Boqueria (Restaurant)

Top 10 things you need to know about Boqueria Tapas restaurant in Battersea:

1) Moments after exiting Queenstown Road station and heading towards a charming riverside afternoon walk in Battersea Park, you suddenly realise you’re peckish and that dark clouds are gathering above you. A brief retreat is needed.

2) Conveniently, your nearest refuge is the modern restaurant interior at the intersection between Battersea Park Road and an even busier thoroughfare. A small alfresco terrace awaits those who enjoy traffic as a condiment to their food.

3) Boqueria Tapas; sounds Spanish, but the clean-lined restaurant doesn’t immediately shout Espana, until you hear some subtle Spanish guitars and spot the hanging Iberian meats. A lonesome Dali-esque painting and several wicker baskets stapled to the ceiling (?!) add an oblique but contemporary reference to the Spain.

4) Before you know it, a glass of dry Tio Pepe sherry is at hand, accompanied by a plate of acorn-fed jamon Iberico, providing you with what feels like a Mediterranean glow; or is it a tan?

5) The menu bulges. Exciting words seduce your eyes. The A-level Spanish part of your brain awakens. Thankfully, the affable Georgina - a Spaniard, of course - is on hand to extend a warm welcome and to chat about the freshly-made dishes. Grazing and sharing are Spanish verbs you wish you’d learnt.

6) Choices, choices; excellence in simplicity abounds: fresh grilled sardines on flatbread, popular on the beaches of southern Spain, or spiced sausage sobrasada pate from Mallorca? Beef tenderloin, foie and Pedro Ximenez sherry nectar reduction, or the suckling pig for its unique lemon sorbet addition?

7) At this point you remember you have company and a debate begins across the table: unusual twists on modern tapas versus traditional ingredients simply cooked? The expensive pricing of tapas generally or food for thought at £5-£8 in the Battersea/Chelsea Shore neck of the woods?

8) The decision: order one authentic small plate from every section (entrees, traditional, salads, meat, seafood, specials), call it a tasting menu, and make a promise to return soon. The more dishes you order, the less the conversation steers towards mortgages.

9) Although you skip the cheeses in favour of another glass of Georgina’s favourite recommendation - the Costers Del Segre Anima 2014 wine - because how much Manchego can one man chego, after all?

10) What started as an afternoon stroll has developed into a full blown Spanish holiday....read more