourhood and a bite and a glass in each joint. Moderation, exercise and a pub crawl in one. With a little help from Herve, we may have cracked it.

Prior to dinner and after a long warm walk, I was ready for a glass of something dry and crisp and cold. I steered us into Jose, keen to have a gander. The white tiled space focussed around the marble slab bar feels uncharacteristically out of place in South London, the heat emanating from it even more so. A combination of the small room, a large stove surrounded by Jose and his brigade, no air con and a sunny day meant I nearly lost the others at the first hurdle. The place was packed, no more than 25 in there, but it's enough not to want to be there when it's busier. No reservations means that like Spuntino you're going to have to come early, or be prepared to wait. As Herve explained, they're not aiming for the (London) bridge and tunnel crowd but hoping to add something to a great little local scene prior to opening larger restaurant Pizarro later in the year.

I sucked down deliciously dry sherry while we gorged, an early doors licensing quirk meant no booze without food, on a couple of the delicious tapa from behind the counter. We grabbed a couple of plates judging they would suffice as starters. Sea fresh boquerones, juicy white anchovies, came in a light and sweet seasoned cava vinegar, Murcian speciality pisto, a simple full flavoured Spanish version of ratatouille, came with a perfectly fried duck's egg. Giant yolk flecked with salt looming over the the plate reminding us of the late spring sun. Despite the specials board (cruelly featuring crab and basil croquettes the next day) you'd struggle to make a full meal out of the place, but that's partly the point. Grab a couple of plates, and move on. We admitted to Herve that we were going on to Zucca for our mains; "There you go then! There's your tapas crawl.. start here, mains at Zucca and then on to Village East for a cocktail or dessert." Tapas crawl, Bermondsey style.
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www.grumblinggourmet.com
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, June 11, 2011