CASA BRINDISA
Ever since Bryan and Susan Webb closed Hilaire restaurant and upped sticks to North
Wales, we haven’t really found anywhere satisfying to eat in South Kensington but
having heard good reports about Casa Brindisa, we felt we must give it a whirl. In
accordance with our known principles, we have of course, now visited it more than
once. On both occasions the restaurant was absolutely fully booked and heaving despite
the pavement being totally blocked by their entrance because of road works. But the
atmosphere was lively and exciting and the tapas were very tasty and reasonably priced,
although they could be considered as ladies portions rather than trencherman’s but
then what would you expect in the heart of Sloanieland?
The rather dark interior houses rather bare, dark wooden tables which are covered
by a paper undermat for each diner (thus disposable) and which also has the menu
printed on it. The parent company of the three Brindisa restaurants in London is
a long established importer of Spanish food ingredients and the menu reflects this
unique situation. The speciality is cured food platters of acorn fed Ibérico pork
charcuterie, but there are other typical Spanish dishes, a large selection of Spanish
cheeses and, of course, tapas.
Almost 30 different tapas are on offer ranging from vegetably ones, through fishy
ones and meaty ones. They do change from time to time so what we describe here may
not be on the menu when you arrive. The dishes have been created by chef Jose Pizarro
but on the two occasions that we visited the restaurant we were told that he was
not cooking there and in fact, rarely ever does. He’s obviously a good teacher, though,
because on the whole, the food was very good, some dishes might even be described
as exquisite.
On the vegetably side, you could have anything from a herb salad with a Moscatel
vinaigrette (£3.50) to a dish of calçots (a cross between a leek and a spring onion)
with a Salvitxada sauce (a sauce made with nuts, roasted garlic and toast, to name
but three ingredients) at £8.50, or a whole warm torta de Cañarejal cheese served
with potatoes and caper berries for £18. A roasted butternut squash with rosemary
and Garlic (£3.75) was very nutty, tasty with a crisp bite to it. Prawns cooked with
garlic, chili and olive oil (£7.95) was nice and hot in more senses than one and
well cooked. Pan fried scallops with fresh chili, crispy ham and a Jerusalem artichoke
purée (£9.00) was quite exquisite, but the ham was so crisp that you could hardly
feel it was ham, and we would have loved a little more of the delicious Jerusalem
artichoke purée which on the plate was barely a 1 millimitre line joining the three
deliciously cooked scallops.
Lamb cutlets served with new potatoes and salsa verde ~ (2 pieces £8.95) were again
beautifully cooked but we could not really taste the salsa verde as it was only three
tiny dots on the plate. Iberian pork tenderloin with Oloroso Sherry and roasted apple
(£9.95) meat was a little tough, but the sauce and the apples were delicious!
The desserts were very good. Turrón mousse with raisins macerated in PX sherry (£5.00)
had a delicious almond pralin in the mousse, but we were divided as to whether the
raisin went well. Confit of quince with Manchego ice cream (£5.00) - the confit of
quince was delicious, the ice cream good but not creamy enough.
The wine list is exclusively Spanish with the exception of a few Champagnes, one
Port and a couple of Somerset cider brandies (che?) The wines are mainly the good
and the great - a wonderful collection of what the best of Spanish wines can achieve,
but they are not cheap - by a long chalk. A 125 ml. glass of Rafael Palacios’s As
Sortes wonderful minerally Godello white wine (£7) and a 175ml. glass of Vega de
Yuso Tempranillo (£6.50) on the first visit and a bottle of Victor de la Serna’s
second label Syrah Salia de Finca Sandoval (£45) could hardly be called value for
money, especially when you are dining on bare tables with paper serviettes.
Service was a bit on the slow side - maybe because they were busy, but it was a bit
disconcerting to receive our wine after we had been served with two of the tapas
dishes. There was also a long wait for our aperitif of a bottle of mineral water.
There seems to be no coordination between food and wine service. Nevertheless, it’s
more than possible to spend a very convivial, lovely evening at Casa Brindisa.
Restaurant Ratings
Food 43
Wine List 16
Service 6
Ambience 4
Value for money 9
Total 78
(For an explanation of the ratings - click here)
Casa Brindisa 7-9 Exhibition Road London SW7 2HE
Telephone: 020 7590 0008
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday: 12 midday to 11 p.m. Sunday: 12 midday to 10 p.m.
Credit cards: All major. Service Charge: 12.5%
