Housed in the Melia Kensington hotel’s 19th-century townhouse, Hispania Kensington is a tour de force of Spanish cuisine in a quintessentially West London neighbourhood. The second London location of the Hispania restaurant franchise, and like its predecessor in the City, Hispania Kensington’s gastronomic director is chef Marcos Moran, a fifth-generation chef in the acclaimed Spanish Moran family.
Hispania Kensington’s interiors are designed by Lorenzo Castillo, renowned Spanish interior designer and antique dealer who also helmed the design of all of Hispania’s other sites in London, Brussels and Vietnam. At the Kensington outpost, Castillo blends antique touches with a fantastic blend of fabrics and textiles, including William Morris tapestries which feature throughout.
Hispania comprises a bar and restaurant. The bar is open everyday, whereas the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from Thursday to Saturday, and for dinner only on Wednesday. The restaurant menu features some serious heavy-hitters of Spanish cuisine. Starters launch diners into a Spanish gastronomic tour with the likes of ham or leek croquetas, tuna tartare, cantabrian anchovies, or a slightly more left-field foie gras terrine. The menu then offers a mix of paella-style rice dishes, and a fish section which includes carabineros prawns and tuna steak. The main event is arguably the meat section, offering up the opportunity to indulge in suckling pig or lamb, or an Iberian pork shoulder.
The bar menu by no means plays second fiddle, instead serving a mix of hot and cold tapas-style plates. Various Iberico ham and cheese cuts are available, alongside anchovies, white asparagus and patatas fritas - fries with padron peppers. The hot selection involves a large amount of seafood, including prawns in garlic sauce and Andalusian-style squid. The main dishes combine simple elements to create exciting, often indulgent dishes, as with the octopus with paprika mashes potatoes.
The drinks list extended the celebration of Spanish produce, with a mix of cava, Spanish still varieties, and Sherry on offer.