Copita del Mercado

Fabulous Spanish in East London

Copita del Mercado

Excellent Spanish food at an affordable price is hard to come by in London, places like Barrafina and Cambio de Tercio are top class without a doubt but price wise is also at a premium. So when I discovered that Copita del Mercado has a great deal on Book a Table website I wasted no time, at less than £20 for a 3 course plus a glass of cava it seemed like a real bargain. Normally meal deals result in less quality dishes but having carefully studied the menu, the choices from the deal are the same as their regular menu and the group's other two restaurants have already got Michelin bib gourmand for many years, so surely Copita del Mercado is capable of delivering some quality Spanish cooking.

Iberico pork jowl

Sprouting broccoli, slow cooked duck egg, romesco sauce

Seabass fritura with piquillo, peppers

Iberico pork jowl was a very simple starter with super thinly sliced pork jowl with hazelnuts and pear on top, the nutty and fruity elements did a great job to offset the richness of the fatty meat and the plate was well presented. Seabass fritura was like a Spanish version of British fish and chips but with a much thinner batter with sweet piquillo peppers as garnish, it was perhaps the weakest dish on the night as it was slightly under seasoned and a touch over cooked for my personal preference. On the other hand, roasted acorn fed Iberico presa was truly a sensational pork dish with medium cooked moist presa which was packed with rich flavours and a hint of nutty undertone.

Neck of lamb, pistachio migas & apricot

Roasted acorn-fed iberico presa, pincho moruno salsa

Churros con chocolate

Tata santiago

Copita del Mercado turned out to be a really great discovery, the cooking went above all of my expectations with some very nicely constructed dishes, mostly are classic simple dishes but the ingredients and mixture of flavours are well executed by the chefs. I used to think East London lacked any decent Spanish restaurants but Copita del Mercado is the answer, the food is excellent at a well affordable price, the food portions are a little bit bigger than your standard tapas sizes so it is possible to enjoy the menu in A la carte format without needing to order 5 dishes per person.

Food 3/5

Executive chef: 
Ignacio Pinilla

What I paid: 
£23 pp

Average cost without drinks and services:
£25 pp

Unit 3, 60 Wentworth St, London E1 7AL

http://www.copitadelmercado.com/