OPERA TAVERN (Covent Garden)

Category: Bistro+ (££-£££)

Opera Tavern is the second Spanish/ Tapas restaurant I have been to in a very short period of time. I have to admit that Tapas are not my favourite thing in the world,but even I got finally infected by the Tapas virus taking London by storm. While Tapas Brindisa in Soho was clearly nothing to write home about,I did enjoy almost everything about Opera Tavern in the heart of Convent Garden. It bodes well that team behind Opera Tavern is also behind the popular and highly regarded Salt Yard and Dehesa.

You can eat informally or even more informally at Opera Tavern. The bar area downstairs in straight view of the new Shrek musical (enough to drive me to drink) was buzzing and crowded on a Friday evening. We booked a table upstairs in the restaurant part which is more sedate but at the same time you might be able to enjoy your food without someone knocking it over or having an elbow in your side and also conversation might be possible.

Most of the food I really liked,in fact there were a couple of ‘to die for’dishes which made me forgive some of the rather mediocre ones. I was told by a local that one ‘needs to know what to order’at the Opera Tavern to avoid disappointment. I apparently knew what to order,as I was overall very happy, but mind,you I did ask my friend and Twitter for recommendations.

I got the taste for padron peppers at Tapas Brindisa a couple of weeks ago and had to try them again at the Opera Tavern. Padron peppers are usually mild,with only occasional ones being spicy as hell. On the plate of padron peppers (4.25) at Opera Tavern about one third were spicy and I loved it! Tastewise I preferred the OT ones,while consistency and colour were better at Tapas Brindisa.

A small plate of the fiocco di prociutto (4.50) and some bread with olive oil (2.50) were nice but at the same time forgettable. We were a bit annoyed actually that the bread came with olive oil OR alioli,for 2.50 they should have given both!

A revelation and a really memorable dish was the Pork and Foie Gras Burger (5.95). The juicy and scrumptious meat was full of wonderful flavour and melted in my mouth. The bun must have been good too but I was so enthralled by what was going on on my palate that I did not pay any attention to details in this case. I can’t say that I was able to discriminate pork and foie gras for example. This burger is a MUST ORDER. It’s not cheap for being such a mini thing but this is one of the situations where money doesn’t matter. I am wondering why people don’t do pork burger more often actually.

The Courgette Flowers with Goat’s Cheese and Honey (7.55) were recommended to me by several people but for me this was the weakest dish of the evening. It was too sweet,reminiscent of a dessert rather than a main course. I think I would have liked it better if the goat’s cheese had had a stronger flavour,putting a stronger counterpoint to the sweetness of the honey. I also thought the batter was too thick. I know this is a little bit mean now but the courgette flowers  reminded me somehow of the fried bananas that I used to eat as a child at the neighbourhood Chinese. They did look similar too.

As the last savoury dish we went for something that sounded rather Spanish to us. The Iberico presa (basically pork shoulder) came beautifully cooked in a rich sauce of capers and shallots. It is not going to win the prize for best presentation but the flavours were heavenly.

Together with the burger the star of the evening was the dessert. Gorgeous and gelatinous tonka bean panna cotta spiced with cinnamon was served with sweet and summary British strawberries. It was of this comfort food desserts that you just want to dive into,pure bliss!

The service was a delight. Friendly and sociable,helpful without being into your face and nice to look at.

Opera Tavern is not cheap unfortunately. For these few plates,a bottle of the cheapest house wine (which by the way is a light and easy drinking wine,not bad at all) and 2 glasses of cava we paid close to 80 pounds for 2 people.

I hope you are not planning to see Shrek The Musical. If you do so however,put some quality back into your evening at Opera Tavern I might see you there!

• Food: 7.5/10
• Ambiance:7/10
• Service:8/10
• Value for money:6/10
• Chances of returning:70%
• Verdict: This is what I call delicious tapas in the middle of ‘Tourist Trap’Covent Garden. Highly recommended!

You may also like:

• SALT YARD (Fitzrovia)
• TAPAS BRINDISA (Soho)
• DA POLPO (Covent Garden)