Tendido Cero

I've been to Tendido Cero maybe a dozen times in the past, in fact it had become my default restaurant for entertaining American relatives visiting London. In the past we've always enjoyed our visit and enjoyed the food. This time, it all went wrong, so drastically wrong that I won't be going there again. I needed to book a late lunch as my young American cousin and her friend were going to be arriving quite late. So I checked the Tendido Cero online booking, and booked a table for 4 for 2.30, the latest time offered. We weren't late, but almost as soon as we were seated one of the staff came over and told us, in a very hostile fashion, that we needed to give our order quickly as the kitchen would soon be closing. Soon be closing! To accept a booking for 2.30 and only then announce that the kitchen would soon be closing? Why?! Why didn't they just reject the booking? As anyone who has used the Tendido Cero online booking system will know, it's not automatic, you have to wait for a confirmation. So why did they confirm the booking if the kitchen was due to close shortly after our arrival time? I don't know the answer. We ordered our food, and it was delicious as always, but before we'd had time to finish eating (and we weren't dawdling, we were eating at a normal rate) we received a further reprimand and were told again that the kitchen would soon be closing and if we wanted dessert we needed to order it now. At this point we spoke up and objected to the way we were being treated. We ordered our desserts, and then sat waiting for the table to be cleared, but this didn't happen. It soon became evident the staff were sulking because we'd objected to the repeated reprimands. I went to the bar and asked one of the staff: “Do you want us to pay and leave now or do you want us to have the desserts we've ordered and then leave?” He started to speak to me angrily and tell me (yet again) that the kitchen was closing). I repeated my question. He then shrugged and said grudgingly “You can have your desserts if you want dessert.” (!) The table was then cleared, very ungraciously, and two desserts were brought (we'd ordered three).. We shared the two that had been brought, and I asked for the bill immediately, paid (with full tip as I felt determined to maintain the moral high ground), and left. The staff maintained their sulk right to the end, glaring at us as we left! I can only suppose that management problems must have been behind this behaviour. It's their loss, not ours, as we won't be using this restaurant again. Pity, because the food is nice, but the hostility has spoiled it forever for me.

A more relaxed setting than the formal sister rastaurant just across the road, this place offers some very good tapas choices accompanied by a surprisingly varied wine offering (obviously focused on spain). A great place to go out for a high-qulity but relaxed tapas meal. Slight lt down for dinner is their 2 setting policy which means you normally have to go either early or late unless they're not full

Really good food, served by nice waiters, in a good setting. Really enjoyed it.

Food is good and creative. Service is hot and cold. There is frequently an attitude when you walk in the door and I haven't been able to tell if it's a language barrier. Don't bother trying to reserve a table online. The restaurant doesn't bother to call you back if the place is full for the time you requested, despite what the website says. Here's a hint Tendido Cero: customers don't have telepathy. Get with the times and figure out how to offer true online bookings.

This is a brief note to let you know of our experience last night was not as expected. I am regular client at Cambio de Tercio and I have no complaints related to food quality or service, on the contrary ! whereas Tendido Cero’s food wise left a lot to be desired. Service good 10/10. We ordered Jamon de Jabugo Pata negra Pan Tomaca Boquerones Pimietos de piquillo rellenos con rabo de toro Jamon Iberico Tortilla Española Gulas Rollos de camaron con mermelada Crema Catalana Vino Total paid £ 163.00 plus When we were served the first dish I was quite disappointed to see chocolate colored Pata negra, the fat was yellowish and of course feared the worst; it was stale and the bellota quality had long gone., we both thought as its worth £ 19,00 per dish popularity wasn't there !. Then we received the Tortilla, this looked good, it was freshly made but the potatoes tasted as if there were boiled rather than fried, It was watery and tasteless, except for egg taste of course and followed by the Pan Tomaca, I expected a crusty crunchy bread with freshly crushed tomatoes and instead the bread was lame and chewy , the tomato tasted as if it was made a day before yesterday and it was dry, I asked several times for olive oil only to be given the extra order of olive oil after we consumed these so we hoped that the next round of bread might have tasted better however the second round was equally boring and stale. As we felt that we needed something that would resemble Jamon… we decided to try the Iberico. This was delicious ! and you could taste the bellota within it.. Gulas, very nice, Rollos quite exciting and new as I never tasted these before, Pimientos tasted old and stale, Boquerones made to perfection and Crema catalana was good. The wine at £ 46.00 was quite good and well suggested by the amicable waiter. All in all I would give the whole experience a 3 out of 10, I could hardly sleep last night due to the Rabo de Toro and Pata Negra’s taste kept repeating itself ending being sick at the early hours of the Morning. I would suggest to serve fresh pata Negra or at least make sure that the look of the dish resembles a pata negra portion, it is awful. For your information the restaurant I wanted to go into was Cambio de Tercio but as it was fully booked I decided for second best with awful results. Cambio de tercio was recommended by my very good friend Freddy Cohen and Patricia whom have very warm thoughts and I have been a client since.

We as a party of 8 women who went to Tendido Cero to celebrate a girlfriend moving from London. We enjoyed our meal but I have never been more shocked when, just after our teas and coffees were served and before we had a chance to drink them, the waiters suddenly arrived with our coats obviously insisting we left. If the restaurant had been filled with people at the bar waiting for tables I would have understood but there were several empty tables and no one waiting. Why this restaurant felt justified in treating their customers in this way I have not idea but I will never go back. The food was OK but not worth a special trip and certainly not worth poor service.

I went to Tendido Cero on a recommendation from a friend at the Instituto Cervantes and can happily say that it is easily one of the best tapas restaurants I have been to in London…and I'm working my way through a few! We tried the sobrasada pastries – which you don't often find and which were delicious. Tendido Cero has a ‘new’ take on patatas bravas too – rather than giving you chunks of fried potato in salsa rosa or aioli, they serve them cut into small cylinders, scooped out and filled with a creamy sauce – personally I wasn't keen on the texture but my two friends loved them. We also tried their fabada, which is done simply and elegantly, without morcilla or too much fatty ham, and their tortilla, which was cooked almost to perfection – a little runnier and it would have been spot on. The wine list is extensive and offers something to suit most budgets. We tried the Elias Mora from Toro – which is a good choice if you want a nice mid priced bottle! The kitchen is bustling and there is an opening from the restaurant, which gives the place a nice buzz and demonstrates how attentive the waiters are as they chase up the next dish for their customers. The decor is all appropriately themed around bull fighting, and we were sat by a large photographic canvas of a Torero's rear, almost exposed following a costume-destroying near miss with a bull! The service was excellent (from our charming waiter from Salamanca) and our glasses were topped almost without us realising. Plates of food were brought at the perfect pace for us to enjoy each two or three dishes at our leisure, before proceeding to the next. If you love Spanish food, this is definitely a place you should try (though please note that there were not a large number of vegetarian options)!

One of the most authentic and welcoming tapas bars in London thanks to Abel Lusa and his team. Always welcomed and as a result this has become my neighbourhood favourite. The food is more than traditional Spanish comfort food – it's great quality, good clean flavours and no compromises.