El Parador

Meh. The food was way overly salty in my opinion. The dishes all came to the table at once so that some got cold while we were sampling others. I prefer a tapas place where dishes come out sequentially, kind of like courses. The ambiance is nothing to write home about either. Very busy, but they were lovely enough to fit us in early on a Sat. night without a reservation, so that was a plus.

El Parador is highly rated on Unilocal and had a load of vegetarian tapas options so I was excited to check it out but I was left feeling slightly disappointed.
It’s a minute’s walk from Mornington Crescent station and we got there about 7pm, and were seated straight away, which was good. However, we were put downstairs, where it was slightly dingy.
The service was great and all the staff were friendly and unobtrusive, but the tapas left quite a lot to be desired. One dish came warm rather than hot, the Tortilla Española was OK, and the rest were essentially fried/​grilled vegetables. I don’t feel like the price was justified — if things were slightly cheaper I would’ve accepted things for what they were, but at £6+ each for a vegetarian tapas dish, I expected a little more class.
I rounded things off with an almond tart which came with whipped cream on top. Again, decent, but overpriced.
Nice little joint and maybe the meat tapas are sensational — I can only speak for the vegetarian options. My friend had some meat options and was more enthusiastic than me, so there you go!

I’ve been living in London for over a year, and El Parador is by far my favorite tapas place, and likely restauarant overall.
The tapas (especially the lunch special 3 for 2) are reasonably priced and absolutely delicious. The restaurant is intimate, without being cramped. The staff are helpful without being overwhelming.
During the summer the outside garden is a lovely place to sit outside with some friends and a pitcher of superb sangria.
5 stars no question.

What an incredible little spot! It doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food was outstanding.
The menu is quite large with a ton of vegetarian options and a plethora of meat and fish dishes. At lunch they offer a wonderful special: buy two tapas, get one free.
There were a few specials written on a chalk board, and I opted for the tortilla. A Spanish omelette with potatoes, it was crispy on the outside and filled with spinach, pine nuts and goat cheese.
Chicken thighs were so flavorful and tender! Marinated with coriander and garlic and bone free, with a perfectly crispy skin.
Eggplant was sweet and spicy.
Butternut squash with spinach, garlic and goat cheese was tender with a flavorful char.
Octopus with thyme and rosemary was shockingly tender.
Service was friendly and efficient.
If in the area, this is a must go!

Well we managed to gain access to the pretty outside part at the back. No rain and was undercover anyhow. The Spanish tapas food although small in quantity and a little London in prices. The food was fresh and excellent. Sweet fennel, fresh anchovies, fresh Spanish meats and a nice bottle of malbec to wash it down. I cannot complain and I will be back

Lunch tapas 3 for 2.
Food: amazing selection of vegetarian, fish, meat, and seafood. My favorites are the blackened prawns and spinach empanadillas. Jug of sangria for 9 gbl is great. Sweet and fruity.
Service: Nice waitress. She forgot our second order of sangria and put it on the bill. Very apologetic when we pointed it out.
Price: lunch deal!
Last word: great lunch spot for groups. Try and get a garden reservation.

The reviews are true, the food here is amazing and I’ll definitely be returning. Ordered 3 things each with a group of 4 of us, and every single dish was great. Went for the lunch deal which is buy 2 get 1 free, would’ve been a tad expensive otherwise but worth it for the quality. Freshest chorizo ive ever tasted!
The service was a tad slow, but okay considering it was full and run by a family! Will definitely go back and do recommend to anyone wanting some tapas.

3 dishes for the price of two tapas. Ingenious. A fat glutton trap. And like the fly to the pitcher plant, I buzz brightly into this place only to leave on my hands and knees begging for mercy and in need of 40,000 winks.
Three dishes is easily enough for a normal person when it comes to Tapas. But if your eyes are bigger than your tummy (I have the eyes of a Tarsier) four is safer. And because it’s three for two here, you may as well round that up to the six innit? Clever. Evil.
Especially when the cooking is this honest and decent. The menu is laden with what I would call earthy, authentic fare. I’m not Spanish so don’t quote me on that but with things like octopus and squid stew, pan baked salt cod, chicken livers with char grilled piquillo peppers, fennel hearts with garlic oil and honey and plenty more to choose from AND all in Spanish with the English underneath, that’s authentic enough for me.
We ordered tiger prawns with confit garlic and roasted courgettes, grilled sardines, calamari, grilled octopus, steak with sumac and garlic, chicken thighs marinated with harissa and oregano, tortilla, the fennel hearts and potatoes with harissa and caramelised leeks.
The prawns were nothing to write home about (are they ever unless they are cooked for the briefest of time? These felt like so many other similar dishes where the prawns have become a little too nugget-​like) and I prefer my sardine skins burnished and burned. But these two dishes were still perfectly edible and tastily seasoned.
Everything else was properly delicious. The sort of tapas that you just can’t be polite about and leave the last mouthful to someone else. It’s everyone for themselves and I’m taking no prisoners.
The highlights were the fennel which had been braised to perfection. Lovely and tender and carrying all the flavours they had been cooked in. And the chicken thigh pieces which were juicy and again had all the flavour of the marinade.
This restaurant isn’t smart in a shushy or blingy way. It’s at the top end of shitty Somerstown before you hit Camden. And the place itself is small and depending on what frame of mind you’re in either ‘charming and cosy’ or ‘grotty’. Deffo charming and cosy for me.
But you don’t come here to be seen. You come here to eat. And the food is hearty, it’s packed full of flavour, it’s mediterranean to the bone, it has no airs or graces and at three dishes for the price of two it’s an absolute steal. The service is charming. It’s obvious they love producing this stuff and serving it to appreciative locals who are in the know.
Nine dishes, two and a half hungry people, one forklift truck to winch us out. Top place for some great home made Spanish tucker.

I went on the recommendations of Unilocal reviewers, and found an unassuming little restaurant, with seemingly just two people running the place — someone in the kitchen and a lady up front. I have absolutely no idea, then, how such incredible food made it out of the kitchen! We (my son and I) ordered broadly from the menu — artichoke hearts, belly pork, hake, octopus, chicken livers — early on a Sunday evening, and it was easily as good as any tapas I have had anywhere… My previous high water mark was Casa Mono in NYC, but that has declined below El Parador’s level.
Where the restaurant misses out, perhaps, is in the service — with only one out front, we had to ask for more drinks, water was not offered, etc. But that is reflected in the bill — £75 between us, considering we’d gorged, was good value…

I became a real fan of Spanish cuisine after visiting this place a few weeks ago. This restaurant has a really nice atmosphere and service. What we ate was called «tapas» and it was delicious. Since then I have come back three times and I always enjoyed it.

Nice and cosy place with a huge variety of really good tapas. We’ve been there 3 times already and still haven’t tried everything. The prices are reasonable and you won’t stay hungry afterwards. The staff is very nice as well. Just make sure you book in advance because the restaurant there are not many tables.

I have deemed this the best restaurant in London! I know I sound like a typical American snob but I think London is full of disgusting places to eat, but this place absolutely does not disappoint and is so worth a visit!
I’ve come here 3 times with my friend, the lovely Christina B, but since she is moving back to the US, we gave El Parador another visit. There doesn’t exist a bad plate! We’ve mainly gone because of the lunch special, which is buy 2, get the third free. And we usually order 6 things. Tonight I visited for dinner, sans the lunch special, but they are still amazing. I’ve had the calamari, the octopus (AMAZING and I usually dont like it!), steak, spinach empanada, artichokes, chorizo (also great!), prawns, and maybe more. The cheesecake dessert is also a must if you have the room.
The service is also friendly and attentive in a perfect but not overbearing way. The wine list is also good. Tonight I brought my own wine, a sparkling red from Italy, and I let the waiter have a taste so I am hoping to GOD that they bring this wine on board too! Would be pretty nice!
Anyways, I may have to visit again. I just don’t get sick of the food. It is a symphony of robust flavors and I am thrilled to moving nearby!

Really great lunch! As it’s been noted, they have a lunch deal during the week– 3 tapas for the price of 2. And if you’re wondering, yes, you should each get 3 (versus splitting 3 with a pal). They wouldn’t take a reservation, but we got there at 1 and were seated right away. They also have a really sunny garden, but my friend deemed it too cold to sit out in the sun– next time!
We had, ranked from best to mediocre…
1. Chorizo– couldn’t get enough of the spicy, greasy goodness
2. Venison marinated in red wine, topped with beetroot (a daily special that was melt in your mouth tender)
3. Grilled artichokes
4. Jamon
5. spinach and cheese empanadas
6. Oyster mushrooms (just a little bland)
And our bill was only £15 pp! I’ll def be back, but probably just for lunch.

Great litle tapas bar. Food was delectable!

I’m lazy tonight so I’ll make this short…
A.) Very fair prices (and apparently 3 for 2 during lunch)
B.) The octopus ruled, the zanahorias negras (black carrots) were tasty, but a bit overcooked, and the tortilla was light and fluffly. Overall I really enjoyed the food. The octopus had the texture of halloumi. so good!
C.) Service was le sigh. Really not attentive at all.
D.) Dessert was a bit bland and a let down, especially after the high quality of the savories.
Would love to go here for lunch!

El Parador, Spanish for the Inn, and not to be confused with Beck’s mid-​nineties hit where he sings ‘soy, un perdedor (I’m a loser)’, is a deliciousness Spanish Tapas establishment right behind Mornington Crescent station.
Now, I’ve been to this area A LOT. Largely due to Koko’s being right there. But this was my first attempt at going to El Parador. We didn’t make a reservation, but were able to be accommodated in a matter of minutes, which was great. They have a good selection of Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Veggies & Seafood. Although due to lack of desire and potential of death respectively, I abstained from the last two. However, the winner of the night clearly was the SALTEADO de SOLOMILLO; which is fillet steak marinated w/​thyme, garlic & cracked blk pepper with caramelised leeks, butter & Ruby Port. OH EMM GEE, delicious! Followed not too far behind was the ALBONDIGAS or pork meatballs.
The pricing is incredibly reasonable, the food and service is exceptional, and the overall vibe and proximity to nightlife is great! I highly recommend this place and will hopefully return there soon.

I’ve been coming to El Parador off and on since it first opened in the late eighties. Back around then I worked around the corner at Greater London House and this was a favourite lunch time haunt. Many, many «business» lunches were conducted here.
The staff are friendly and will always suggest their favourite specials. My Alioli made at home is based on their recipe they taught me one afternoon. Addictive stuff!
I highly recommend their Gambas Salteada, and Rosario Chorizon both superbly cooked, and excellent when accompanied by their Patatas Harra.
The Boquerones are sinful and I make no apologies that I could eat these all afternoon.
Lastly the Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelet) is a must.
Thanks El Parador for all those years of enjoyable dishes, I miss you greatly and always try to drop in on my trips to London. If Unilocal was going back then I would have around 200 check-​ins :-)

Thank you, Unilocal app and fellow Unilocalers for directing me to this little tapas restaurant on Eversholt Street.
It’s a little unassuming family run restaurant but with serious intent from the kitchen. I was offered a table in the main dining room or the garden when I walked in — as we are in the middle of ‘Wimbledon week showers’, I chose to dine indoors.
The menu was written in impressively authentic sounding terms but closer inspection revealed some fusion going on — lemongrass, tumeric and enoki mushrooms being amongst the ingredients on show. I’m up for a bit of fusion as long as it doesn’t end in con-​fusion!
Having confirmed that I was hungry, the helpful waiter suggested getting 3 dishes. I couldn’t help myself and went for the fusion sounding dishes.
Panceta con cidra was pork belly, rolled and marinated with garlic, black pepper and dill, braised in Asturian cider. I zoom in pork belly whenever I see it and this version has been slowly cooked to melting tenderness with the dill coming through strongly — it didn’t need the wedge of lemon which came with it and I enjoyed it as it arrived.
Pollo a la plancha del Parador were a pair of chicken thighs marinated in lemon grass, turmeric, garlic & coriander and cooked on the plancha (grill). I prefer dark meat as it remains moist and the oriental kick wasn’t too overwhelming.
When the waiter said the Higadillos Salteados (chicken livers with Iberico Jamon, enoki mushrooms, shallots, black pepper and butter) would be served pink inside, I smiled — nice to see a restaurant willing to serve food as it should be cooked and not pander to squeamish guests. These were a delight and to get some Iberico ham from acorn-​fed pigs was a bonus.
This is tapas of the highest order, given a little twist. A little Unilocal gem which deserves its high star rating.

Actually, I was a bit disappointed when I was there. The food is not bad, but I think it is not as good as most people write here. I had much better tapas in London before …

I had a wonderful meal here over the weekend and although sadly I didn’t have the wonderful 3 for 2 offer, I can really see what everyone is raving about. The seafood was to die for. We had scallops, octopus and squid as well as some salad and some duck goujons.
The duck was pleasant but I really found myself lusting more over the seafood. Everything was cooked beautifully and had a really lovely balance of sweet, smoky and spicy seasoning as well as big punchy flavors.
I don’t feel that visiting once has done the place justice and this is my new top place for tapas. I will definitely be going though when it is 3 for 2 for greed rather than thrift.