Pinchitos

Pinchitos is situated in a quiet, somewhat run-down location near Old Street station (there is now another branch in Bayley Street too). The room has an open kitchen on one side, and a mix of wooden and stone floor. There is exposed brickwork, and rather tatty blue upholstery. The tapas menu is supplemented by a long list of daily specials, with tapas dishes ranging from £.50 - £10, most around the £5 mark. The fairly short Spanish wine list starts at £17.50, and features selections such as Inurrietta 2006 at £19.50 for a wine that costs as much as £12 retail, Vina Esmerelda Gewürztraminer 2008 at £19.50 for a wine that will set you back around £9 in the shops, and Bodegas Mas Alta 2005 at £40 for a wine that you can purchase for around £15 in the shops.

A classic tortilla was quite good, served on a bed of somewhat superfluous salad leaves and with reasonable texture (12/20). Garlic prawns were correctly cooked, tasted acceptable, though perhaps a little more garlic in the oil they were cooked with would have been beneficial (12/20). Heuvos rotos was a mix of chips, egg and chorizo, and was rather greasy, though comforting enough (11/20). Patatas bravas featured potatoes that were a little soggy, served with an odd-tasting spicy tomato sauce where too much smoked paprika had been added, giving a burnt off-note without delivering much spice (10/20). Service was friendly enough, though there was much confusion as to where their Iberico ham was sourced from.

Overall the bill came to £19.50 for four tapas dishes and a coffee, which is not excessive but is hardly a real bargain either given the cost of the ingredients used. It seemed a decent enough local place.