There are better places than Camden to enjoy the hot weather, frankly - but that is where I was. Luckily I discovered El Parador, a tapas restaurant with a secret garden out the back, a mere olive-stone's throw from Mornington Crescent tube station.
Their garden was baking in the sunshine and packed with lunchers. I had a good feeling as I read the menu. Sometimes tapas places feel wearily familiar: Spanish omelette/ meatballs/ patatas bravas/ calamari/ mushrooms with garlic/ sardines... you eat it with a yawn. El Parador does serve some of these dishes, but lots of more unusual things too. And some of the old favourites come with a twist that is thoughtful rather than just for the sake of it. Chorizo comes with butter beans, roasted piquillo peppers and brandy. Chicken livers are prepared with with shallots, enoki mushrooms and Iberico ham.
There is a slight tendency to over-list the ingredients: El Parador, you don't need to tell me about the black pepper. But on balance I forgive you, especially as nearly every dish of 40 or more sounds worth eating. (The owners have written a recipe book, too, which isn't a failsafe sign of quality, but suggests enthusiasm and a bit of originality, at least.)
Between the four of us we ate two pots of the broad bean puree, made with confit garlic, rosemary and lots of olive oil, and served unexpectedly hot, with bread. Hummus was never this good. There was roasted butternut squash with spinach, chestnuts and feta, which is every bit as delicious as it sounds. Celeriac was advertised with peas and shallots, which were barely in evidence, but still, it was delicious. Meltingly soft, coated with Manchego cheese, it was a dish to convert even the most reluctant vegetable-eater.
Grilled octopus came as a single tentacle, coiled around the plate. Fishcakes, made with smoked haddock and mash, were unusually soft, but not much the worse for that. We also ate beetroot roasted with red onion and butter beans, Ratte potatoes (a fancy variety of new potato) with cherry tomatoes, leeks and chilli, and a Jerusalem artichoke salad from the specials list with a really excellent dressing.
It's a menu that makes excellent use of the whole spectrum of vegetables, not just the obvious "Mediterranean" ones. So there are parsnips, fennel and curly kale. But there's plenty of meaty stuff too, including grilled quail, spicy lamb fillets, and pork belly braised in cider.
Spices make more of an appearance than they do in most Spanish restaurants, with some dishes showing influences of the Asian-Mediterranean borderlands. Harissa, cardamom and star anise all make appearances.
It's definitely a place to try something unusual. The least original dish we had, the pastries filled with spinach and cheese, was also the most pedestrian. As for the bill, tapas dishes are mostly £5 to £7, with a three-for-the-price-of-two offer on weekday lunchtimes.
If you are anywhere near Camden, you should go. Even if it's not sunny. I can't think of a better way of putting summer on a plate.
El Parador Restaurant
245 Eversholt Street
London
NW1 1BA
http://elparadorlondon.com
020 7387 2789
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