Tapas Brindisa, London Bridge, London

I can understand why this place has slightly mixed reviews – you sort of need to be in the right frame of mind and with the right people to make the most of it. You also need to have all the time in the world and be content to wait standing by the bar for over an hour before getting a seat (but the wine helps with that).

Personally, though, I had a great experience. I went with 5 colleagues and even though 6 is a pretty big number for this place, we weren’t in a rush so were content to hover around the bar for an hour, drinking wine and ordering Habas Fritas and Padron peppers (amazing! – Quite salty but I could have eaten them all night!).

When we were finally seated, we went to town and ordered quite a lot (calling the waiter over to order more as we were still devouring the first table-full). Yes, it’s a little on the pricey side, but from what I tasted, it was totally worth it…plus I was lucky enough to have the boss pick up the tab! The highlight of the evening for us was the ‘Gambas al ajillo’ – spicy prawns in a garlicky, salty sauce. Amazing! We then used the sauce for dipping bread (and pretty much everything else) in. The Charcuteria selection and Patatas brava o aioli were also amazing.

So as long as you’re not on a tight budget (or only want a few snacks after gorging yourself on sample cheeses at Borough market) then I can highly recommend Brindisa.

Tapas royalty!

I don’t get it; People write quite favourable reviews about this place, but i wonder why. It’s tapas, so you expect small portions, but the prices are in main course territory. The attached photo is for lamp chops. Admittedly delicious, but at nearly 10 pounds for two teeny tiny fatty chops, I’m not sure how the staff sleep a t night. Perhaps the reason they all sneak off to the kitchen is for a quick guffaw. Be prepared for it to be noisy, cramped and uncomfortable. We spent a comparative fortune, but we’re off now to go and have some food as we’re hungry. Tapas I get, but if you’re charging main courses per plate, it just feels like it’s starting to hurt when you sit down, if you see what i mean. Grrrr.

I arrived at 7:30 pm on a Friday (they don't take reservations), we where seated at 9:20. Luckily my dining partner ran a bit late so i was happy to go to the pub across the road which lead to a few glasses of wine and some awesome wasabi nuts (the culinary highlight of the evening). Mainly we didn't go anywhere else due to the lack of other restaurants in the area. So after more than 90min of wait we where finally seated.

The reason why we chose Brindisa was random yet in my opinion a obvious one. For a very long time I would walk, jog pass, visit the market and think, ah it looks such a busy and lovely place… Surely it must be a great. Well its not.

The staff was friendly enough, as helpful as staff in a very very busy restaurant can be. The average red wine on the menu was about £20 so not really a easy going, relaxed, table wine kinda place.

We ordered 5 tapas between two and was hungry after. I started with lame dry bread and ended with highly overpriced tiny portion cheese. In between we were treated to black rice and calamari was 3 rings of dry, battered calamari on a pile of soggy black rice. Half a bowl full of tiny steamed mussels in a very salty white wine and fresh herbs broth. Some chorizo, potato and pepper omelette with allioli without any chirizo served very chilled and dry. The only tasty part of the evening (aside from the wasabi nuts) was the Iberian ham croquettes. Tasty.

We where still hungry so after the food we decided to opt for the ‘Selection of regional Spanish cheeses with toast £ 13.75’. Now don't get me wrong. I am not a whole chicken swallowing, rugby playing giant. I am a average girl with an healthy appetite but seriously. Why the frikkin tiny portions. If you would charge less I would be less annoyed.

In total the evening cost us £73. We shared a bottle of table wine, had 4 tapas dishes and a cheese platter and was charged £1 for a glass of tap water.

Go if you have more money than sense. A wanky over rated restaurant. I guess its location close to borough market makes for a ‘foodie’ experience but in my opinion I'd rather opt for a Nandos and get what I pay for. A disappointing night of dining, to say the least.

Went there on a Saturday morning, 10:00am, by chance visiting Borough Market, spotted a free table and in.

Turned out is is really a nice place, excellent breakfast, english with a spanish touch - e.g. Chorizo instead of breakfast sausage and manchego for the scrambled eggs.

The coffe is a delight and made it in my best coffee list: Hernandez & Wells, Monmouth and Jamie's Recipease.

Service is very friendly, no rush even though the place was packed.

I'm lucky enough to be able to get to Brindisa in about 15 minutes from my bolt hole in South London and its always a pleasure when someone suggests it for lunch or dinner (not a great place for solitary dinning in my opinion as it’s a little too hectic).

The no booking policy works well but means that given its position on the corner of the market and the fact that its very well known you need to get there early on a Saturday or linger about outside because the bar area is always full. In fact I'm beginning to think I might actually prefer eating in the bar area this summer - there are a couple of settings in the window which are quite quiet if you fancy something more intimate and the high stools by the door are nice and cool and give you a good view of all the action. Wherever you manage to get seated it’s going to be cosy.

Anyway yesterday was a light lunch to get us in the mood for a wander along the Thames and some retail therapy. B ordered up the clams with bacon and capers, the secreto iberico pork, tomato bread and a couple of glasses of the house white. Everything was excellent but the pork was just sublime - really well seasoned, full of flavour and cooked with a very skilful touch.

The menu here is really well thought out and there is hardly a dish I would not think about ordering. I think the key is to order food to suit the mood and take it from there - I often see people over ordering so I'd advise taking it easy and order a couple of courses at a time as you won't be rushed to vacate your space.

The punters are what you might expect in Borough Market. Plenty of foodie locals and tourists with an interesting smattering of randoms.

The breakfast menu at the weekend looks great but you need to get there before 11am - I live in hope!!

Full review on www.thehappinessprojectlondon.wordpress.com.

I’ve been meaning to eat at Tapas Brindisa for aaaages but their no reservations policy means I’ve never got a table. But turns out 5pm on a Sunday is a veh good time to go.

Having relished Seville’s tapas culture, where we realised eating jamon, olives and cheese at the bar far outweighed the delights of proper sit-down restaurant food, we plumped for a lovely bottle of Rioja accompanied with a plate of acorn-fed Ibérico charcuterie selection (shoulder, salchichón, loin and chorizo) with bread and olive oil; and selection of regional Spanish cheeses with toast. And my god, it was bloody good. Especially the oldest jamon iberica which was just wonderful. I would come back a million times more to eat this giant plate of iberico ham with cheese and bread and rioja, and the most amazingly rich and nutty olive oil, nom nom nom nom nom.

Sigh. Anyway, I wanted to try some of the hot food so we ordered the pan-fried squid with green beans and Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar (below) which was spicy but I have to say not as spectacular as the jamon. I’d definitely like to come back for more jamon and cheese and rioja but I’d also like to try more hot dishes like tortilla and the rare fillet steak and king prawns and anchovies and pork fillet and belly.

Because we ordered the creme de la creme of jamon, it was more expensive than a typical lunch might be (but worth it!) – the giant plate of ham and cheese, with extra squid and rioja was £69 including service (or £34.50 each). I will most definitely be back and currently plotting further possible trips to Spain. We were also sandwiched between two veeeery touchy-feely first date couples so I’d add this to my list of romantico date places.

Just had a beautiful time here tonight. We started off with some lovely spanish white wine in the bar with a great atmosphere. We had Gambas pil pil (very well spiced), potatas bravas, goat cheese (sooooo good), mussels and the 2 most amazing plates for us - chicory blue cheese salad and the red onion pear salad. Everything was so tasty and fresh - the service was beyond expectations. It was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing eating experiences we have had for a long time. Well worth the money, and the short but fun wait - will return soon :)

Just before entering Borough Market, Brindisa is the perfect place to enjoy a few tapas on a sunday lunch or have dinner with some friends.In a busy,warm and most of the time packed atmosphere, you can enjoy some tasty spanish delicacies for a reasonable cost.
The platter of charcuterie could be a meal in itself and the cured meats melt in the mouth.The potato, chorizo and pepper omelette is one of the best tortilla I've ever had and the garlic prawns were fresh and juicy.
Their wine list offers a really good and varied range which is not overpriced.In brief, one the best Spanish restaurant in London in a great location.

Quite simply, perfect. The tapas is awesome, service swift but tempered and the belly is swollen. Great location as well, enjoy kids!

Dropped into Brindisa on Saturday night at around 10.30. Great atmosphere, all tables taken. The Verdejo was zingy and cold, and Brindisa can be proud of the fact that it was in their establishment that my husband finally took his first taste of shellfish AND liked it! Ok, so clams with butter beans and bacon might be a little tame, but had it not been so delicious the outcome might not have been so positive. Will definitely come back - even on a heaving Saturday morning when the market is in full swing.

[Non-photo review]

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Briskly to Brindisa

We were getting hungry and didn't have much time for our early dinner. Unfortunately, Borough market had pretty much wound down by the time we headed out, but fortunately Tapas Brindisa was open, and somehow they had a table for two. Perfect! I had always wanted to eat here given how popular it seems to be amongst foodies, but this was the first time I’d actually tried, so I was excited.

After perusing the menu for a while, we decided on a few dishes and they came out very quickly, with the exception of my sardines, which I checked on twice, and after assuring me they had been ordered (twice) finally appeared about 10 minutes after all of the other dishes had been polished off (?!).

- Spanish Potato Omelette (£4.50); Grilled Lamb Cutlets with Allioli & Fresh Mint Sauce (£8.75); Onion & Rocket Salad with Pear, Quince & Kokos Vinaigrette (£3.20) -

First to arrive were the omelette, lamb chops and salad.

The potato omelette was surprisingly good for being such a plain dish. I thought it was seasoned well and it had a very good texture of half egg, half soft potato. Mrs. LF agreed, and enjoyed it mucha. 7/10.

The lamb chops were also well seasoned and nice and moist, though they had spent maybe a minute too long on the heat for my liking and were just barely pink in the middle. While there was a fairly spicy allioli to accompany them, I didn’t particularly like it and ate them solo for the most part. They were fine, but didn’t have that extra flavor hit to make them stand out and be memorable. 6/10.

The salad was the disappointment of the bunch. It was really a salad of red onions, with not much rocket and the pears being almost nonexistent. But the thing we both noticed (and still remember) was that it had a very strange taste permeating throughout. At first, we thought it must have come from the quince, but then again quince is a fruit, and that didn’t make any sense. I thought it tasted like corn nuts, but slightly sour ones. Maybe it was the ‘Kokos’, but I don’t know what it/they are. In any case, neither of us liked this distinct flavor. 3/10.

- Pan Fried Padrón Peppers (£5.00) -

Despite at first glance all looking alike, there were a couple different types of peppers on the plate, some of which had a wicked little kick (Mrs. LF’s nose began to run), and some of which were very mild. They all had a rich, sweet taste and a nice sour acidity to boot. We only ordered them because the huge and rambunctious table next to us had a plate of them and they looked too good to pass up. Plus Mrs. LF fancied eating them with her omelette, which did turn out to be a good combination. We really enjoyed these green little guys. 7/10.

- Pan Fried Sardines with Red Onion Salad & Chilli (£6.50) -

The sardines finally arrived and they were alright too (they certainly were very nicely presented). The fish was soft and meaty and had a nice flavor to it, and I enjoyed the hints of chilli. The skin was pretty soggy though, and seemed to be intentionally so (don’t know if it’s supposed to be for fried sardines?), which didn’t make it all that pleasurable to eat. All in all, another solid but uninspiring dish. 6/10.

I have to say that I did rather like the place overall. I enjoyed the buzzy atmosphere, the quick turnover of tables, and it seemed like everyone there was genuinely having a good time. It is certainly a good place to come with friends and spend a leisurely weekend afternoon. They also have some decent Spanish and Portuguese wines available, both by the glass and bottle. We didn’t order that much, but what we did have was generally cooked well, although from the dishes we chose, I didn’t really see what all the fuss was about. When in the area again, I would definitely go back to try sample more of the food.

Off Borough Market stands one of the top spots for tapas in London for sure. Try the gambas who are “chillied” just right, the octopus cooked to be perfection (not the rubber band kind of cooking), or the delicious deepfried honeyed monte enebro goat cheese. Papas bravas a little disappointing and a little too pricey knocks one star off the ratings, just.

Well, now that Brindisa's Exmouth Market location is closed (weep), I reckon I'll have to join the throngs of savvy shoppers hitting the Borough Market location. No big. I like ambling round Borough Market (don't even mind the crowds really) and Brindisa is a real draw with plenty of yummy treats. I love the grilled chorizo and rocket sarnies too - as long as the queue isn't too winding (good luck with that!).

Brindisa is expensive, but definitely worth a visit as it’s always well stocked with all sorts of things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them. As previous reviewers have said the hams and cheeses are excellent.

Mmmmm mmmm! the best Jamon Iberico you can find this side of Spain. You can eat here or buy from a range of delicacies to take home.

It’s a great place to stop by for an early dinner when it’s at its most buzzy.

Went to Tapas Brindisa after visiting the market. The food is prepared to a very high quality. Although it was busy, we waited at the bar with a glass of cold fino sherry and some olives until our table was ready. The cured fish dish is exquisite as was the chicken livers cooked in sherry. The only disappointing dish was the jerusalem artichokes. Everything is done in a modern spanish style.

Brindisa is one of my favourite stops within Borough Market. They are the kings of Spanish foods, with a fantastic selection of hams, cheeses which will get your mouth watering as soon as you walk in.

The ham is carved while you wait so you give them your name, go and take a stroll around the market for ten minute and them make your way back to pick up your freshly cut serrano ham! Doesn't get much fresher than that!

Their restaurant Tapas Brindisa is just around the corner from the shop and is worth a visit if you can't be bothered doing any cooking!