So here it is, after much
cajoling from a good friend of mine, my first blog post!
Mmm easier
said than done, but I will give it my best shot. Baby steps…
It’s a gorgeous day in London, one
of the very few we’ve had this year and what better way to spend it than on the
river drinking sangria!
We start the day with a river
cruise from London Bridge to Canary Wharf. This is a great way to see London
and if you have an Oyster card, you get a discount too! So much better than
being stuck on a hot, sweaty tube! The boat stops right outside our destination
for the day…. Camino Puerto del Canario.
This restaurant is part of a
small chain, with restaurants based in Kings Cross and The City. Even though
Canary Wharf on a weekend during the Olympics is totally deserted, we chose
this branch because of the gorgeous outside terrace and awesome views. It’s a
wonder it isn’t packed out on sunny days, but an absolute bonus for us because
there is no bun fight for that precious outside table!
We arrive absolutely starving and
dive straight into the menu. Maybe being so hungry was to our detriment because
we stuck to the more common Spanish tapas. All the usuals are on there –
chorizo (this one cooked in a Rioja and served with some piquillo peppers),
tortilla de patata, calamari, gambas, patatas bravas…but we also went for some
really unusual dishes on the menu such as chicken livers and a squash and
potato dish.
While deciding what to have, the
waitress left us with a bowl of the fattest, juiciest olives I have had in a
long time! They had a lovely after taste of red wine vinegar that blended well
with the mix of thyme and rosemary. Fortunately 2 out of the 4 of us dining,
don’t like olives – so more for me!
The food arrived quickly, thank
goodness, and everything that came was really good!
Rioja Chorizo with piquillo peppers (£3.75) were tender and
rich from having been soaked in the wine! I would’ve preferred a bit more sauce
though and I am not sure that the piquillo peppers added anything. I was
expecting a punch of heat, but they just looked like ordinary roasted red
peppers to me.
The Tortilla de patata (£3.25)
was gorgeous, with just the right wobble in consistency and plenty of potato in
the omelette. I just wish there was more of it. The portion was pretty small to
share amongst 4 hungry people.
Patatas bravas (£3.75) were probably the weakest of the dishes
we chose, for me. I’ve only ever been to Spain once, so don’t know how
authentic these babies were! I do know though that I prefer a lot more sauce on
the potatoes than the measly bit that was on this dish. All the fire was on top
and by the time you got to the bottom potatoes, they were nothing more than
cubes of fried potato!
Chipirones a la Andaluza or Crispy squid with aioli (£5.25)
was absolutely delicious! Beautifully crispy, but still soft and the aioli had
the perfect balance of garlic and tartness from the lemon.
This last dish was the dish of
the day for me! Higado de pollo - chicken livers with a parsley salad (£6.75).
The livers were cooked perfectly pink and so, so tender! The parsley salad with
capers and red onion, added a completely different dimension to the livers.
There was a slight hint of heat in the salad, I’m not sure where that came
from, but it complimented the livers perfectly! I could have eaten the whole
plate on my own and it’s is right up there with my mom’s chicken livers! (And
that is saying something! Because everyone knows that no one beats mom’s
cooking!)
Individual dishes are pretty reasonable, but the bill
quickly adds up when you add alcohol! The bill for 4 people came to £180, we drank A LOT and I think this could be
significantly reduced if you didn’t enjoy the sangria as much as we did!
Overall, a really enjoyable experience! Great food, good
service…and boy, what a view…!!
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Until we eat again!
http://www.camino.uk.com/canarywharf
