Camino - Canary Wharf

I was at this Qype event with my son and find yet again the review I wrote has disappeared.
So just a short and sweet, we both enjoyed the food, the tours of the kitchen and being shown how to prepare a few of the special dishes with tastings.
Great Qypers company as always.

Very nicec place to have dinner and drinks with friends, very friendly staff too!

Not really a fan of Spanish restaurants but having read the reviews we just had to go for a birthday celebration.

It was at least as good as the other reviews and even the non meat eaters gave grudging respect although I think that the meat was outstanding -really very very good – cooked just right and bursting with flavour from the grill.

Wine was well matched to the food (but by no means cheap) and we ate as much as we could fit in and were not disappointed by any of the dishes that came to the table- it was tapas style so lots of little dishes. I could have stayed there all night but might well have exploded so I will have to go back soon and try the rest of the menu!

Service was good, attentive and friendly as well as really helpful. A great location as well – a pity we had to eat inside but we were experiencing an August ice age and the weather was not at all Spanish!

I can thoroughly recommend Caminos – if you are in the area you should really try it and see what you think.

Nice looking restaurant with a large terrace area. Good way to arrive is by the London ferry where you can use your Oyster card.
The food is good and the wine list is above average. If you are in the area, probably one of the best places to go.

cheap and fast and great food.

A great find - close to the Centre at Canary Wharf though tucked away/under - Unless you are determined you could end up at mediocre La Tasca instead. This is high-spec Spanish gastro - big urban and not small family restaurant. The owner is generous, knowledgeable about everything he sells and clearly pays attention to detail - guess his staff must have to stay on their toes but respect him! You should go here if wine, sherry or port are as important to you as food, and yet eat all the tapas +++ which are all better than anything of the same name you've had in other UK tapas places. Eating (seated) at the large bar area low-tables worked as well as having at restaurant area table would have. Works very well in Docklands I must try his new Kings Cross place and compare...

It was a cold windy night at the wharf, and we were significantly underdressed. No, not naked, thankfully, or it would have been even colder. But, walking through seas of suited business men and women dressed in a tshirt and jeans does make you feel slightly self-conscious.

Luckily though, we were heading to Camino, where we felt a bit less out of place. Also, the guys here had paid the heating bill, so we soon regained the colour in our cheeks and the feeling in our fingers, sat at our table and were handed our menus. We'd booked with a Keynoir deal so had a 9 plate tapas selection, 4 starters and 5 mains, to get our teeth into, but not before we'd started working our way through a bottle of Cava between us.

To start some delicious pan con tomate, gorgeous bruschetta topped with chopped tomatoes. For me this was the highlight of our starters. They were perfectly seasoned and I love tomatoes, but these were incredible. Combined with some Serrano ham (another of our plates) my mouth was dancing.The third plate was crispy-fried baby squid with aioli. I'm not a massive squid lover but I really enjoyed this plate, and I'll be up for more squid in the future. Our last starter was chargrilled onion and red pepper wrapped up in aubergine. It wasn't my favourite dish, but it was still very tasty. The starters were great, but nothing to prepare us for what was about to come.

A spectacle of patatas, fried with egg and peppers presented in the pan it was cooked in. These arrived first and tasted fantastic, plus when we got to the bottom there were a few lovely crispy bits to dig into as well. The 'arroz negro con sepia', or Black Calasparra rice, made from cuttlefish, squid ink and aioli was divine, and combined with the potatoes was a match made in heaven. However heaven was outdone by the third main - chorizo, and the fourth - Presa Iberica, an Iberico black pig shoulder blade cooked medium-rare, served with pea puree.

When we first got the menu, our waiter, Cesar, asked us how we wanted this cooked. Thinking (quite rightly) that only a fool would order it any other way to that stated on the menu, we went for the advised medium-rare and were certainly not disappointed. The chorizo was succulent, great flavour and danced around my mouth, but the black pig was out of this world. In fact, words can't even describe just how utterly orgasmic it was. So I'll leave it there. The 5th plate was a large selection of meats which, whilst very good, couldn't stand up to the rest of the meal and so remained unfinished! We were well and truly stuffed, and had also polished off the Cava by this point.

However, everyone knows there is a separate stomach for pudding and Cesar asked if we wanted the menu, to a resounding "Yes, please!". We had a glance, and it was all very intriguing, but we couldn't decide between a couple of things. When Cesar came back, we asked him what the selection of desserts to share entailed as the menu didn't describe it any further than that. He very kindly told us that it was a very big selection and that we'd had quite a lot to eat already so it might not be worth it, and so we chose the Tocino de Cielo, "egg yolks cooked perfectly" with strawberries in syrup with a hint of cayenne pepper, to share. Wow. A brilliant conclusion to a perfect meal.

Aside from the food, and the Cava, I was most impressed by the service here. From entering to leaving we were treated like royalty. Cesar was fantastic, delightful and slightly eccentric, but also ensured we were alright quite often, but not too often which was very good. I also really appreciated his honesty at the end of the meal, making sure we chose the right dessert and didn't instead pay for a lot of things we wouldn't eat. He really put us first. And that makes all the difference.

I can't wait to go again.

My first though on entering Camino was - wow it's loud. Usually a bit of an irritant but nothing more, yesterday it almost spoiled my visit, if only because I've been sufferring from a sore throat so talking loud enough for anyone to hear was a bit difficult. The restaurant area was, thankfully, a little quieter than the bar. And the service - and most importantly, the food - quickly banished any concerns about noise levels.

The staff were really friendy, and remained so throughout the night. Attentive, checking we were enjoying the food, and giving (good) advice on what to have for dessert. Even if the food had been so-so, it would have been a good meal, because atmosphere and service are so important.

But the food definitely wasn't so-so. It was excellent. We shared a nine-dish tasting meal, which came in two 'courses'. The first was nice; Pan con tomate (lovely fresh bread covered with chopped tomatoes and olive oil), Jamon serrano, chipirones a la Andaluza (crisp-fired squid with aioli) and Escalivada (onion, aubergine and red pepper rolls). My highlight here was the squid, which was cooked perfectly, so that it was tasty but not overly chewy, and served with an excellent aioli. Scoring everything, I'd given these 8/10. The Serrano ham was also delicious - but then it always is...so 7/10. The other two dishes I found a little underwhelming. The rolls lacked a little in flavour and seasoning (although the boy may disagree - he's always telling me I use too much salt, after all), and the Pan con Tomate...well, I'm just not a huge fan of raw tomatoe. Still, they'd both tally a 6/10 for me, so things I wouldn't necessarily choose to order, but certainly wouldn't turn down either.

The next set of dishes blew the first load out of the water, however. First we were brought a selection of cured meats - salami, pork loin and paprika sausage - which were nice (6/10). Then the four dishes that followed - Arroz Negra con Sepia (black rice with cuttlefish, squid ink and aioli), Chorizo with roasted peppers, Presa Iberica (pig shoulder blade served with pea puree) and Sarten De Patatas A Lo Pobre (potatoes, green peppers and egg) - were each more delicious than the other, and I really would be hard pressed to pick a favourite.

Lets see. The potatoes arrived first, and on their own were nice enough for me to decide I wanted to locate a recipe and try making them myself. When added to the chorizo, they shone. The chorizo itself was amazing - richly flavoured, with a hint of heat, and served on delicious slices of roasted red pepper. Combined with the potatoes, it was a near-perfect combination of flavours. But it also went fantastically with the Arroz Negro, a salty, tasty messy dish. And then the pig shoulder...cooked to perfection, tender as anything, tasty enough that even I avoided extra salt, and married with a gorgeous pea puree.

We accompanied all of this with a bottle of Vilamau Brut cava, a refreshing bubbly wine which is the perfect compromise for the boy and I (he prefers white wine, I prefer red wine, but we will both drink bubbles), and then followed it with a lovely Tocino de Cielo, a sort of baked eggy custard served with rich, sweet strawberries, which was a perfect end.

Now we were lucky. A fantastic keynoir deal meant that we got all of this (minus dessert) for £35 pounds. But we both agreed that, whilst we probably wouldn't order quite so much food, we'd definitely like to come back and pay full price - or maybe pay a visit to the slightly more convenient King's Cross branch. A wonderful evening, wonderful food and wonderful service.

I attended the Qype event too.

Food was fantastic, especially the prawns, and the Sangria was superb!

I have now been to Camino several times and it is one of my favourite places to eat in London. Although I do prefer the Kings Cross Camino because I feel it has more of an atmosphere and is more conveniently placed than the Canary Wharf branch. I had difficulty finding the place on the night of the Qype event, but then that's just me. I feel that the Canary Wharf branch needs more advertising.

Went for the Qype event also, and loved the great riverside location and space inside. Friendly staff, and great cocktails. Had a very warm welcome by co-owner Richard and head chef Nacho.
Excellent range of tapas, especially calamari and the gambas aioli that Nacho made for us during the kitchen tour.
Much more pleasant staff and had a better experience than I previously have had at the Kings Cross branch.
Will definitely be back, especially during the summer with the great outside seating and riverside location.

Camino in Canary Wharf is, in every way, an excellent bar and tapas restaurant, and I have not hesitation in saying that it’s by far my favourite Spanish spot in London.

The food is truly excellent and the deep-fried calamari is a must-try, closely followed by the incredible garlic prawn dish. I sampled so many great dishes that it’s difficult to pick a favourite! The drink menu has equally generous offerings, with a wide range of high quality wines and reasonable prices, and a well thought out cocktail menu.

The staff were attentive and friendly throughout and made my stay a real pleasure. I will have no hesitate in returning, and while Canary Wharf is a rather long journey for me, it’s certainly worth it.

I went for the qype event too and as other people have said it's a little bit tricky to find but soo worth it! I actually prefer this place to the kings cross branch as it's less crowded although that may change as word of mouth spreads. I can totally recommend the big chill cocktail and the calamari (even managed to convert a few of our group to eating the tentacles!). On a pretty cold night it wasn't just the food and drink that cheered us up but also the warmth of the welcome from owner Richard and head chef Nacho. In fact all the staff were lovely and we were very well looked after. I can just see myself in summer sitting by the river, cocktail in hand, enjoying some yummy tapas, as long as I can get a table of course!!

Great, non stuffy venue in the Wharf. Same great, authentic food as the Kings X branch but this one will benefit from a riverside location in the summer.
An exciting new addition - good for dates or meeting with friends.
Great sangria too...

What fab tapas! I hadn't visited the Kings Cross outpost of this restaurant, so went with Qype to check out the new Camino Canary Wharf.
Head chef Nacho brought his knowledge of regional Spanish food from Bibendum restaurant in Chelsea to open this bar and restaurant in September. I really liked the vibe here - although not easy to find at first, the location right on the Canary Wharf pier will be great in summer to make use of the terrace. Inside the restaurant is divided from the bar with open screens and I liked the touch of Fooz-ball tables and display cases of food packaging.
We were treated to potato tortilla, tasters of rib-eye steak, Iberico salami and jamon, mixed fritters of spinach and jamon, succulent grilled garlic prawns and baby squid calamari. A standout was the tapas of rice dyed with squid ink topped with alioli and octopus - such a huge shot of flavour for such a small dish. The tapas dishes are varied with loads of vegetarian options as well and meaty and shellfish etc and start as low at £2.75 - £10.00. While we ate, we tried excellent cocktails like the jamaican mule, big chill punch and sangria. Not bad prices either as these usually range from £6-£8 and all I tried were delicious.
Lastly, a trip into the kitchens with Nacho to discuss where he sources his ingredients and how he changes the seasonal menus was great to learn a bit more about the food style.
Although it's not in my neck of the woods, I think this will be a great place to meet people after work for summer socialising or to grab a ferry ride for lunch.

The location of Camino really will be stunning in summer, with views across the river, the Thames Clipper Canary Wharf Pier on its door step and lots of outside seating. In winter though the venue needs to be good, really good to justify a journey down to Canary Wharf and a stroll through the icy air. And Camino delivers just that. Friendly and knowledgeable staff - the tour of the kitchens with Head Chef Nacho at the qype event and a memorable tour of the wine list with co-owner Richard being the highlights of the night. The passion of Spain consistently delivered - serious food served with a smile. The squid and black rice personal favourites on the night but you really cannot go wrong with the menu. The passion shines through - Camino cares!

We had a great night and will be back....Thank you Camino for bringing some Spanish passion to our hearts on a cold London evening.

There are two types of Spanish restaurants in London. Those who try really hard to be Spanish, and fail and then there is Camino.

It is easy to understand that after being overwhelmed with dry tortillas and bland paellas once would feel kind of wary of Spanish food in London but Camino can change that with a couple of mouthfuls. Just to say Camino is an authentic Spanish restaurant is an understatement. It certainly could be the place to go in Madrid.

The tortilla is juicy and sweet ( the chef cheekely plays on the traditional recipe with caramelised onion which I thought was genius ). The black rice is flavoursome and stylish, with alioli sauce like the foodies will preach you must have it. The croquetas, a extremely difficult to master tapa, were smooth and silky. The range of red wines were immense and eye popping. Cocktails are also available. Food is just out of this world.

The decor is Spanish, but not the insulting obvious other restaurants have plumped for. But yeah, its got barrels!

Highly recommended visit to the best Spanish restaurant for everybody's budget

When I was invited to the Qype event at Camino I was expecting to get what it said on the label – an evening of tapas tasting and three free drinks. No one warned me that I would die and go to tapas (and red wine) heaven.

Besides the much-loved fried squid, Camino's chef, Nachos, treated us to a selection of cured meats, olives, octopus with olive oil mash, steak served Basque style, pan con tomate, tortilla de patatas, escalivada, spinach croquettes, mahón frito, arroz negro con calamares – those are the ones that I can remember. And all of the food was really excellent - the best way I can put it is that it is the kind of food that makes you smile; the quality of the ingredients were top notch and the flavours were amazing.

And as if we did not already have enough to smile about, Camino's owner Richard Bigg introduced us to a few of his favourite wines and it was apparent that he is very passionate about his wine list (and didn't care about our three free drinks limit). Needless to say, we got to taste some awesome wines, my favourite being the San Román Bodega Maurodos 2006. It also happened to be the most expensive bottle he opened for us but everyone agreed that it was indeed a top-notch tipple.

Travelling in from Greater London, my trip to (and from) London was a bit adventurous since a lot of the trains and buses were cancelled but oh my was I glad that I trekked down to Canary Wharf on a snowy Wednesday evening. I've been to quite a few Qype events but the Camino event was easily amongst the best. Great food & wine, an owner and chef who are passionate about what they do, and a great bunch of people to spend the evening with – if I did not have to brave a cranky TFL service I would have stayed much longer.

The location is also great, right next to Thames Clipper pier, and I predict that if word of mouth does not make this place very popular very soon, it will become a top location as soon as it gets warm enough to sit outside for an al fresco riverside dining experience. I'll be back.

It was cold and snowy yesterday evening and I have to admit that I was seriously considering not going to the Qype event at Camino - what a mistake that would have been!

The food was simply fantastic and the delicious deep-fried calamari were a particular highlight, though I also really enjoyed the delicious fritatta and spoons containing creamy black-ink rice and mashed potato. In fact, all the dishes were so incredible that when I go back there I'm going to have real trouble deciding what to order.

However, it wasn't just the excellent food that made the evening particularly memorable, Richard and Nacho were excellent hosts and ensured the evening was a huge success. Richard also introduced us to some fantastic red wines, one that stood out was the splendid Rioja Secastilla and also a Grenacha which are both on Camino's wine menu. However, cocktails like the Big Chill Punch, Show Me The Monkey and of course the traditional Spanish sangria are all worth ordering.

Camino is a fantastic restaurant and I'll definitely be heading back. Like Alex said this place is going to really come to life on a warm summer's evening, with its scenic riverside location.

not very far from canary wharf station. I was amaze at the wonderful view of the river thames wiith seating outside . inside was wonderful and the the selection of wines and beers also cocktails all displayed on the boards. we had a variety of tapas and they were so tasty it was like being back in spain it was very lively and the time just flew by so quickly it was one of the best event I have been to

I was impressed with the location, right next to the boat stop on canary wharf so you know it will become packed in the summer.

Inside a lovely bar with huge blackboards detailing all its many cocktails,wines beer etc. a seperate dining area .

I had the big chill punch as detailed by Alex above, and i stuck to that the rest of the night as its a flavoursome cocktail.

The service was impeccable, very friendly staff and a very informative owner Richard taking us through some wine info and a very friendly chef, Nachos who explained his food and took us into his kitchen and made a lovely garlic prawn dish in front of us, see pic above.

The food we tasted were well cooked and plentiful for tapas. I got to try dishes that i have been weary of ordering mainly the black ink rice, which was creamy and rich and well worth having.
As in the other reviews above we were all impressed with the fried squid.
we also tried olives with spanish paprika, tortilla,cured meats etc
my favourite dishes were the fried squid,spinach croquettes & fritos mixtos.
I can see this place becoming very popular and i hope when i visit i manage to get in. Easily one of the best qype events that i have been to to sample food and drink as were more than well catered for