Iberica Marylebone

Authentic Spanish tapas restaurant and bar

Spanish Restaurant in Marylebone, London - Tapas restaurant and bar

http://www.ibericarestaurants.com

Lurra Restaurant Review: Authentic Basque Dining in Marylebone ...

From the heavenly selections of meat and fish, vast array of unique wines and during the Summer whole (almost) of Spain is completely sun-drenched.

The real difference between Basque and Andalusian cuisine is more about the mixtures of ingredients, family traditions, different cuts of meats and seasonal differences in seafood and vegetables.

Lurra is a high-end Spanish restaurant focusing on Basque cuisine (especially cooked over a grill), all housed in a rather lovely looking restaurant.

There were so many fantastic dishes here at Lurra, and this piece of grilled octopus with piquillo sauce was absolutely stunning.

A little Grappa later (not quite sure why) and we were on our way, into the night after consuming far too much delicious wine.

Iberica Marylebone - DrinkUp.London

This restaurant and bar is a beautiful space for relaxing in the afternoon or enjoying a few drinks and a meal after work.

Sit at one of the many tables or at the massive statement bar in the centre of the restaurant or even grab something to go from the deli.

Iberica Marylebone review – chorizo lollipops and dopey service ...

The Randy Northerner was sure that the place popped up in an episode of W1A, but The Flame Haired Squelchie, Boris Bike and I were more concerned with ordering as much as the menu as we could in one sitting.

It was at least served on a bed of nutty manchego cheese, a moreish combination of truffle oil and sweet onion confit and soft, fluffy toast.

More unusual, yet far more enjoyable, was the light, creamy and lightly sweet chickpea purée.

Far more successful were the earthy, unctuous lamb sweetbreads served in a thin, light, sweet and gently creamy egg sauce.

My light and smooth rice pudding had an unusual crisp layer of caramelised sugar on top.

Iberica Marylebone, London, Review

Yet there is a community feel to the area perhaps due to the wealth of great cafes, restaurants and food shops just off Marylebone High Street.

Competition is stiff for any cafe or restaurant in this area, but Iberica, on Great Portland Street, is always busy.

Ensaladilla Russa (Russian salad) with tuna, carrot, green olives and Piparra peppers can easily bring back far too many memories of bad airline food, but here the dish was fresh, piquant and refreshing.

Octopus with potatoes and Pimenton de la Vera is a classic Spanish dish that I know and love.

Taking me straight back to the Boqueria in Barcelona, it tasted authentic, with tender octopus and waxy potatoes in an oil and paprika sauce.

Iberica is a cut above the average | London Evening Standard

ES Food Newsletter It is easy to forget the time, not so long ago, when Spanish delicacies such as Ibérico ham, fresh chorizo, padron peppers and aged manchego were as rare in London as they probably are still in Aberystwyth.

The venue straddles a slightly odd site on a corner and across two floors: downstairs there is a tapas bar with a deli at one end, and on a mezzanine upstairs a newly opened restaurant, Caleya Ibérica, under Michelin-starred chef Nacho Manzano.

If you go to the restaurant proper expecting tapas, even upmarket ones, you could get a shock: this is serious, innovative modern Spanish cuisine with an Atlantic twist (both Manzano and Javier Fernandez are from the north-coast Asturias region, while Marcos Fernandez Pardo is from Galicia).

I enjoyed the obscure but elegant and powerful Taberner 2006 from near Cádiz, a region pretty much unheard of for red wine even inside Spain, and an unusual and very good (white) malvasia from Toro.

Yet while the upstairs restaurant is cool and calm, it’s slightly odd to hear the buzz of the tapas bar over the balcony (while we were there, a group launched into a spirited Spanish rendition of Happy Birthday to You).

Ibérica Marylebone | Restaurants in Marylebone, London

FIne tapas in Marylebone in an expansive, relaxed setting - and with a deli next door Ibérica feels like an Andalusian mansion on the corner of Great Portland Street.

So many London tapas bars go for the dark tavern look, but here the balconied upper level, internal windows, Moorish oversized lamps and traditional azulejo blue and white tiling create an expansive, relaxed atmosphere.

The air-cured beef cecina is a favourite of executive chef, Nacho Manzano, when he visits from his two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Asturias, so don’t miss that wafer-thin delicacy, served on a meat board alongside smoky chorizo or soft slices of lomo.

The menu demonstrates how traditional dishes are done best (absolutely tender octopus served simply with soft potatoes, or smooth chickpea purée with nibs of spiced chorizo) and balances this with novel playful flavour-pairings (chorizo lollipops with pear aïoli, or beetroot gazpacho lifted by red berries, cheese ice-cream and anchovy flecks).

Pop into Ibérica’s deli next door to buy cured meats and Spanish cheeses – and remember to book if you’re visiting the restaurant at the end of the week.