El Parador in Eversholt Street, just round the corner from Mornington Crescent underground, is a bustling, family run, wine and tapas bar with very friendly professional service and excellent, good value, tasty food. The tapas served with the aperitivo, a good fino sherry, included perfectly cooked and salted peppers de padron, a delicious dip of broad beans with garlic and rosemary, very nice bread and a very tasty jamon.
The jamon was not cut in house but “Products of Spain” were supplying El Parador with a good product. With a glass of Martet Blanco (a mix of Verdejo and Sauvignon from Rueda) we enjoyed a piece of Swordfish with Romanesco Sauce, which tasted so much better than it looked. The fish was perfectly cooked and the sauce beautifully nutty and peppery; a vegetable mix of endive, spinach and artichokes with the lightest scattering of cheese: a beautiful piece of butternut squash with black olive and cheese. It was a joy to taste so many delicious vegetable dishes.
With a Riba Guda, Crianza, we had some lovely cod on samphire with lemon and garlic, some tender soft octopus that had been boiled and finished on the grill and some lovely guinea fowl with tomatoes and spinach that fell off the bone. We also tasted some spinach and cheese pastries, I wasn’t so fond of the pastry, and some beef steak which had been pan-fried with artichoke and had a great flavour. We all finished with a perfect Flan (Spanish crème caramel) which was deliciously orangey and light and an arroz con leche which was a touch too heavy, though beautifully flavoured with cinnamon.
The small restaurant was packed with people enjoying this beautifully flavoured and executed very reasonably priced food and wine. The most expensive bottle on the list was £32.50. The wooden chairs were old fashioned, as was most of the décor, but very comfy. They served proper mint tea with the coffees. El Parador wins our prize for the very best value and we will certainly return. El Parador 245 Eversholt St London NW1 1BA
