LONDON'S FIRST AUTHENTIC TAPAS BAR Reviews 5

A friend and I turned up without a booking, and the warm and friendly staff found us a table. The restaurant was busy and vibrant. Throughout the evening, the staff were attentive, aware and fun. Javier was excellent and gets 5 stars. So why 3 stars? Well, I found the food slightly bland. A bit of a trip, but I would recommend that the chef visit Tinto Taperia in Brighton where every dish is amazing.

I had a pleasant evening at Meson Don Felipe. The atmosphere is charming and you can tell there's a lot of potential classic tapas, a nice location, and a relaxing vibe. Some of the dishes were good: I enjoyed certain flavours and the presentation. However, consistency was an issue a few items felt overcooked or lacked the depth I was hoping for, and the timing of serving was uneven. Service staff were helpful but could’ve been a bit more attentive during busy moments. All in all, decent value for what you get. Definitely worth trying, though with tempered expectations.

I so wanted to enjoy this but when in a restaurant the food is the let down then there's little to more to say.

We arrived at 9.30pm on Saturday night. A bad time?

Of the 12 dishes we ordered, there were 4 of us, I doubt whether any of them were freshly prepared unless you allow the definition of microwaving dishes or reheating them as freshly prepared! I have had frozen tapas which you reheat at home and what was presented to us in an authentic tapas bar was no better or different!

What didn't help was having ordered 12 dishes they only served 8. This was disputed by another waiter who asked us if we wanted to order anything else from the menu as the kitchen was closing. We asked to be served what we had ordered. Thankfully we had written down our order that had been given to the waiter and eventually all 12 dishes were served. One of the dishes served wasn't what we ordered!

The food lacked flavour and texture. With the exception of the chicken livers which were swimming in too much gravy but the sauce tasted of liver. The sardines could have benefitted from swimming in water just to add mosisture to the over cooked dry flesh. The whitebait, a small delicate fish, was incased in a thick deep fried batter.

I could go on but I won't as reliving the experience is too traumatic.

The problem is when a chef doesn't respect the food they are dealing with and know how best to serve it in a way that is attractive to the tastebuds and visually pleasing then the outcome are reviews like this.

Needless to say I won't be going again and nor, on this experience, would I recommend this tapas bar. A pity as I work in theatre and with it being near The Old and Young Vic and within walking distance of the South Bank it has the potential to offer an authentic tapas experience, which in an area rich and vibrant in culture and an array of international cuisines this fails miserably.

Obviously no training for staff. Even when we voiced a minor complaint server simply said ‘oh’ and walked away. Calamari was awful although rest of meal was fairly good. While drinking wine after just finishing dessert was told we’d have to leave as another customer wanted the seat. I wasn’t going to overstay but please let me finish the wine. Cheeseboard served without cutlery and with no variety of biscuits. Overall a very disappointing experience.

Excellent classic tapas and live guitar music. One of the best Spanish restaurants in the Southwark area.