Despite the proliferation of Latin restaurants in London, ones that strike the right balance between quality, authenticity and atmosphere are still few and far between.
I knew I liked Paladar as soon as I walked in. Just down the road from Elephant and Castle, where you’ll find fantastic cantinas and great food at an affordable price, Paladar is a more sophisticated experience, complete with bodega room for private parties and an extensive and sophisticated wine list.
We stepped into a warm and buzzing atmosphere early on a Saturday evening. There were already plenty of tables occupied (always a good sign) and waiters gliding around to the sound of salsa. Crucially, the buzzing was not too much, and the music not too overpowering; lighting and acoustics can be as important as the food; you want to be able to talk and the right lighting can be the difference between enjoying a meal and making the moment special.
You might not notice that Paladar is special immediately. Although it’s obviously no cantina; you can order the classics, guacamole and plaintain crisps, chicharrón and shredded beef empanadas and happily wash them down with a margarita.
The difference comes in the nitty gritty of the menu, divided by ‘Sea, Farm and Land’, the latter specially designed for vegetarians and vegans. The other detail lies in the slightly serious, yet charming Ecuadorian sommelier, Rafael, who comes to life on discovering the wine lover in you.
And so it was the Rafael recommended the white malbec, Vincentin Blanc de Malbec (2017) from Mendoza to accompany the Tuna tartare, with taro crisps and chipotle mayonnaise, which was indeed the perfect marriage. Also a revelation were the two vegan dishes we chose, which, as a meat lover, I approached with suspicion. I was delighted by the palm heart tiradito, whose freshness was enhanced by theavocado aguachile and perfectly balanced by sweetcorn and crunchy candied jalapeño and the grilled asparagus, which came with a delicious ‘beetroot, bean and hominy corn purée’ that my two very carnivorous two children, lapped up to the last drop.
As for the meat; The Cuban confit pork with tortillas, habanero chilli and pineapple salsa was the unlikely dish of the day, despite my scepticism at this Cuban-Mexican hybrid; the chilli and pineapple proving to be an inspired accompaniment (never again shall I be able to settle for apple sauce). There was also a fantastic attempt at the homemade mole sauce, which is hard to find even in Mexican restaurants, and is one of my favourite chicken dishes.
On the subject of ‘sharing dishes’: while it’s taken me a long time to accept any other experience than having my own plate of food that I definitely don’t have to share, this one has helped bring me around to the delights of less-mouthfuls-of-more-dishes. When the flavours are this intense, you don’t always need a whole plate of it.
There are more temptations still at Paladar, especially on the irresistable desert platter, which included purple corn churros with coffee, dulce de leche and chocolate-chillis. Also a delicious array of homepade ice creams including smoked cinnamon and dulce de leche and a wonderful Guanábana mousse with fresh mango & passion fruit glaze. All this was washed down with Rafael’s recommendation: desert malbec
Paladar has certainly really got the balance right, between offering a more up-market experience without being pretentious or losing its Latin soul. While some upmarket Latin restaurants can be on the stuffy side and other Latin chains suffer on the quality side and authenticity, Paladar ticks all the boxes, and as a quality independent, gives us even more reason to support it.
Paladar, 4-5 London Road, London SE1 6JZ
