Bravas Tapas (City of London)

• Every different type of cuisine is now opening in London
• The only plus side to it all is that sometimes
• Great new restaurants do open and Bravas Tapas is one of them
• Backing Bravas Tapas are two big names
• Victor Garvey is an accomplished chef who grew up and worked in Barcelona before buying is own restaurant in Marbella back in 2010
• His menu here at Bravas Tapas is actually very traditional but with a few twists and turns along the way mostly in its presentation
• Perhaps a very bold statement (but an accurate one) the best gazpacho i have ever had
• All the key ingredients sat in the base of the glass before the smooth cold tomato soup is slowly poured over
• Patatas bravas served with bravas salsa and whipped to order aioli were very
• The bravas salsa and whipped aioli was absolutely delicious
• Why whipping aioli is not more widespread i do not know but it makes it even better and a little lighter on the tummy
• The classic pan con tomate here was just as i remember it in Jerez
• Prices here at Bravas Tapas were sometimes on the high side
• Would be opening in St Katherine Docks I was excited as it's not too far from both home and work for me
• If you aren't familiar with St Katherine Docks
• It's downside is that apart from the smaller cafes which are open in the day
• The prospect of something a bit different was enough to catch my attention
• The restaurant has a rustic feel to it with deep leather chairs
• They were well spiced and fluffy little potatoes with salsa brava and alioli
• We also ordered the Pa 'amb Tomaquet (toasted baguette with tomato and olive oil) and the Cod 'Esqueixada' which is raw thinly sliced cod with black olives
• Onions and served with a sauce (I'm not sure what)
• This was fresh and summery and would be the perfect dish for a sunny day sat outside with a glass of wine
• The only dish we ordered from the Meat and Poultry section was the Moorish Spiced Lamb Chops
• I'm not normally a massive lamb fan but this was beautifully cooked
• I'm not sure I could taste Moorish spices but these were definitely moreish
• Our second fish dish was Fresh Salmon 'Rulada' which were rolls of fresh salmon wrapped around shoestring sweet potato
• The sweet potato was crispy and I have no idea how they did it
• Combined with the salmon was the perfect combination
• My only problem was that I wasn't quite sure how to attack them
• They were bigger than sushi rolls so too big to pop into my mouth in one but manhandling them with pincers and taking smaller bites seemed inelegant
• Our final fish dish was Wild Mediterranean Seabass with Salsa Donostiarra
• A soft torte with cherries and served with almonds and sorbet
• In fact we couldn't decide which dish was our favourite because they were all so good
• I only wish we'd been for dinner instead of lunch as I imagine the place is beautifully cosy when lit by candles and looking out onto the twinkly lights of the docks
• Food is a bit of a mixed bag with a couple of winners patatas bravas
• Or the tomato bread (why is this basic SO hard to get right
• Shabby chic decor you are instantly put at ease
• The staff are attentive and the food is utterly delicious but don't expect the whole order in one go
• Ensuring every plate is fresh and hot
• Tapas is a meal that is meant to be shared
• The classic pan con tomate (right) was extremely good value for money at £
• This mini morsel was a flavour explosion and good start to our meal
• The braised beef short rib was a little tricky to eat with tongs
• The Cod esqueixada (thinly sliced fresh cod with black olives
• The Moorish spiced lamb chops with aioli were served medium rare
• To finish the meal we ordered the Torta de Santiago (almond cake originating from Galicia) which was served with sharo morello cherry sorbet and salted almonds
• My only critique would be that some plates are on the expensive side
• Would order a fish dish if we were still hungry
• Shared between 2 people we were quite full after
• Especially because you need to eat each bite with a weird metal pokey utensil that looks like giant tweezers
• Neither of us are big fans of lamb but we wanted to try it
• Good selection in the menu which is not over bearing
• Octopus were well seasoned and dessert was the perfect end
• Ambience and service was good but all of us who ate there that night got severely Ill
• By the quays with some out doors seating and also inside

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