Two
weekends ago, I visited the first restaurant on this list and boy, was
it a good’un! Seriously, if this has set the bench mark, I’m going to be
embarking on a real culinary adventure. I’ve travelled extensively around
Spain, so have had my fair share of very good tapas. Unfortunately, I’ve also
had tapas over here, at places that have done it all wrong. The guys at Lobos
have got it spot on though – and it’s not just tapas they specialise in, but
pork (lomo, if you will) too. Trip Advisor was full of glowing reviews, I’ve
added mine and I’ve recommended Lobos to everyone in sight. Please, if you’re
in the Southwark/Borough area, please go – even if it’s for a cerveza or vino
with some jamon!
The
restaurant itself is quite small, so booking is recommended. The bar is on the
ground floor and you’re greeted with all the hams hanging up (lovely), before
heading up the oak staircase to the restaurant area. The kitchen is open and we
saw (and spoke) to the chefs in action – I’m sure the restaurant seats about 20
and it’s definitely cosy, with the tables quite close together. It is beautiful
though and almost cave-like, as in, it’s built under the bridge of the station.
Yes, you may hear a passing tube, but it isn’t a disturbance at all – and you’ll
be too busy eating to notice. The bar has that traditional Spanish taverna feel
and I’d loved to have had a drink there first.
However,
I’m going to go straight in with the food, as after all, I have a lot to get
through! We made the mistake of ordering everything at once – but if I were to
go again, I’d definitely order a couple of dishes at a time, ordering more as
necessary. Not only was there a real lack of space on the table, but of course
the dishes are small and prepared quite quickly, so I found myself eating and
eating and eating – although we did have a breather before our main arrived. We
were never left waiting long, which was good – you could easily have a more leisurely
meal, should you wish.
You
can’t really go wrong with freshly baked rustic bread and olive oil (£2.50).
While it was great for snacking on before the first plates arrived, it served
as a great base for our other dishes, pinchos style. Next arrived the padron peppers
(£5.50): one of my favourites because they remind me of family holidays, or
meals at my auntie and uncle’s in Madrid. There’s something comforting about
them – as well as the danger of getting a hot one. I actually had three hot
ones! These were fried well, with just the right amount of rock salt. I could
have eaten more than one plate.
We
then had the croquetas (£7): bite-sized balls of yummyness, filled with ham,
chorizo and bacon. They really were incredible, melting in the mouth and the béchamel
sauce was so creamy. I’d heard good things about this dish and it totally didn’t
disappoint – I loved the way it was served too, in the mini fryer. Again, I
could have eaten another portion, but alas the next dish arrived to the
table...
Iberico
bellota jamon (£14.50)! I think one of my favourite things about Spain, is the
jamon. The butcher near my auntie’s does a great selection and a lot of the
time, you can try before you buy. You know you’re getting the real deal, when
you see the hams hanging up, ready to carve. Although some find it fatty, the
fat is one of the best parts as it retains all the flavour. This would have
been my favourite, but for our main meal.
The
final appetiser we tried was the traditional tortilla (£6), which contained
potato, onion and green pepper. I love Spanish omelette and this was no
different. Again, it was served well, in a mini frying pan and was cooked to
perfection. It was still warm as I cut it into cubes and was beautiful on top
of the bread with a piece of jamon.
After
a short pause for breath, we were presented with a pork lover’s paradise: the iberico
pork selection (£26.50), containing pork fillet, pork shoulder and a secret cut
and all served with accompaniments. Hand on heart, this was some of the best
meat I’ve ever had: the quality, the way it was cooked, the flavours, just wow!
My favourite was the pork shoulder (presa) which came with grilled red pepper.
It was almost steak-like, grilled to perfection and so beautifully seasoned. I
could have just had a platter of that, or even made a pepito sandwich (another
one of my favourite things). Jake loved the secret cut (secreto), which was
also amazing – I have no idea to describe it, other than it was like tenderloin
but a million times better. That came with mojo chips: thinly sliced potato
crisps, topped with a green salsa sauce (mojo verde), made of garlic, spices
and pepper seasonings. They were far too hot and strong for me, but were very
interesting. The fillet was cooked in paprika and other orangey, smoky
seasonings. It was also very good and came with trintxat potato (kinda like a
rosti with mashed potato and cabbage).
There’s
no way we could have managed a dessert as well, but I didn’t mind. Once our
boards and plates were taken away, we got the bill and I was pleasantly
surprised to see that it came to under £80 – very reasonable considering the
amount and quality of food we’d ordered. You can see the love that goes into
creating the dishes and I’ll definitely be back. Not only do I need that
iberico pork platter in my life, I’d love to try the dogfish, tetilla cheese
and the lobo bun (a popular dish).
Love,
Lucy xx
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Love, Lucy xx