Copita Del Mercado

Copita del Mercado, Spitalfields – what a gin galore! But that was not the main thing that enticed me to dine at Copita del Mercado. I'd heard enough to make me want to visit. I only noticed the various gin bottles, not empty ones, on display as we entered the restaurant. So it was not surprising to find there was a dedicated G&T menu. I was even more so impressed that they had Xoriguer gin; despite from seeing it in Laithwaites in Borough Market, I don't recall having seen Xoriguer in any London restaurant before. My favourite gin of all time, not only fragrant but a concentrated flavour of the juniper berries.

Starting from £7.00 at 35ml, I decided to leave my Xoriguer moments at home and try a different drink at Copita del Mercado.

The dishes at Copita del Mercado is a mixture of dishes to share and for one to have with an average of £8.00 per dish. The dishes have a strong Spanish influence, using aioli, sobrasada as well as the style of cooking, but takes on a newer, more modern and creative flair.

Immediately immersed in the one sheet menu with all starters, mains and desserts, the meat dishes did sound much better than the seafood and vegetarian options. The only thing that I need to nit pick is that it really leaves me disgruntled when I have to pay for bread in a tapas style restaurant. Most of the time I would like just a slither to wipe out that last bit of sauce, so paying for a full basket of bread whilst does not do much injury to the wallet but is the little detail for the goodwill that money can't buy. By polishing up their dish, I would also have probably saved their cost of washing up liquid.

Not trying to be querulous here because I really did love the food.

salmorejo, duck egg and roasted beetroot – The pink-orange appearance of salmorejo was a good start and very well seasoned. The roasted beetroot did not have the intensity that roasting implies. It was a mediocre dish, probably the least exciting dish of the evening. With a wobbly egg yolk, I cannot resist the obligatory egg porn photo. Great contrast of textures – with the crusty bread, soft beetroot and wobbly egg - and this was where I thought that the piece of bread would be great to 'scoop' up those delicious sauces. Or, lick the plate.

sea trout tartare, tarragon butter, apple and pine nuts – the colour is so rich that it looks almost like a salmon. Flavours were very delicate.

Iberico pork jowl, pear and pine nuts – one word: STUPENDOUS!

neck of lamb, pistachio migas & apricot chutney – my favourite dish of the evening. The nutty pistachio was delicious with the tender meat. Quite a fair bit of fat but I really didn't mind it. Mildly spiced apricot chutney on the side was also excellent!

fish of the day – grilled hake in squid ink – I was a little apprehensive with hake because I knew that the meaty fish can be quite dry and tough. Luckily I tried it because the fish was, and I don't normally quote this but on this occasion it is most suitable to say it was cooked to perfection. The hake was moist and so delicate, flakes off politely and the squid ink was not over powering. The drizzle of olive oil was 'A' class and I wished I had bread to scoop those beautiful sauces up! A generous size portion of fish.

roasted acorn-fed Iberico pork caramelised onion & pincho moruno salsa – a beautifully cooked dish, the pork is tender and full of flavour, slightly caramelised around the edges, and very well complimented by the salsa.

churros con chocolate – a hot and warming dessert perfect for the rainy cold weather. Served with the bitter chocolate; initially which I didn't thought it was going to be enough but it had plentiful to even have spoonfuls of the chocolate sauce alone – the bitter sweetness made every mouthful so pleasurable. I was offered a share of the dessert but secretly, I think my diner companion regretted offering it.

tarta de Santiago, seville orange marmalade & allspice ice-cream – this Galician almond cake was moist and delicious. Delicious with the allspice ice-cream but I did think that it was a little sweet for my palate. I still enjoyed it.

Service was very good and it would have been more attentive had the restaurant not filled up. It felt like the waitress needed to rush off her feet each time we tried to converse. A surprisingly busy Monday evening with office workers.

Overall, I think that Copita del Mercado excelled in their food. A little fanciful with their precise chopping of food in cubed form but I was glad that their mains were served in the same manner. Good sized portions of food and their meat dishes really wow-ed me!

With the special star deal for £16.50 - a 3 course meal with cava/wine - there is a turnaround table of two hours. Brilliant value but I'd say that they could have been a little more generous with their cava portions. Wouldn't you agree with me?

Situated on the corner of Wentworth Street, Copita del Mercado was the only buzzling place on the street.

Fresh off the heels of the London foodie boom, which seem as though it’s never going to slow down – Spanish food is seeing a revival. It’s not that it ever really had a slump, but it did become rather predictable and in my opinion insanely expensive, with small tapas dishes priced at the same, if not more than a main course. For me that just isn’t tapas. True tapas should be quality, ingredient led produce which is affordable, always pleasing and pairs with just about any glass of wine or sherry – so it was refreshing to come to somewhere like Copita del Mercado who obviously have my same opinion in mind, because our experience was spot on.

I have to write something about  my experience here yesterday lunchtime .I Really recommend a visit. The atmospfere was very relaxed and friendly.The service was attentive and also  friendly. Everything we enquired about, both the food and the wine, was answered with knowledge as well as recommendations. (Although we only had a glass of wine each, returning to work after sharing a full bottle isnt a great idea for me).The food was amazing. Which wasnt really a big suprise as i know Copita, Soho. Portion sizes are certainly ample for lunch time. (and served quick enough to enjoy the food without having to rush back to the office).Copta del mercado is more a 'restaurant' version  of Soho. I will be returning for dinner with friends.Try the octopus and the crocquettes and check out the specials board!

Although East London is known for being full of hipsters and new cool restaurant openings, that's actually more just Shoreditch and until this year there has been a bit of a dead area around Aldgate and the bottom of Commercial Road. A smattering of new openings and redevelopment around there has started to change things however, it started with misschu back at the end of last year and has continued with the likes of Discount Suit Company (love them) and the Culpepper (still on my list of places to visit). I'm always excited to hear about a new opening as that area is the perfect mid-point between home and work for me and so the ideal place to head for a weeknight dinner.

When I read that not only was a new tapas restaurant, Copita del Mercado, opening but that they would be doing a soft launch with 25% off food, I immediately got myself booked in. Booking into a new restaurant is always a bit of a gamble but Copita del Mercado has been opened by the same people behind Copita in Soho and so I was hopeful that the food, even in soft launch phase would be decent.

After pre-drinks at Discount Suit Company (I told you I love them) we left to find Copita, luckily it's on the same road, Wentworth Street so it wasn't too difficult. Located in one of the commercial spaces in the bottom of a new development, there is currently no sign outside but the other retail units aren't really occupied quite yet so it's more a case of spotting the one with the lights on than having to investigate too closely.

Although the building and retail unit are new, the people behind the fit-out have done a pretty good job of making the place feel like it isn't brand new and bare. It feels cosy and warm. 

We were seated in a table towards the back, tucked away from the main body of the restaurant, not the best table with a view into the kitchen as staff came and went, not the fancy open kitchen at the front (although I did also have a view of that) but the kitchen prep area at the back. If you can, try and get a table in the main part as it definitely has a better vibe there. 

We sat down to contemplate the extensive drinks menu. In addition to an impressive selection of sherry and other drinks, they also have a special gin and tonic menu. Although I do love a good G&T, we opted for wine instead, next time though we'll definitely have to sample something from the G&T menu.

The menu is set out on the place mat along with the daily special, it's a nice balanced menu with plenty of choices to suit all tastes. We were offered bread and oil which we nibbled on while we debated what to eat. In the end we settled on a selection of meat, fish and vegetable dishes. I can never resist the jamon iberico and so ordered that from the snacks section. Delicious and rich with fat that melts in your mouth, I could eat it all day.

We weren't quite sure how much to order and so chose two meat/fish dishes and a vegetable dish each. From where we sat we could hear our order being given by the head chef in the open kitchen. The first dish to be delivered to our table was the tuna tartare with tarragon butter, apple and pine kernels. I only had a small taste of this one as it was really my boyfriend's choice and so it was only fair he got the lion's share but this was good, nice and light with a balance of ingredients and what I thought was a hint of fennel in there too (a taste I've come to enjoy this year).

The tuna was swiftly followed by my boyfriend's choice of vegetable dish - truffled crushed potatoes, spinach, slow cooked duck egg yolk. Nice but the description of 'crushed' potatoes was probably a bit misleading as they would more accurately be described as mashed/pureed potatoes. 

Next up was the roast hake, toasted ajoblanco and grapes. Well cooked the toasted grapes were an interesting twist on the traditional ajoblanco and a nice addition to the dish. Although I was expecting tapas, these are definitely less tapas and more like small dishes. So, I'd advise ordering maybe two and a half dishes each - a vegetable dish, a meat/fish dish each and a dish to share would be perfect.

I am a big fan of sweet potato and so I couldn't resist the sweet potato, peanuts, salsa brava and alioli. The salsa brava gave the dish a little bit of a kick and the peanuts added some texture and crunch to the dish.

The pollo borracho (drunken chicken) was unbelievably tender and practically fell off the bones. It was one of my favourite dishes from our selection.

Pork was served pink with pincho moruno salsa and for my personal taste in pork, it was maybe a tad too pink. So as a dish, nice enough but not my favourite of the night.

For dessert we shared the churros and chocolate. I loved that once we'd finished the churros the waitress brought over two spoons in case we wanted to delve straight into the remaining chocolate.

We also shared a pear tart which came a la mode. A good dessert, although a little tricky to cut through with just a spoon.

Our food bill came to around £65 (including 25% off for the soft launch) but we definitely over ordered a bit. However, having said that we over ordered, I asked my boyfriend what he'd drop if we we were to visit again in the future (which we will) and he said that he'd order exactly the same thing because he liked everything he had. Although of course I did point out that he would then be unable to try any of the other dishes he liked the sound of but didn't choose.

Although the staff need to become familiar with the menu (this will come with time and is obviously the reason for the soft launch), they were so obliging and keen to make sure we had everything we needed. I have confidence that this place is only going to get better and we really enjoyed our meal.  I'm so pleased Copita del Mercado has opened in the neighbourhood.

The restaurant is very nice and cozy. I found staff to be attentive and knowledgeable. As most tapas restaurants in London are expensive (this is no exception) and often the dishes are overpriced for the size of the servings you receive; however, in terms of quality at Copita del Mercado I cannot complain. The octopus is delicious (this serving is quite generous) and all the other dishes I tasted were flawless. I was well looked after by the staff and the ambiance is somewhere between business formal and casual. I'll come back for more.

My wife and I visited Copita for a rare night out away from the baby, and I thought it was fantastic. The food wasn't traditional tapas, but that's fine - there are plenty of places you can go and get good meatballs, squid and patatas bravas. The G&T menu was a welcome novelty (I had a delicious and unusual chilli and ginger version), and the drinks came beautifully presented in a huge, ice-filled globe glass. The food was interested and delicious, good for both me (a veggie) and my wife (a meat eater). My wife, in particular, was spellbound by the lamb and apricot dish, and loved her char grilled octopus. I thought all my dishes were good, but the lentils were particularly tasty and rich. All rounded off with some crispy churros with rich chocolate sauce (which perhaps could have been a bit thicker, if I was being picky), and some excellent digestifs. I should add that the service was also excellent. We had a young Apanish guy waiting on our table and he was very attentive and helpful - more than happy to give an opinion on the best dishes and thr right drinks to go with them, etc. All in all, well worth a visit.

A place I have walked past so many times. I finally stepped in due to my friend knowing the owner. I was very, very impressed. The Lamb and the Ham (accord fed) are amazing. The Tuna Tartare was fantastic. Great ambiance. Lovely staff. Highly recommended!

As a Spaniards I have to say that it is one of the few ones in London that comes to me as a proper Spanish food. A fusion of traditional recipies with creativity will extract the best flavour out of your food. They have an excellent wine variety, go for albarino. Quality is high and so is the price.

Top notch tapas and service at a beaut new restaurant in my neighbourhood. Highly recommended!