Tucked away in a corner of Borough Market, this tiny Spanish tapas restaurant is in the heart of foodie land – and its offering tantalises the taste buds just as you’d hope.
Lobos Tapas brings a meat-heavy menu and a good wine list to boot. Considering that the restaurant was started by former Brindisa employees (another one of the great tapas joints in London), you know to expect great things.
Walking into the dimly lit eatery without a booking on a Saturday evening was risky, but we were lucky that a table had freed up after a last-minute cancellation. We were shown to our seats on the second floor in an atmospheric little cave, which gave Lobos points for ambiance, although the waitress’s immediate request that we return the table within an hour and a half was a little jarring.
We kicked things off with the brilliant croquetas – six balls of deep-fried joy stuffed with creamy ham, chorizo and smoked bacon – and savoured every last one. Also outstanding was the baked tetilla cheese (pictured above), which arrived in a little frying pan. Bits of roasted veg poked out from the bubbling cheese, and pieces of crusty bread were laid down beside to dip and dunk. The creamy cow’s cheese was pleasingly stringier than Cheesestring and great fun to disassemble.
The mixed mushrooms, with truffle oil and broccoli, were a delight – the subtle truffle flavour was on point and the mushroom pieces slid down my throat in glee. Although the one dish we didn’t bother to finish was the Spanish specialty known as arroz con costra – basically crispy saffron rice with chicken, chorizo and egg combined together to look a bit like an omelette. The taste was bland and the chunks of meat were barely visible.
Thanks to its high quality food, swift service and stylish setting, this little restaurant, which has one other site in Soho, is definitely giving Brindisa some serious competition. As there’s so much choice on the menu, I’m certain to go back for more.
/// The Curious Londoner 