El Matador

We've eaten at this restaurant since it opened and have been consistently impressed with the food, drink and general atmosphere. The tapas is fantastic, the steak-on-a-stone is brilliant and wine/beer list excellent. Having seen the early reviews in 2011, I can understand some of the comments (e.g. service) as this was when the place first opened and there were initial issues as with any venture. However, I would completely recommend the establishment to anyone over any other restaurant in town and we have been dining out in Sevenoaks since 2007. 

We have been to El Matador on 4 separate occasions and EVERY SINGLE TIME, we have been impressed and so have our guests :)

W have tried most of the dishes on the menu, from tapas to main course to desserts to lovely Argentinian wines  and have to say while we like Paella, the beef served on the hot stone, is irresistible! :)

I have to say this restaurant has become our family favourite, and having travelled around the world, I can tell a good restaurant offering good food and service to a mediocre one!

Well done El Matador!...continue focusing on good food and customer service :)

My girlfriend and I moved near here recently. Last week we went to El Matador and we loved it. Our meals were so delicious..

As a vegetarian I was a little apprehensive about a steak and tapas restaurant, but Matador have a good selection of delicious vegetarian tapas, nicely presented. I recommend the pimentos rellenos! The service was excellent and I would definitely return. 

I have now been to El Matador twice and I can say without a doubt that I will go again. The tapas is fantastic. It looks elegant and modern. Not greasy and bland like so many other tapas bars. The cocktails are fantastic, especially the Royal Mojitos. I will need to make sure they have enough limes and mint on the Saturday night we turn up as we will be drinking a lot of them! I haven’t been on a Saturday but I’m looking forward to going. I would suggest to people that have gone on a Saturday and then complained about the noise, that this is a vibrant spanish tapas bar and that means vibrant music as well. I have been on a Sunday where the atmosphere is a little more quieter but the quality of service and food is still top of the list. Excellent place!

Ate at El Matador last night (a Wednesday). I was a little apprehensive having read some of the poor reviews but can only think I was eating in a different restaurant to the critics. It was amazing!

Maybe it’s a different place on a Friday/Saturday night but it was still fairly busy (especially for midweek) and I found all of the staff extremely friendly and attentive.

I had the steak (I’m too lazy to cook “on the stone” so left it to Chef who cooked it perfectly) but my friend opted for the stone and loved being able to cook each mouthful to his taste. The great thing about the stone is that you can enjoy your steak hot to the very last morsel. (Why we insist on eating British beef in this country is a mystery – Argentinian is so much better!)

The ladies opted for the tapas which was all extremely tasty and beautifully presented.

The wine was a bit more than you might pay in other places, starting at around £20. We had the Spanish Rioja (£21.99?) which was lovely and well worth the extra pennies.

Though we didn’t have starters or coffee (and only the 1 bottle of wine plus a couple of soft drinks) it came to £33 per head. Certainly not the cheapest meal in town but I’d rather pay a little bit extra and enjoy the excellent food, drink, atmosphere and hospitality that El Matador offers.

Ignore the naysayers – I would thoroughly recommend – especially for a midweek treat.

A Breath of Fresh Air…
I have no idea why some of the reviews are so left field?? … judge for yourself …

I have been going to this restaurant ever since it opened last May and i agree it had its teething moments but now its run professionally and just what you would expect from a local community based restaurant, recognition of customers, good food, good service and a huge choice of the menu … see their website …
This restaurant has been working with the local schools, sports clubs, church and charities and i have often seen their donation in the form of a meal at these local places.

The restaurant puts on live entertainment and DJ’s which, the Mums of Sevenoaks Love and being one myself I fully appreciate … Finally a place to eat and let your hair down!… we have hired the cocktail lounge 49 on a few occasions and been very well looked after. I love the fact that there is a place to drink for the over 25’s and dress code is requested.

I must say that the restaurant does attract a chic and discerning clientèle and from some of the rude and obnoxious comments i have read perhaps these people need to go elsewhere!

If you are looking for A VERY QUIET place to eat ON THE WEEKEND then there is plenty of that in Sevenoaks to choose from … however Sundays to Thursdays El matador is very ambient and caters for a quieter mood.
On the weekends El Matador is bit of a party restaurant with lots of atmosphere!

Myself and many of my friends regularly eat and drink at El Matador and have never been disappointed …. and neither will you…. unless you expect absolute perfection?

Went to this restaurant a few weeks ago, I have to say they do have some good things:
-The steaks (I’ve tried better but they are very good)
-It is different, something that sevenoaks needs, no more italians please!
-The wine list is great
But it also has horrible things that to me makes it a no go:
-Horrible hospitality: Bad service, and what is worse the manageress (who apparently is one of the owners) is the rudest professional I’ve ever encountered in a restaurant.
-The tapas are horrible, tiny and overpriced. Indeed they are better than the ones in La Tasca and other Spanish mega chains but that doesn’t make them good. They may be fresh but they are far from being real tapas

So after all this my advice is: Do you want a good steak, with good wine and a nice atmosphere with good service? Near Sevenoaks? go to George and the Dragon Chipstead, they are in a different league

Absolutely dreadful, the service was good but the food terrible. When we complained we were confronted by what only can be described as some plastic gangster from the 1970’s complete with black shirt, white dickie bow and spats. Surreal, would have been funny except we were expected to pay for it, Never again, do your self a favour and stay well away.

Likes
great atmosphere
great décor
attentive & efficient service
great table location
delicious starters
excellent steak served in a unique way
Desert OK
For us, the menu was well rounded with many of our favourites
wonderful cocktails
Disappointing points
The price of the evening will deter us from returning, the prices are matched to top London menus. This is not a problem for a one off, but is not something we can justify on a regular basis.
The wine was notably expensive.

Just THE very best place to eat and relax that we’ve had the pleasure of going to since the day this gem of a restaurant opened.
The staff without exception are all so attentive, polite and professional,we always look forward to going, just wish we could go more frequently than twice a month.

I read these reviews before going to El Matador and was seriously going to try and talk my other half out of his decision to go here, but I am so glad I didn’t!
What an amazing place!
Yes, we did have a litlle wait for our food, but as the restaurant was packed out, and they cook everythin fresh, I wouldn’t of expected our meals to have appeared within 5 mins!! The steak was sublime – I loved the fact that I got to cook it exactly to my taste.
The service was friendly, the restaurant decor was great – and I would definately reccommend this to anyone that loves a good meal.
Looking forward to going back again next month!

Had a terrible experience at El Matador.

We have been many times previously and had mixed experiences (would agree with the other reviewers, it’s only worth going for the steak and the service is slow). On this occasion we were meeting with friends who had never eaten there before. Given that we were going on a Friday and the restaurant is popular I booked a table a few days beforehand.

On arrival, I told the maitre d my name and was told there was no booking in that name. On looking over her shoulder, I could see my name crossed out on her list and pointed it out to her (assuming that our friends had already arrived). She very rudely told me that my booking had been cancelled earlier in the day. I told her that I hadn’t cancelled the booking (obviously) and she told me that someone from my telephone number had called and cancelled. I told her this wasn’t possible as there are only two people in our house, we were both stood in front of her, and neither of us had cancelled. She then told me that I was lying. She actually said the word liar. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I have never been spoken to in that way either in a restaurant or elsewhere. I then asked to speak to the manager and she informed me that she was the owner!

My husband asked her if she would find us a table and she said she would try but it would take 20 minutes so we went upstairs for a drink. My husband assumed she would calm down, realise that she’d made a mistake and apologise. She didn’t, and when our friends arrived she made a comment to them about how I was upset because I’d cancelled and then changed my mind!

I was so upset, I really didn’t enjoy the meal. No apology was forthcoming. I have never known such arrogance. I have eaten in many restaurants and, even where mistakes are made by customers, maitre ds are only ever polite, friendly and accommodating. Calling a customer a liar is rude and insulting in the extreme, especially when it’s not true!

I can only assume this arrogance comes from the restaurant’s current popularity but I would warn the owners that in my experience new, popular, trendy restaurants with arrogant staff are the ones that don’t last very long…

My husband likes the steak here and is trying to persuade me to go back but I can’t see that happening.

after reading a few reviews I was a little put off, but im glad I decided to give it ago.. very nice menu and very good hosts, Hugo was very funny and made the evening. Service was a tad slow but was well worth the wait. see you soon.

A truly exceptional restaurant – staff friendly and attentive, food EXCELLENT !!! – the steak on the hot stone, sublime – great to be able to cook it just as you wanted and hot all through the eating experience.
Desert, well presented and delightful.
Will definitely be returning very soon !!!

My wife and I went to El Matador for our wedding anniversary last night. Overall the experience was well below par. We arrived on time and despite booking a table we had to wait outside in queue of people waiting to speak to an unapologetic female maitre d. We were then advised that we would have to go to the cocktail bar upstairs as our table wasnt free due to the previous occupants having a post dinner beer. The cocktail bar was cramped with insufficient tables or seats for the number of people packed in. The Bar staff were shocking, with only 3 couples waiting to be served at the time it still took them 15 minutes to take our order. It then took a further 5 minutes for my wife’s drink to arrive (a tomato juice) and 10 for my glass of wine which I only received when I complained. One, a young guy was too busy posing and staring into the middle distance to notice if people needed serving. When asked he told us he couldnt serve us as he was waiting for change : we were paying by card…. The couple next to us walked out and I complained to the maitre d who kindly advised me that customers should try working behind a bar and that she couldnt do it! I didnt doubt this:) but felt this really wasnt customer service. She did offer to take the drink off our bar bill as a gesture but we had already paid and the offer wasnt followed up when we were finally seated 35 minutes late for dinner. Our table was by the open doorway which meant a cold draft and constant interruptions from people going outside to smoke. When the food arrived it could only be described as average to below par. Odly my wife’s steak came out on a cooking stone (taking about 15 minutes to cook at the table) mine was cooked in the kitchen ( I wasnt offered the same). Our meals arrived at the same time meaning that we were waiting another 15 minutes for my wife’s steak to cook at the table. Sides were limited to aroud 5 ‘charcoaled chunky’ chips (at extra cost) and a token salad. Deserts were better but still nothing special. We had four waiters throughout the meal, only one red haired guy showed any sign of customer service. The other two forgot bring notepads to take our order and to deliver our drinks on two occaisions (despite being reminded).

Quite simply the service in El Matador is shocking and the food was not worth half the £90 bill paid for two people. This is London prices with very low end provincial levels of service.

I can only think this place is doing well for two reasons, the continuing decline of Sevenoaks High street and this being the current/only place to go for the 25-40 crowd (which I am one of) in Sevenoaks.

Despite the above we enjoyed our anniversary and laughed about it when we got home but our experience was spoilt by our choice of restaurant.

My advice would be to steer clear and not to contribute to El Matodor’s unwarrented success.

The best and only place for steak in Sevenoaks. That’s if you’re willing to put up with:

1. Terrible service – it took 1.5 hours for our steak on a stone (i.e. cook it yourself) to be served. The manageress was surly and rude when we arrived on time and our table wasn’t ready (like it was our fault for arriving on time!).
2. Missing wine – the first 5 wines on the list were all out of stock (a means of getting people to pay for the more expensive ones???).
3. The price. £23 for a medium-sized steak. They used to include some fries with that but now you have to pay £3 extra for fries and another £3 for salad.
4. The other food. Expensive and not that nice. If you’re going to go, it’s got to be the steak (which is REALLY good).

Before you spend money at El Matador..

Booked a table for 5 in June, my younger son’s birthday.
Decor was nice, initial service ok..then
No Wine List: “We have no licence… we can give you wine at the bar and we charge you to bring it to the table..”
Do you have champagne as it is a special occasion? “Yes..oh sorry it is not chilled, it is sparkling wine…” Then 20 minutes delay, lots of staff running around. Turns out they had no champagne flutes !.. “ordinary wine glasses ok ??”. (I managed to have them find two at least for the ladies dining with me !)
After much waiter activity (like small boys running around a football) we finally had our order taken and ordered some wine (after so much time the warm champagne was long gone !)
Tapas.. actually very nice and nicely presented.
Main Course: my wife’s steak was cold !, after a struggle getting attention from the many waiters.. they took the steak away to warm/replace.. however now our food was cold.
I paid and complained but frankly I was met with arrogance. They made no attempt to apologise or offer any incentive to return so I certainly will not.

My opinion, some good food, nice location lousy leadership/management. Do not waste your money

I visited El Matador last week as part of a small group. The decor and general atmosphere was excellent. Very modern bright, light, clean and comfortable with a warm welcome.
Good choice of dishes on the Menu. I had steak cooked on a stone. The meat was very tender and tasty but I found it a bit of a faff, so would opt for it to be cooked in the kitchen next time! The veggies were steamed to perfection, crisp and fresh and nicely presented.
Although, there were a lot of staff which is good in some ways, but it did’nt feel like a personal friendly experience so would suggest the staff smile a bit more and relax! It all seemed a bit rushed and stand off-ish.
Try the ice cream, Mango and Passion fruit it is superb. We ordered a Red wine which was delightful, if only I was’nt driving….
Overall it is a lovely restaurant and I hope it does well as there is not much in wealthy Sevenoaks in the way of good restaurants.

Good concept that doesnt meet expectations, front restaurant & up stairs bar give the impression that your in for a real treat reality is very different. Service and food fail to meet expectations that exterior, website etc portray. Whoever picks up the telephone should be fired, no manners I was told by a very snooty male that they could not guarantee our table ive never heard such nonsence! The back restaurant could be a very steamy hot cafe, dirty glasses, cheap finishes, the worse tapas ever and left feeling very hungry, steak looked good if I ever get past the snooty telephone reservations again ill probably try that! If you want a nice meal with good service try The Vine!!