I have driven past Boqueria countless times and said 'I love tapas, can we go' to Mr D until I was blue in the face. Finally an evening of catching up with the wonderful Johnson's and Holdstock brothers meant sharing food was ideal so, I booked the Acre Lane eatery and we went full force into the menu...
Starting with two mixed platters of their selection of cured meats...
A Spanish classic - Pan con tomate, crisp bread with chopped tomato, garlic and olive oil
I went rogue and ordered an 'un-discussed dish' which proved to be a winner... Paprika octopus served on potatoes. One that photographs a little like dogs dinner but, tasted the complete opposite was the spinach with cheese, raisins and pine nuts - we ordered a second of these it was that good! The have a huge board towards the back of the restaurant showcasing daily specials I jumped at one which (luckily) proved to be a favourite amongst us all. Aubergine chips with honey. Insanely hot but once cooled these were one of my favourites. Coated in polenta then fried until golden these were incredibly crisp and totally irresistible. 'Albondigas' or meatballs to us English folk are always done exceptionally well in Spain and Boqueria's were pretty much a triumph amongst the boys. A mixture of pork, beef and chicken they were incredibly succulent and tasty. Served in a rich tomato sauce - de-lish.A staple order when on any menu for Mr D and I and therefore had to be tried and tested was the calamari. Their version did not disappoint... served with a punchy ali-oli and a good ol' slice of lemon - simple - perfect!Patatas bravas had pretty mixed views amongst the eight of us. The potatoes were crisp (tick) the sauce spicy (tick) but, it wasn't as tomato heavy as we would have liked or, in that matter thought it should have been traditionally. It was more of a thin mayo consistency, perfectly nice just not what any of us were expecting.Onto some slightly main style dishes and the last few of our meal...seabass with wheat risotto on parmesan and scallop cream was utterly delicious although I didn't feel like it was in anyway particularly 'Spanish'.Pork shoulder in garlic and cumin, 'pont-neuf' chips (why would you have French style chips in a Spanish restaurant?!) and goat's cheese sauce was just 'ok'. A star of the meal however came in last with the suckling pig served with sweet potato chips. apple sauce and a lemon sorbet. Usually despising the mix of freezing cold with warm food this actually worked really quite well. The suckling pig was sweet and cooked till perfectly tender and coupled with crisp crackling - di-vine!There's actually a couple of locations Brixton market, Battersea and Acre Lane. All serving up the same menu's with the exception of their blackboard specials. If you love tapas or, having a night out with friends there is nothing better than sharing plates of wonderful food, delicious wine and good company. Boqueria ticks all the boxes with a wonderful atmosphere to match. ![Square Meal]()
![Boqueria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato]()
![Boqueria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato]()
