Boquiera
Spanish
192 Acre Lane, Brixton, SW2 5UL
££
Boqueira has been on my list of restaurants ‘to do’ for a long time. Raved about by friends, friends of friends and particularly my mum, I simply knew that it was something special I was missing hout on. With the Brixton branch conveniently located less than a 20-minute walk away from home, I really had no excuse…
Tom and I recently went to Madrid to celebrate 3 years of tolerating each other (awwwww). Whilst there, we were hoping for weird and wonderful tapas explorations: to have our bellies satisfied and expectations exceeded. After a few troublesome encounters with some fleshy pigs ears and disappointing paella we left Madrid somewhat dissatisfied with our food choices. Therefore, less than a month after our Spanish adventure I decided to try and reinstate my love for tapas and Spanish cuisine in general. There was only one place for it – and thus we found ourselves at the long awaited Boquiera on Acre Lane one October Thursday evening.
The venue is lovely – with the entrance through a bar onto the airy yet cosy dining area. It couldn’t fit many more than 50 diners, so when they didn’t have our booking it was quite lucky that we got one of the best seats in the house! Service was prompt but incredibly relaxed, they pull down the blinds to help you escape from the busy road outside, and the overall atmosphere (dimmed lighting, plush sofa seats to one side and dark wooden furniture) is super relaxed, comfortable and inviting. The wine list was long enough, with the cheapest bottle at £20.00. We went one up: a Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon combo for £23.00, which was really delicious.
To begin, we ordered the Chorizo in cider £5.60, a different choice and somewhat reluctant one from my end. Tom loved them, but I prefer my chorizo thinner cut, crispier and fried rather than kind of boiled in a horrible alcohol… each to their own I guess. We followed this up with Octopus £8.9, Arroz negro £9.8 and Lamb confit £8.3 which all saved the day and were absolutely delicious.
The octopus was tender and dashed with paprika, the black rice incredibly flavourful (although could have been a bit more generous with its helping of seafood, with just two mussels and a single prawn…) The lamb confit didn’t have an ounce of fat on it as I expected it would and was paired with caramelised figs and mint raita which all complimented each other incredibly, although it was a tad exspenny at £8.3 for two small pieces. I also managed to spy a sneaky Burrata on the special’s menu, not especially Spanish (although neither was the crispy duck salad also included here), but undeniably delicious and something I had been craving all week – at £6.50 it didn’t take a second thought.
Whilst in Madrid we heavily over ordered on food we didn’t particularly enjoy. Here, however, we chose the exact right amount (they recommend 3 dishes per person). Topping off the meal with the Churros £5 and Choco explosion £6 we were left comfortably full rather than toppled sideways in overindulgence. The bill came to £41 each, including a 10% service charge, which was more expensive than I was expecting but totally worth it. In short, Boquiera is worth the hype and if you haven’t tried it yet you must. I’ll see you in there...
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://www.boqueriatapas.com/
