El Pirata de Tapas Review

I had a hard time getting in to El Pirata Detapas. I don't mean that it was fully booked (though this might also have been the case, it seemed very popular). No, what I mean is that I found it difficult to enter the restaurant, or to put it plainly, I couldn't work out the doors.

Coming through the first door from the charming Westbourne Grove, my guest and I were confronted with another glass door to get to the dining room. The problem was that they're very close together, and once the first had shut behind us, there was very little space to open the second towards us. Things became rapidly intimate.

During our brief imprisonment in what felt partly like an airlock and partly like a warped game from the Futuristic Zone of the Crystal Maze, I was able to gauge my initial thoughts on what awaited us upon release. I was impressed. El Pirata was busy, bustling even, and kitted out in an clean, modern style of decor. It seemed attractive yet unobtrusive, relaxed yet smart.

The downside was that, as I pointed out, the doors were glass. So, while (entry portals aside) El Pirata's first impression on me was overwhelmingly slick, I think it's safe to say that the image of my face smooshed up against the glass ruined any chances of that opinion being reciprocated from those within.

After the complicated yoga moves that got us inside, we'd worked up an appetite and decided to eat from the Menu del Chef (helpfully translated as 'Chef's Menu' for non-Spanish speakers or the recently lobotomised).

This menu is made up of no less than 11 dishes, making the £25 a head price tag more than reasonable. If I were to write about all eleven, there'd be no room left on the internet for all that porn. So, I'll just have to stick to our favourites, no mean feat as everything we ate that night was beautifully presented, well considered and delicious. Still, here's the top five:

* Endives, with valdeon cheese foam: Crisp, and sharply bitter leaves to dip into a moreish and generously portioned blue cheese dip that was at once impossibly light and richly creamy.

* Octopus carpaccio: Fresh, delicate and accompanied by vinegary capers and 'clementine caviar'. We asked the waiter what these spherical orange globules were and all I can report back is that it involved something time-consuming and frankly inexplicable with a clementine and sheer science. The molecular gastronomy added little to the taste, but made the dish look beautiful and spoke volumes about the chef's attention to detail.

* Pork cheeks, carrot puree and red wine shallots: again with the attention to detail. This meat is marinated for 14 hours and cooked on a low heat for a further for eight making it the most tender meat you're ever likely to taste.

* Squid, black rice and black alioli: 'Some customers are too frightened to eat this' isn't the most comforting thing to hear when presented with food in a restaurant, but I quickly figured out why it might be true. Flavoured with large amounts of squid ink (and garlic), this dish was the colour of an oil slick, but without the cheering rainbow effect. It looked toxic but also kind of sexy, in that dangerous sort of way.

* Chocolate trufa, chocolate mousse and saffron toffee: Any pudding with the word chocolate twice in its name wins points from me. The truffle was the best bit, sticky, rich and even coming after 10 other dishes I could have eaten five portions. If this is what chocolate tastes like in Spain, the yanks are welcome to Cadbury's.

So there you go; a brief precis of a complex menu. If you're a newcomer to tapas it could seem intimidating but El Pirata's friendly staff are more than willingly help you negotiate the choices with infectious enthusiasm.

Even after working my way through those eleven winning dishes, there's so much more yet to be tasted so I'll definitely be going back. And this time I'm going to make sure I show those doors who's boss.
...read more

Kate Williams 15 Mar 2010

El Pirata de Tapas Description

What sets this restaurant apart is its food; El Pirata offers dishes that are so authentic, you could almost be in Madrid. Dishes such as black rice and squid, piquillo peppers stuffed with seafood, kidneys in sherry and the classic patatas bravas are cooked to perfection and have won the restaurant critical acclaim. The average cost of a meal here is just £17 per person. This Pirata is a real hidden treasure.

Customer Reviews for El Pirata de Tapas

Average (based on 2 votes): 2 Atmosphere: Value: Quality:

The following customer reviews are not endorsed by Fluid London and are simply those of users who wish to publish their independent experiences of El Pirata de Tapas.

“Terrific tapas, great friendly service, beautiful decor, good music, busy, very affordable, again: delicious food. It's worth the trip from Shoreditch, every time.”
Atmosphere: Value: Quality:
Elise Bruni, london (3 years 2 months 9 days ago)

“There's loads of restaurants on Westbourne Grove but me and my mates keep coming back to this one. The seafood is the best and everyone's well friendly so its a good atmosphere too.”
Atmosphere: Value: Quality:
Hannah, West London (3 years 2 months 9 days ago)

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Spanish
• Average Price: £30.00
• Dress Code: Not Specified
• Group: (Independent/Freehouse)