Fina Estampa

This has now closed and is the premises of Magdalen. It used to be 12/20 level. Below are notes for historical interest only.

This is run by a Peruvian family – the wife cooks, the husband does front-of-house. The dining room is poorly lit but is otherwise comfortable. In my experience the simple dishes work best, such as a fillet of farmed salmon baked in its own juices, topped with a garnish of onions, fresh tomatoes, red pepper and parsley, served with correctly cooked basmati rice, with some very good fried new potatoes. A simple tomato sauce accompanied the salmon, and the salmon was adequately cooked, nothing ambitious but decently executed. This was better than pollo almendrado, which featured stringy chicken, and ceviche that had an authentic marinade but suffered from chewy fish. Skip desserts, which are bought in, and coffee, which is vile. Service is charming however. If you have to eat South American food in London, this is about your best bet. Coffee was excellent and bread reasonable (14/20). Service was generally good, with a friendly female manager.