september-2011

Lunch in London
with Joe Warwick
JOSÉ
london’s tapas bars have improved dramatically in the last
decade. Not so long ago, it seemed, to call yourself a tapas bar
you had to serve everything worryingly lukewarm – including
the sherry. That the days of deep-fat fryer and not enough
plancha (grill) are gone is thanks partly to José Pizarro. Prior
to going solo and opening José this summer, Pizarro spent
eight years working with Brindisa, London’s go-to supplier
for quality Spanish food, opening three bar-raising tapas bars
across London in that time.
Authentically bijou, with everything emerging from the
tiny kitchen behind the bar, José is – bar the lack of napkins
and toothpicks strewn on the fl oor – a lovingly accurate take
on the sort of barrio joints that make Spanish cities such a
pleasure to eat and drink your way around.
José is the warm-up act for the opening of a more grownup
restaurant that Pizarro, who lives in the neighbourhood,
plans to open this autumn further along Bermondsey Street,
serving suckling pig and much else that he can’t currently
produce in his tapas-sized kitchen.
Over lunch and dinner on the same day I made my way
through much of José’s menu and several market specials
from the blackboard. Of the familiar tapas staples, standouts
included the croquetas (fi lled with blue cheese on this
occasion), mackerel escabeche, chorizo in red wine, and the
tomato bread. The latter, although ubiquitous and ostensibly
so simple to make, is very rarely this good: the toast in
possession of the perfect crunch, rubbed with just the right
amount of garlic and generously spread with ripe, superbly
sweet tomato.
Of the specials, a special mention must go to the pluma
ibérico, spectacular strips of plancha-seared pork from
acorn-fed black pigs, served rare as the breed allows, and so
rich and dark it looked like beef.
The 14-strong selection of sherries by the glass and the
all-Spanish wine list has been put together with pleasure for
the punters in mind, as opposed to convenience for whoever
is doing the ordering, by making use of so many diff erent
suppliers. Although they don’t take reservations, the sweetly
eager and knowledgeable service mostly triumphs over the
crush that understandably comes at peak times.
Three tapas, a glass of sherry and a coff ee, £25 including tip.
José, 104 Bermondsey Street, SE1, +44 (0)20 7403 4902,
josepizarro.com
Joe Warwick is editor of Eat London and captain of restaurant
fanzine Galley Slave, galleyslavery.com
38 metropolitan
~ le déjeuner ~
Déjeuner à Londres avec Joe Warwick
les dix dernières années ont été témoins
d’une amélioration spectaculaire des bars à tapas
londoniens. Récemment encore, il suffi sait de servir
ses plats (et son xérès) tièdes pour s’autoproclamer
bar à tapas.
Cette époque semble révolue et le mérite de cette
victoire de la plancha sur l’hégémonie de la friteuse
revient en partie à José Pizarro. Ce dernier a ouvert
José cet été, après huit ans chez Brindisa, fournisseur
de référence de mets espagnols de qualité à Londres.
Durant cette période, il avait ouvert trois bars à tapas
qui ont relevé le niveau londonien.
Tout est mini chez José, à commencer par une
cuisine lilliputienne derrière le bar d’où émergent
les plats. À part l’absence de serviettes et de curedents
par terre, sont présents tous les éléments
d’une interprétation fi dèle de ces bars de quartier
espagnols où l’on a tant plaisir à s’arrêter.