Around London: Dehesa Tapas Restaurant

On my Dad’s last evening in London he offered to take Brendan and me out for dinner to a restaurant of our choice. My first thought was Dehesa, a tapas bar and charcuterie that I’ve walked past a number of times when in Soho and have always wanted to try. The small restaurant looks so cosy, with chefs carving cured meats visible through windows lit with warm golden light; I hadn’t heard any reviews but having thoroughly enjoyed the tapas we’d tasted in Spain, I decided to trust my instinct and so booked a table for 7pm that evening.

We arrived on time and were seated in a small booth at the window, which was perfect for me to people-watch as we ate. We ordered some beers whilst we perused the menu and decided to each pick two tapas which we’d share between us. We settled on the following selection:

Courgette Flowers with Monte Enebro and Honey – Grilled Baby Squid with Saffron Potato and Vine Cherry Tomato Salad – Grilled Hake with Chorizo Mash, Clams and Cider Sauce – Grilled Chorizo with Smoked Aubergine and Paprika Oil – Chargrilled Corn Fed Chicken with Braised Swiss Chard and Roast New Season Garlic – Pumpkin Gnocchi with Cavolo Nero and Taleggio

Even reading through the list of food we ate makes my mouth water; each dish was bursting with unusual flavours, perfectly cooked, just the right size and really memorable. The one stand-out dish for me was the courgette flower, as it was so different to anything I’ve tasted before. The stalk of the flower was fairly bland and had the texture and flavour of an underdeveloped courgette, but the flower itself was divine! It was stuffed with Monte Enebro cheese (which tasted to me like a Roquefort), deep fried in a light batter and drizzled with honey; the flavour combination left me craving more for days afterwards! Another highlight was the smoked aubergine with grilled chorizo. Delicious. By the time the sixth dish arrived at our table I could barely manage another bite, but I managed to try at least some of each dish.

Below are some pictures of our food, but I must warn you: they were taken on my BlackBerry so the quality is pretty poor compared with my usual photos:

courgette flower

grilled chorizo

grilled hake

chargrilled corn fed chicken

grilled baby squid

I was really impressed with Dehesa; it exceeded my already-high expectations and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a tasty, unique and reasonably priced meal in central London. I know I’ll be back soon for more of those courgette flowers and to try some of the charcuterie offerings.

Dehesa – Charcuterie & Tapas Bar: 25 Ganton Street, London W1f 9BP – +44 (0) 20 7494 4170

charcuterie