Zebrano at the Establishment

Food

Food was great for a bar, and ok for a restaurant. So, to take advantage of happy hour, I had Bellini – raspberry puree & schnapps topped with champagne (£8). I really wanted a peach one, but they didn’t have peach, so I settled for the raspberry, which tasted like medicine. The Lychee Martini (£7) – Vodka, Lychee Liquer, lychee juice, orange bitters was better, but probably too sweet for my taste. So, the drinks not so great, but the food was better. We ordered a selection of tapas and platters to share :

• Calamares Fritos Con Salsa Tartara (£4.50) – deep dried squid rings served with tartar sauce - just like it says, calamari rings, not that remarkable, but the tartar sauce was great.
• Brocheta De Pollo En Salsa De Habitas Con Estragon (£4.50) – skewered marinated chicken, split peas and tarragon sauce - juicy and tender, the sauce was subtle
• Pan De Nueces Tostado Con Ragu De Setas Salteadas (£4.25) – wild mushroom ragout on toasted walnut bread - very hard to share, so I dunno why it was tapas, as this came out as a pate on one piece of bread. I think the flavours was a little too strong on this, and made the bread too soggy to work.
• Chorizo Al Vino (£3.95) – Spanish sausage cooked in white wine - not much wine taste and not very juicy, but nice chorizo flavour.
• Queso De Cabra Frito Con Higos Y Miel (£4.50) – deep fried goats cheese with grilled figs & honey - surprisingly sweet, more akin to eating this as a dessert, especially with the figs and honey.
• Patatas Ali-Oli Con Azafran (£2.95) – Saffron and aloili potatoes - I thought this would be like the potato bavas that I always order, but they were like fat chips. Not one of their better dishes, the potatoes were not quite golden and crunchy enough, although the sauce was very nice.
• Tabla De Charcuteria Salada Y Dulce Con Parfait De Oca Y Pollo – Selection of Spanish charcuterie & foie gras parfait - the platters are definitely the best. This had a mixture of different, tasty charcuterie, with olives, gerkins, pickled onions making up the plate. The cheese and quince paste was a good offset, but what was the deal with the foie gras? How were you supposed to eat that as there was no bread provided?
• Delicias De Salmon Ahumado, Carpaccio De Atun Con Lima, Cobgrejo, Buey De Mar Con Aguacate Y Boquerones (£12.95) – Platter of different toppings with smoked salmon, lime tuna Carpaccio, crayfish tails ,crab, avocado * marinated anchovies serve on French bread - a good sharing plate. My favourite being the smoked salmon and sardines.
• Zebrano Platter (£11.95) – selection of chicken, chorizo & lamb skewers served with chunky chips and deep fried goat’s cheese - after the success of the other platters, I thought I would order this. While it was very good value as a platter, the food was all stuff that I’ve eaten before, except the lamb skewers, which was very flavoursome again.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

I was surprised there weren't more people at Zebrano. We were seated in a spacious corner of the room, prime for people watching. There were comfy coaches, little leather stools, and low tables, great for finger food, harder to go to eat stuff that fall apart, and to try to not get anything on your clothes. The room was painted red, with chandeliers and mirrors adding a glamorous feel.

Rating - 2.5

Service

The service was charming, with lots of flirting thrown in. It started off being a bit strange. I’d made a reservation, but they seemed to be very puzzled by it. However, I found there was a table reserved for me, they’d even printed out a sign with my name on it.

All the waiters would come and sit next to you when you order, which is quite personal, and I like. One of them kept coming around to ask if everything was ok, but they weren’t too intrusive. I kept thinking about whether they were on their best behaviour because we could pay whatever we wanted, or they behaved like that normally. Never mind, it was refreshing to have good service, and that certainly paid a part in the amount of money we left them.

Rating - 4

C-factor

Not many people know, but Zebrano has been trying an experiment where they don’t put a price on the food bill. Instead, you fill in what you think the food is worth and pay that. Well, I think their experiment was quite successful. Our food bill came to around £63, while the drinks were quite cheap as we ordered it all at Happy Hour, where it was half price. We decided to pay £15 per person, as we were quite pleased with everything. We could’ve paid £5 I suppose but I think they deserved their money. It didn’t seem like that many people were there just for the deals (hardly any Asians in site), and they could make a lot of money with the drinks anyway.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 14.5

Info

18 Greek Street
London
W1D 4DS
Phone +44 (0) 20 7287 2051
Website