Dotted across London is Michelin-starred chef Nacho Manzano’s collection of Ibérica restaurants, offering everything from tapas to delicatessens to a wide variety of wines. Ibérica Marylebone is the chain’s flagship location, designed to marry bright, open spaces with a sense of intimacy at individual tables. With friendly service and lots of light, Ibérica is a shiny, smiley lunch location.
We were treated to the Taste of Ibérica Menu, a work of art designed to offer a rich and well-constructed journey through the restaurant’s extensive à la carte menu. Beginning with a bottle of red wine for the table, we knew that a boozy lunch was absolutely in order.
We were then offered the choice between jamón or queso to kick off our meal - namely, Juan Pedro Domecq Ibérico ham cured for upwards of 42 months, or a cheese selection including vidiago, San Simón, sujaira, manchego and La Peral. We opted for the cheese board, which served as a perfect way to ease into the culinary storm ahead. The manchego was particularly tasty, paired with quince jelly and green grapes. Accompanied by a bottle of La Miranda de Secastilla red wine, we began our meal luxuriously.
Offered the options of patatas bravas, aubergine sobrasada or pear and spinach salad, we plumped for the aubergine. Due to a kitchen mix up of which we felt to be true beneficiaries, we were also given the patatas bravas — a dish that feels tricky to get either very right or very wrong, but about which we remarked upon the crispiness of the potatoes which was, to our taste, ideal. The aubergine, served with sujaira cheese, rocket and caramelised sunflower seeds, provided a balanced, complimentary flavour profile but a less exciting textural experience, as all elements blended somewhat. It was, however, undeniably refreshing, and beautifully presented.
The croquetas de jamón - described charmingly on our menu as “mandatory and included” - were creamy as promised, and melted in the mouth. After the unexpected patatas bravas, we were perhaps a little saturated with potato-based dishes, and so only managed two instead of three croquetas each. They were surprisingly sweet, and this was admittedly a little unnerving, but if something is going to be mandatory on this menu, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be these.
Next up, between the two of us, we enjoyed the black rice with squid, white prawns, squid ink and allioli and the “Ibérica burgers”: two pork sliders with confit piquillo peppers and chimichurri. It was a shame to be quite as full as we were by this point; the food before us felt perhaps more of a burden than a joy. The burgers were perfectly tasty, but the black rice was a standout - surprisingly light, fragrant and always worth another little forkful. Worth leaving a bit more room for.
To finish up, we enjoyed the vanilla caramel flan and the churros with chocolate. The flan was flavoured with some unadvertised orange, which wasn’t my personal favourite, but the centre was divine - airy but substantial, and subtly sweet. The churros were a knockout, cooked to the perfect level of crispiness on the outside and softness on the inside with a veritable bucket of chocolate sauce to dip in.
We were delighted to be walked through some of the restaurant’s top picks from their own menu. There was plenty of food, and for us this was perhaps overwhelming, but with it came the opportunity to indulge, and to sample a collection of excellent tapas options. Classy but low-pressure, and designed in such a way to feel appropriate for everything from romantic dates to corporate meetings to family gatherings, Ibérica is worth betting on for a top Spanish meal in London.
