New Year’s Eve day is the new New Year’s Eve night (said, well, no-one) and in honour of this we finished 2014 with a few of our very favourite things. Sadly whiskers on kittens didn’t make the cut however food, wine and river views were consumed plentifully throughout the day before heading home for a chilled evening of cocktail making, game playing and hilltop firework spectating. We opted for tapas at lunchtime and after some research decided to try Tapas Brindisa, London Bridge due to its convenient location and appetising menu.
As expected there was a short wait when we arrived but this proved prime time to head to the bar and order a bottle of red before soon being escorted to a table.
Having perused the menu online prior to our visit like the certified menu stalker I am, choosing a selection of plates proved easy. We opted for 7 (although one was a solo meat feast for Tom) and that was a good number as the portion sizes were pleasingly generous for tapas.
Now if you go here and choose to order just one thing I would without doubt recommend these steamed mussels with white wine and fresh herbs. Not only are the mussels huge but the liquor is incredible and flavoursome, which it seldom is in such a dish.
The Escalivada salad was equally amazing- a stack of roasted aubergine, onion, peppers and tomato served with crispy bread. The Patatas Bravas weren’t the best I’ve ever had but equally weren’t the worst. They in fact sit comfortably in the middle of my newly created Patatas Bravas scale.
Croquetas de Jamon are one of very few dishes where I will obliging eat pork all in the name of being able to consume deep fried cheese. It’s a worthy sacrifice and these ones were particularly full of cheese based goodness. The tortilla we opted for was a courgette one and, as you can see above, was certainly full of vegetables. Not pictured are the grilled chorizo on toast which looked very substantial and the goats cheese with grapes plate which was exactly as described. The cured goats cheese was different to anything I’d had before and disappeared from the plate very quickly which is always a good sign.
The last time we ate tapas was in Seville so our expectations were high and I think Tapas Brindisa is a worthy restaurant to visit for a taste of Spain in London. I love the buzzy vibe of tapas bars and although the London Bridge branch is actually quite big, as far as restaurants of this genre go, the atmosphere was still lively and the tables very much sought after. It was a wonderful way to spend New Year’s Eve and I’m sure we’ll be back in the future.
