They really have transported a little slice of Jerez, back here to London. A traditional Jerez taverna with dark wood and stone washed walls – though all very basic and simple, as it should be. Five huge sherry casks adorned the floors as you walk in, from which you’re served fantastic sherries that have been shipped directly back from one of Jerez’s greatest sherry producers, Fernando de Castilla. And when it comes to price, it surprisingly all very reasonable.
An extensive tasting menu, plus obscene amounts of sherry would set you back only £50 a head. Small plates average around £5-6 each and large plates £12-15. We opted for the standard menu and first started with some simple nibbles. Roasted piquillo peppers were soft, oily, unbelievably sweet and the flaked almonds on top made this simple dish shine. The bread was somewhat a little boring but for soaking up the great olive oil, it did its job.
Leeks with romesco sauce was again, simple but executed perfectly. Falling apart at the touch of my fork but still with a little crunch, and that romesco sauce – they should bottle it, it was that good. It all felt very Spanish indeed, it’s just a shame there wasn’t more of it on the plate.
Smoked pork sausage let the side down a little bit as i was expecting something more similar to thinly sliced pieces of smoky pork sausage, or warm and grilled. Instead i was presented with a bowl of what was essentially a chopped up bag of snack sausages you could purchase from Partridges. Nice, but incredibly dull, unless they’re free and came with a cerveza.
Garlic and chilli prawns brought us back down to reality from the beer drinking delights with a plate of hot, grilled prawns doused in oil, lots of garlic and a good whack of chilli. Shell on, they were extremely messy, with no plate to discard the shell and no water to clean my fingers. Still i love a prawn cooked in its shell as it retains all that sweet flavour the prawn gives off. Just don’t forget to bring your bib for this one.
Pork and oxtail meatballs were full on meaty flavour. A mixture of the two meats gave them a very strong flavour, and a vegetarian’s nightmare i’d imagine. The sauce they were cooked it was great, but not enjoyable for soaking up with the bread – it had quite a rustic edge to it. They could have done so much more with this dish but instead it looked a bit dull and was a little uninspiring.
We skipped the cheese course on the menu and instead opted to share a large plate, which is the equivalent to a main course. A rolled lamb breast with puy lentils, rosemary and salsa verde was another meaty affair. This time with more of a French feel to it. The lamb, which was mostly fat (the good crispy kind) was perhaps a little over cooked for most – but just right for the dish they were serving. Puy lentils were excellent and the rosemary flavour covered the whole dish. Salsa verde gave a nice freshness to it all. It was a real hearty dish and something i could easily replace my roast dinner with.
We sadly filled ourselves up on far too much food and couldn’t even manage a dessert. A vanilla ice cream with Malaga raisins and pedro ximenez sauce did pass our table – and we didn’t regret it, it looked very delectable. Drakes Tabanco for me is much more of a place to drink (with fantastic sherry), rather than to sit down and eat. If this was my restaurant i’d make it into much more of a bar/socialising place with high tables and chairs – but still with that food element making it a little more casual. Would i come back? Yes, but for lots of drinks and a light snack.
6/10
