Tapas Brindisa

went with a couple of friends for dinner on a friday's night.....food was very good a bit overpriced i should say, but the service was so impressive that the rest do not matter. there are two colombian guys whose friendliness and attitude is fantastic, giving me and my friends a night to remember. if u get the oppotunity to be served by them you are in your lucky day. Good looking and willing to help you, what else could you expect?
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aubrey and jennifer
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

We arrived at 11.50 and had no problem securing a table, but by 12.30 there was already a queue for tables. Ordered a couple of beers and waited for the bewitching time of being able to order the food.

Lovely tapas menu. I'm a veggie but there was plenty to choose from. We chose about 6 dishes including the delicious gazpacho. Quick friendly service. Food was great.
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angie b
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 21, 2008

Popped in mid week and had some of the better Spainish food i've had in London. Didn't have a booking so we were told it would be a 30 minute wait, no problem and after a pint in the market came back for our table.

The small space was packed by this time and although it was loud you could stil hold a conversation. The menu was short but sweet with enough choices for everyone, garlic prawns, chirizo & ham croquettes were all great.

Service was quick & friendly. 9 tapas & 3 glasses of wine for £75 seemed a little high but for good food in London it was okay.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, July 12, 2008

We went to Tapas Brindisa with a couple of friends and we will certainly be back. When we arrived we were told that the wait would be about 1.5 hours (this was a Saturday night) which ticked off my partner but we sat ourselves down at the bar, had a drink and 30 mins later we were sat down at a table. Staff are very friendly and service is quick eventhough the restaurant was heaving.

The food was great. No complaints at all. Ok, you can't put them 100% in the same league as tapas you get sometimes in Spain but they are defintely the best I've had so far in London. No, it doesn't come cheap but what does in this totally overpriced city?

We had a great night here and will be back very soon.
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Sofie
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, June 30, 2008

I liked this place. Buzzing, friendly staff. Visited Saturday 31st May - quite busy, but they squeezed us in after a short wait at the bar.

Wine: we had the house red "N.Aire" probably the cheapest red under the gluggable section. I thought it was good - we had a few glasses more of it. Wine served in tumblers reminded me of being in San Sebastian doing tapas bar crawls. Gordal olives huge and succulent. Padron peppers good though slightly too salty. Fish selection interesting but very modest portion. Regional charcuterie selection great (much more substantial serving!). Asparagus with ham was a real highlight - asparagus with a duck egg, and some kind of nutty garlicky stuff - excellent. Bread nice but when we ordered more bread it appeared as toast with burnt edges. Hildon fizzy water OK. Turron mousse dessert didn't seem to me to have much taste. Custard (creme brulee by some other name) well done. Overall thoroughly enjoyable. £83.25 including 12.5 per cent service charge added automatically. Quite expensive for tapas, but I thought it was reasonable value for what we had considering the location and what they are offering is quite unique in my experience of London tapas (mostly bland and samey). Would definitely go back. Good atmosphere, great location.
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richard harrison
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Sunday, June 01, 2008

I've been many times to Brindisa, you could call me a "regular". I really love the food there and would recommend the Monte Enebro cheese or prawns to whoever should go there. If you consider that in Borough market you cannot get a mediocre sandwich for less than four pounds, I do think that 2,65 for "pan amb tomaquet" is not so outrageous. I suspect that those who pay 100 pounds for dinner for 2 must have indulged themselves with a fair amount of good wine. No fault in that, but surely alcohol is expensive all over London, and few places offer such a good atmosphere to drink it in. Oh, and the waiting?... well, nothing worth having in life comes easy, right? My point is: this is a fabulous place, with great food, great wine and great atmosphere. I find the hosts very friendly, and I love seeing all the action in the kitchen from the bar! Last time I went here my waitress was adorable, the cutest accent, she was neither Spanish nor English. I love the variety of people who work there. It's all these small details that make me addicted to this little tapas bar on the street-corner.
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clara
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, May 16, 2008

1) Worst host ever - I'm Spanish so is he, nevertheless he kept speaking to me in English?? We got the impression that he didn't want 'Spanish' people there (we know probably too much : you should NEVER EVER be charged £2.60 for bread and tomatoes (Catalonian 'pa amb tomaquet'), amongst other things.

2) Slow, unprofessional service

3) Poor quality - our tortilla was dry and none of our 'pimientos del padron' was actually hot .

4) Hosts' attitude -sorry, again- you shouldn't work as a host. It's your face customers are looking at when things go wrong (or well!)

I'm very sorry to write a review like this since I'm Spanish. But unfortunately that kind of service/attitude is very common in my country. I just hope that we could learn from your manners, which I find very polite so far.
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petra - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 15, 2008

I went to Tapas Brindisa a few months ago after hearing some positive comments from friends. Sadly my own experience lacked the punch that would have made it worth shelling out the extra to distinguish it from a "run of the mill" tapas bar.

Location cannot be faulted, on a busy corner of Borough Market and Southwark Street, and the friendliness of the staff on our entrance to the place was gratifying. Unfortunately the rest of the service experience went downhill rapidly. They were busy, yes. And they squeezed us in, true. But despite that, when you pay close to £100 for tapas for 2, the service should be spot-on. It was not, it was slow. It took over 15 minutes to get a drink. Our waitress's command of the names and content of the dishes fell short of even my own poor Spanish. Several tapas, once finally ordered, failed to materialise until we prompted again. A glass of water never made it despite 3 or 4 attempts at ordering.

The quality of the food is undoubtedly good. The ingredients were certainly superior. My one comment is that there seemed a confusion as to what was being offered - tapas or nouvelle cuisine? The efforts to mix flavours and be "different" seemed to detract from many of the dishes we tried, largely because there was so much going on that subtle flavours were lost. Why use expensive ingredients then swamp them?

I'm not saying I wouldn't go back if invited as part of a group - but I would be more vocal about poor service and pick my dishes with care. And with so much choice in London, I can't see I will be recommending it to my friends.
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Marcus Holden - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Friday, May 09, 2008

Had a great time here again.

Waiter kindly squeezed us in although restaurant was heaving .great wines, great food, service a little rustic but still loved it
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I can't praise this place enough. Tapas in London can often be so formulaic with your tortilla, patatas bravas, garlic mushrooms etc etc. Tapas Brindisa, on the other hand, shows an inventiveness that comes from pairing quality produce with unusual combinations or just having the option to try something a bit different....their air cured tuna with sliced pear is a real treat, as is the molten, honeyed goats cheese. The wines cover a wide range of prices and are wonderful. Bar staff and waiting staff are attentive, whilst managing the hecticity of working in London's best tapas joint very well. All in all, I feel that if you are prepared to enjoy a few glasses of red either outside or at the bar whilst waiting for your table, you will not be disappointed.....
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Aarti
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, November 08, 2007