Opera Tavern

[countryboy]

Any one booked in for the fifty percent off first ten day promotion?

[Toufas]

I had lunch today with a friend

the 3 pinchos morunos, good, if not a bit chewy but that is not a bad thing. The pork was amazing.

pigs ears: some of them were very leathery

patatas fritas: i guess they will change this dish soon as the chips were inconsistent but enjoyable (some were not that crispy)

scallop with butternut squash puree, was really good

seabass ceviche, half of the dish was very good, the other half tasted very fishy. the orange was very very acidic

squid was good, it needed a touch of salt though (no salt shaker around)

iberico presa, amazing dish, i wanted more of it. If i have to be critical i would prefer the same size/cut they use in barrica, but as i said the dish was ace.

I will definitely go back though, it was an enjoyable meal,

the menu from friday 21/01

[countryboy]

CCcoooooollllll.. I can't wait! I've walked past last night and the night before and it was rammed!! I've heard very good things about the burgers.

[Nayan Gowda]

Nice manicure! (menu looks good too; can't wait to check it out)

[david goodfellow]

Anyone been here recently?

Its had some terrific reviews. Just wondered who had been from this forum.

Will give it a whirl on our next but one London trip. After we try out Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social, that is.

[Gary Marshall]

was going to go early doors last night and chance a walk in, but ended up going for drinks instead and had dinner at polpo. will hopefully make it next week , but marina's 5* review will need time to work through the system!

[david goodfellow]

Yes I read it

Half of London will be flocking through the doors now.

What did you think of Polpo?

Worth a write up on the thread?

[david goodfellow]

Well, it took us a while to get to make a visit here, but it was worth it in the end.

I have somewhat half heartedly tried to get to the other original parts of the group namely Salt Yard and Dehesa mainly because of reviews and the fact that they are both Michelin Bib gourmand listed. Finally I understand what all of the fuss is about.

An old pub, not sure how old, but retaining its original name. Almost certainly something to do with the nearby Opera House. Its quite cosy inside, not too large on the ground floor, a bit intimate really. We sat at the bar.

Upstairs holds about seventy. The bar snacks are cooked in the tiny kitchen at the rear of the ground floor room. The kitchen proper is in the basement with about five or six chefs on duty.

The menu is split into, bar snacks, charcoal grill, hams, charcuterie, cheese, on one side of the menu, and on the other. Fish, Meat, and vegetables. By my reckoning forty eight items in total. If that is not enough I seem to remember some specials as well. Ambitious? You bet.

When MarinaMetro gave the place a heady five stars, and earmarked the Pork and Foie Gras burger for special attention. On the day of the review they sold two hundred of them, and were rammed for weeks after, such is the power of the press.

Mini Iberico Pork and Foie Gras Burger (£5.50)

Yes it is fab, but as its been explained before, and we had a lot of eating to do, we will plod on.

As befitting my reviews, we wanted to give the menu a bit of a whirl and as there was so much on offer, it was a difficult choice.

Two dishes that we ordered quickly were the Padron Peppers (£4.25). A fairly tame start, in as much as we did not get the expected, blow your head off rogue one, as we had expected.

The other dish was Iberico Pigs head Terrine (£4). A full flavoured chunky and stringy at the same time, mouthful of porkiness.

We wanted a bit of fish next, and missed out on the Smoked Anchovies (£4.25) and plumped for the interesting sounding Venetian Style Sardine (£2.50) We liked this a lot really.

Seductively draped over a bed of caremelised onions, infused with moscatel vinegar, strewn with pine nuts and some wonderful sweet, plump raisins. This was a bargain, and a very tasty eat to boot.

At this point I would like to mention the staff, who are really up to the job. Highly motivated and enthusiastic, and easily able to answer most questions with regard to the food and wines.

Next up was Courgette Flowers stuffed with goats cheese (£7.55). A bit on the pricey side I thought, for a veg dish. Still they ate well especially with the runny honey drizzled over them.

A waiter recommend next was Grilled Scallop with butternut Squash puree, shallot and Truffle dressing with Migas (£4.25 each). A bit of a mouthful that, although the scallop was not, (a mouthful)

Flavourwise good, sizewise not so good, although it could be argued as a prime ingredient it is pricey, and they do have to turn a profit of course. Migas by the way is Spanish for crumbs.

Grilled Iberico Presa with capers, shallots and lemon (£8.25) is a winner, a dish that I would happily eat again and again. This is a cut from the shoulder of the pig and has a wonderful depth of flavour and texture. It has an individual flavour and looks like beef on the plate, and strangely also has a bit of a beefy eat to it.

Another very good dish that we thoroughly enjoyed and would eat again on our return was the Chargrilled Salt Marsh Lamb.. Good product, well sourced, served pink, with Farro, peas and Broad beans. Oh and some dollops of goats curd.

Pile it high, sell it cheap, eh. Jack Cohen would be pleased.

Roasted Monkfish with crab and chickpea sauce and Crab fritter. was another waiter recommend and it was fine really. Although I think the crab had legged it. The fritter was ever so slightly crabby, but swamped a little by the other ingredients. The monkfish was as expected, meaty, and tasty, swimming in a chickpea broth.

Nearly stuffed to the gills now, my wife fancied a dish of the vegetable section,Gorgonzola and Date croquettes (£4.75)

I was'n't keen on this offering, the taste nor the texture. It did not do it for me. The crispy shell had a stale oily flavour. Shame really but that is only a small blot on an otherwise very decent meal.

Our last but one dish was to add to our bit of a mini porkfest Confit of Old Sot Pork Belly (£6.65)

Wallowing in a mud of Rosemary scented cannellini beans this porkers life was not in vain. Crispy crunchy crackling, moreish meat, and a decent broth

Last up was a little platter of Gressingham duck with figs (£3.25)

Not a bad ending, this tasty skewer of food fitted the bill perfectly.

Well, again a bit of a marathon, but at least we give the kitchen a good going over. It is a strong recommend and if you watch what you order you could eat here for fifteen, twenty, twenty five pounds a head. We spent about £110, which included a bottle of wine and a beer, no coffees and tap water. However we ordered lots of food, all in the name of research of course.

Give it a try, its well worth it.

[nickloman]

Very nice, I like the look of a lot of that.

Pricing seems all over the shop though. £4.25 for a few Padron peppers seems steep. Scallops and courgette flowers both sound over the odds too.

But then the meaty dishes seem quite cheap.

How long will the fad for small plate dining last? A long time I hope, wish somewhere local to me would try and master it.

[david goodfellow]

Nick,

I just realised that I did not include the price of the lamb dish in my review. It was just £7.25. Not bad really given the quantity and quality. I reckon its fairly easy to get the wait staff to point you in the direction of the decent portion (value) dishes, but agree with you the meat dishes are perhaps the way forward.

I just realised also this is my 999th post, which is not too shabby in the short time of my membership.

Like your blog btw, looks like you have been having a lot of fun.

[nickloman]

Congrats on your 999th post David!

Sorry for posting recent experiences on my blog and not on eGullet - I felt a bit disloyal doing it!

The problem is my family and friends read my blog (via Facebook & Twitter) but not eGullet. And I think it's not really in the spirit of the forum to post links. Not sure if there's a perfect solution.

[Toufas]

Since my first post about opera tavern I have been there 3 more times and last saturday was the last one. I really like this place, yes it is pricey but I find the food lovely. Last time we had all the meat dishes, the courgette flowers, 2 burgers and the squid + 2 bellinis and service and we paid 90 pounds for 3 people.