A taste of Spain (London style and prices) at Tendido Cero
By Patito, published on 23 June 2010
Spanish fever continues this week. Following our Madrid sejour, we couldn’t resist booking London’s answer to a tapas bar, Tendido Cero for dinner with BFF. The same day as our date, La Roja suffered a disappointng loss to Switzerland in the World Cup. Totally irrelevant to this article of course, but mentioning it allows us to include a gratuitous photo of the wonderfully talented Fernando Torres.
Anyway, Tendido Cero is one of London’s best known tapas restaurants. Located on Old Brompton Road amid a cluster of restaurants that include its more grown up sister venture, Cambio de Tercio, it’s described as ‘one of the most authentic and welcoming tapas bars in London’ and is a fantastic place for dinner a deux. So much so, in fact, that we found ourselves dining in a sea of blind dates, first dates, planning-our-wedding dates and, at least one bad date.
Our table was booked for 7.30pm and we were informed in no uncertain terms that we would have to give it back at 9pm. We therefore arrived punctually and tucked into a Mahou whilst waiting for BFF.
When BFF arrived, time was ticking so we swiftly placed our order, skipping all the cold tapas and going instead for a selection of the warm dishes: pimientos del padron (The Guide’s favourite – unpredictably hot green peppers, ‘Pimientos del padron: unos pican y otros no!‘), aubergine chips with rosemary honey (these were weird, the inside of the enormous thick cut chips was soft and gooey), tortilla de patatas (see below), chorizo a la sidra (delicious!), croquetas de jamon (moyen), solomillo de cerdo con salsa de Cabrales cheese and ‘salad on the side’ (well, a couple of leaves of mesclun). The most controversial dish was the tortilla. One of those deliciously simple things that can be either amazingly satisfying or horribly disappointing. Coming straight from a week in Spain where we delighted in Manolita’s traditional home made tortilla, we were naturally going to be picky on this front. Tendido’s tortilla broke apart when we put a fork through it and the potatoes were flowery. BFF couldn’t tell if the mayonnaise (random, but why not?) served on the side was mayonnaise or yoghurt. Odd.
We had been tempted by the asparagus when we saw it on the menu but, incorrectly as it turned out, assumed it would be the tinned white variety which Spaniards – bless them – are rather fond of. We were therefore envious when we saw first date next to us enjoying delightfully fresh grilled green asparagus served with romescu sauce. But we were even more taken by the wedding planners’ delicious looking new style patatas bravas which we couldn’t resist ordering as a back-up. They were indeed delicious: rounds of potato filled with aioli sauce (not ideal for all the dates around us!). We ordered two glasses of house red to accompany the food and set about catching up on one another’s news.
By the time we finished our food, it was already past 9pm. We looked around furtively. First date had finished on time and the waiters brought the lady’s jacket with the bill (subtle….) but for some reason we were being left alone. We ordered a coffee and sat tight. Our cortado (normally a short milky coffee) was a very strange hybrid: something between an americano and a macchiato… and nothing like the cortados we’d enjoyed the week before with Juanjo and co.
When it arrived, the bill was substantial (especially considering we hadn’t had a bottle of wine). The service was great though and – for the right occasion – we would certainly come back. But if you’re looking for truly authentic Spanish food, Tendido Cero is probably not the place to come.
Realising we had wildly outstayed our welcome (by now it was past 10pm!), we stood up to make a move but were told to sit back down as a glass of peach schnapps was on its way over courtesy of the house. How very kind.
Tendido Cero, 174 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 0LJ, Tel: +44 20 7370 3685
A taste of Spain (London style and prices) at Tendido Cero
Spanish fever continues this week. Following our Madrid sejour, we couldn’t resist booking London’s answer to a tapas bar, Tendido Cero for dinner with BFF. The same day as our date, La Roja suffered a disappointng loss to Switzerland in the World Cup. Totally irrelevant to this article of course, but mentioning it allows us [...]
3 Responses to “A taste of Spain (London style and prices) at Tendido Cero”
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Patito
24 June 2010
Salmorejo, gazpacho, cocas, paella, fideuà, tellinas, lubina a la sal, …. you need to spend a weekend with Manolita and reassess!
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14 July 2010
[...] while we may have started this tournament with a soft spot for Mr Torres, we ended it thinking that maybe goalies aren’t so uncool after [...]
The Prodigal Fool
23 June 2010
Bla bla bla…
Spanish food: cheese, cured ham and potatoes. That’s it.