El Pirata Del Tapas -

I've always considered Notting Hill to be a bit of a wasteland, in terms of restaurants. Ledbury aside, I've never really thought of heading there for dinner, just like I've never thought of going shopping in the City, or going to Hull for anything. It is a bit of a trek from Covent Garden once you factor in the distance of most restaurants from the tube station, which puts heels out of the question which in turn puts visits Friday or Saturday nights out of the question. Lonsdale aside, theres almost no quality bars or clubs in the area, which is good I guess as I'm wearing flats at this point anyway, so it's a trek solely for the food. It had to take a lot, two Michelin stars or at least glowing review to get me there flat-less on a Saturday night, and the latter is just what happened and why The Sibling, The Parent 1 and I all ended up at El Pirata de Tapas.

The restaurant itself is fairly unremarkable, somewhere between a tapas bar and a spanish restaurant proper, its divided between two floors, and thankfully book-able (there was no way I was headed this far away from a tube stop without a guaranteed table). When we arrived at 7 it was quiet to say the least, but over the following two hours the place turned into a packed, buzzy little place. 

We decided to go for the tasting menu, incredibly reasonably priced at 21pp, which involved nine dishes. Along with a carafe of sherry and we were good to go. Bread & Aoli was the first to show up. Freshly baked bread, with the creamiest aoli I have ever tasted. It was gone in about two minutes flat. Selection of Iberian meats, was unmemorable at best, and on the whole a tiny bit greasy. 

Paprika crispy fried squid, on the other hand, was perfect. The squid was crisp and, was almost totally oil free, note the lack of paper needed to absorb excess oil. They were well seasoned - and they paprika added a smokey depth to the flavour. Wonderful.

Seasonal vegetables, arrived with a healthy dash of seasoning and oil, and remained crisp and fresh. "Broken egg, serrano ham, and potatoes" arrived as a fritatta that I completely failed to take a photo off.

Crispy pork belly, just visible in the photo, was possibly one of the best pork bellies I've ever eaten. The meat was so tender it practically slipped into pieces, and the parsnip puree that accompanied it was unbelievably moorish. My one complaint, was that as this was clearly the star dish, and given it was meant to serve three people, it was on the small side to say the least, I would have preferred to have foregone one of the other dishes, to have this doubled in size. Croquettas with serrano ham, were a perfect mix of goo and crunch, and powerfully cheesy but not sickly.

Potatoes were well cooked, but I can't recall the sauce providing any value add.

We finished with Crema Catalana, which was fabulous, even The Sibling, who stays well clear of anything remotely creme caramel like, agreed. The custard, was heavenly vanilla-ey but steered but avoided being too sweet. It was a perfect way to finish, light and refreshing but still a dessert.

The total damage came to £140, including significant amounts of alcohol. Service was inoffensive. The bill reasonable. The atmosphere laid back. The experience wholly enjoyable.  Totally worth the trek.