Delicious Dehesa: An oasis of calm in crazy Soho
By Patito, published on 11 August 2010
One Saturday afternoon we arranged to meet our good friend McNally for lunch. The intriguing part of the story is that he brought along his teenage son whom we’d never met but had heard lots about. As it turned out, he was the most charming teenager we’d come across. Far cooler than we ever were and willing to go along with whatever we suggested. He was a delight to hang out with. And our choice of Dehesa for a weekend lunch couldn’t have been better (though we do say so ourselves). It was tasty, relaxed and in a perfect location – central without being crazy. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine that Regent and Oxford Streets are just one block away when you walk into Dehesa. It’s one of those little oases that London hides away from tourists and saves for its residents. We love it.
Opened in January 2008 Dehesa is the sister restaurant to Salt Yard in Fitzrovia. It’s named after the Dehesa – a woodland area in Spain which is home to the pata negra Ibérico pigs - which produce what we believe to be the best ham in the world.
We arrived a little late and found McNally & Son seated at one of the high tables. It was 2.30pm and the restaurant had a mid-afternoon calmness about it, but without the sensation that there had been a crazy lunchtime rush. The staff were quietly going about their business. Armed with a small bowl of olives, we ordered a couple of Cruzcampos for the adults, a Coke for the young man and took a look at the menu. It was filled with many of our favourite Iberian dishes – mouthwatering!
After a long deliberation, we chose courgette flowers stuffed with goats’ cheese and drizzled with honey, squid and chorizo salad, pork belly served on a bed of beans, patatas fritas with Romescu sauce and one of our favourites: salt cod croquetas with aioli. It was all deliciously flavoursome. Washed down with a second Cruzcampo, we were three happy gringos.
Although the dishes were served without bread, they were mighty filling. But not for a 15 year-old! Remember those days when you could eat and eat? He was a slight thing as well. Two servings of chocolate tarte were ordered. It was tasty, but rich and filling, even for the teenager. It didn’t stop us from cleaning the plates though.
At 4.30pm, one very patient teenager and two slightly tipsy adults went back out into the daylight. We walked down Ganton Street and within seconds were hit by a sea of tourists. July in central London is c-r-a-z-y. Tourists don’t know where they’re going, where their pals are, what they’re looking for and invariably end up wandering aimlessly from one side of the street to another, inevitably crossing your path. We fought our way through and jumped on the tube as fast as we could. West London is far quieter and altogether better when you’re as full, sleepy and tipsy as we were.
You could do a lot worse than spend an afternoon at Dehesa. We’ll definitely be back and hopefully before we have a teenage son of our own.
Dehesa, 25 Ganton Street, London W1F 9BP, Tel: +44 20 7494 4170, E: info@dehesa.co.uk
Delicious Dehesa: An oasis of calm in crazy Soho
One Saturday afternoon we arranged to meet our good friend McNally for lunch. The intriguing part of the story is that he brought along his teenage son whom we’d never met but had heard lots about. As it turned out, he was the most charming teenager we’d come across. Far cooler than we ever were and [...]
oasis of the sea – Is the Titanic being rebuilt?
9 October 2010
[...] Delicious Dehesa: An oasis of calm in crazy Soho « The Prodigal Guide [...]