Cambio De Tercio

Cambio de Tercio Restaurant

http://www.cambiodetercio.co.uk

Cambio de Tercio opens London sherry bar - Decanter

Capote y Toros (cape and bulls) joins Lucas’ acclaimed Old Brompton Road restaurant Cambio de Tercio and its nearby siblings Tendido Cero and Tendido Cuatro, both tapas bars.

Described as a ‘ham and sherry’ bar on the website, the tiny bar – it seats just 20 – will carry ‘at least 100 sherries – as much as we can get in the UK plus many sent from Spain,’ Lusa told Decanter.com.

Lusa said that the bulk of sherry sales in his restaurants were for the aperitif wines, and sweet sherries with dessert, but he is convinced that as soon as people understand how well sherry goes with food, they will be converted.

Capote y Toros will offer 100 sherries by the glass and about 30 in half bottles, as well as 400 Spanish wines from the restaurant next door.

Capote y Toros is located at 157 Old Brompton Road in South Kensington and is three doors down from the flagship Cambio de Tercio.

Cambio de Tercio, 163 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 | The ...

Which may strike you as incongruous given the staid, conifer-lined streets around Old Brompton Road are roughly as far from the horns and matadors of Pamplona as the Horsehead Nebula is from Hogwarts.

Then comes a foie gras emulsion with yoghurt and date purée, in a cocktail dish, with roasted sweetcorn on top.

It's a decent idea, but poorly executed: the tuna is marginally overcooked, and the peaches are raw and lack flavour.

All told, it's a hell of a way to escape the tyranny of the Old Brompton Road, and if they can only sort out those two dud dishes, there'll be no serious argument with the proposition that Cambio de Tercio is the best Spanish restaurant in London.

In part of the crypt beneath the Shire Hall, this upmarket two-year-old tapas bar retains a considerable following, thanks to the consistent high quality of its dishes.

Review of London Spanish restaurant Cambio de Tercio by Andy ...

This meal began with a technically interesting dish of cod brandade stuffed inside a tomato, served on thin crisp bread, drizzled with olive oil.

This was a simple dish but again the balance was good, the apple cutting through the oiliness of the fish (15/20).

A new dish was a salad of butternut squash with crisp fried kale, clementine and goat cheese.

This a logical mix of flavours, the fruit’s acidity working well with the cheese and the slight sweetness of the squash, the kale adding an extra texture (15/20).

The meal ended with a pleasant rice pudding, though this is not a dish I can ever get overly excited about (13/20).

London restaurant guide: Cambio de Tercio, west London - Telegraph

And so, to Rafa’s seven Grand Slam titles and world number one ranking, we hereby append this: the raging Majorcan bull to Roger Federer’s icy matador has immaculate taste in restaurants.

He eats here every night with mentor Uncle Toni during the Wimbledon prep event at Queen’s Club, and no wonder.

what will strike you first is the vibrancy of the room, its walls deep yellow and lurid red after the homeland flag, and bedecked with those grotesque-naif Daliesque surrealist paintings the Spanish so adore.

Polishing off a bottle of an excellent white (Paco Lola) from a Spanish grape called alborina cloned, Lusa said, from the riesling (a bit Boys From Brazil for my tastes, but there we are), we noticed an oddity.

Rafa is “a unique Spaniard who doesn’t like meat or cheese”, Lusa exclusively revealed, the tennis maestro’s favourite being octopus in a paprika sauce.

Cambio de Tercio | Restaurants in South Kensington, London

In the Old Brompton Road, a new-style take on Spanish tapas where playful inventiveness doesn't get in the way of flavour; Rafael Nadal eats here when in town.

This is tapas – but not as you might know it.

Apparently, it’s where Rafael Nadal eats whenever he’s in town, and is best known for its modern take on classic Spanish tapas.

Main courses were just as innovative: grilled skate melted into soft burgos morcilla with a playful orange vinaigrette, while dark, tender oxtail came with a light apple sauce and even lighter lemon thyme foam.

Otherwise, the food was outstanding – but perhaps order one more tapa and skip dessert.

Tendido Cero | Restaurants in South Kensington, London

Part of the three-tiered tapas empire on the corner of Old Brompton Road, Tendido Cero is the mid-market companion to Capote y Toros’s informal sherry and tapas bar and the fancier Cambio de Tercio across the road.

This venue distinguishes itself by having the formality of white tablecloths and good Spanish service, yet a more relaxed and innovative menu that also remains faithful to the old favourites.

Chorizo in northern Spanish cider, and prawns in garlic butter were both classics done very well; the prawns especially had a soft infusion of garlic flavours through a rich butter sauce, which turned a simple crustacean into something sublime.