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Welcome to the Camberwell Online blog, a place for free and spirited exchange on anything with even a tangential connection to the South-East London district.
España Tapas Bar
Published by Peter | Filed under Eating & Drinking, General
Thanks to a comment on an old post, last night the wife and I decided to try out the España Tapas Bar (29 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR). This place has been around for at least 10 years, and was formerly known as Viva España; you can’t miss it, it’s got massive, ugly neon signs outside.
But inside it’s a real treat; brick walls, basic wooden furniture and a U-shaped bar in the middle. It felt very much like some of the bars I’ve been to in Barcelona and Madrid. The waitress - from Georgia, but spoke fluent Portuguese with us - was very friendly and helpful and pointed out some specialities on the menu.
The food was exceptional. Honestly. We had pan con tomat with really flavousome tomatoes, organic chorizo, rabbit skewers, patatas bravas, a great piece of cod and arroz negra - rice cooked in squid ink. Washed down with some cold Estrella Damm, it was a proper treat on a warm late summer’s night.
I was sad when Rock-8 closed down; I am happy now that there is a more-than-adequate replacement. I highly recommend it to you all, and remember that you can go there just for a drink as well, it doesn’t have to be to eat; but you’d be missing out on great fresh, organic ingredients if you did.
September 9th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
Well, well. Never judge a book…
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September 9th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
it’s soooooo nice. love u. xx
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September 9th, 2005 at 8:01 pm
That sounds tasty…
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September 11th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
I move out of Camberwell tomorrow.
*cry*
Me and Guy Gooberman shall miss you all terribly. Peace!
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September 13th, 2005 at 12:07 pm
If only they’d get rid of the neon light, which is the brightest thing in SE5, possibly the whole SE.
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September 13th, 2005 at 2:30 pm
I think they’ve just taken over the place, and we can blame the neon on the owners of the Marbella Hotel (from whom they presumably sublet).
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October 20th, 2005 at 10:21 pm
[...] As my wife has gone away for a couple of weeks, we decided to go out for dinner before she left; our unanimous choice was the España Tapas Bar. [...]
November 6th, 2005 at 12:15 am
Managed to get past the barrier of the kitch neon sign and was happy to find a nice mellow environment.Really impressive food, loved the dublin bay prawns, organic chorizo and beetroot greens.
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November 12th, 2005 at 12:35 am
Viva espana is by far the best food in camberwell,i was truly blown away by the quality.The rabbit,black rice and my god they have the freshest cod apparently from petershead and oysters cooked in tarragon butter.I honestly dont know what happened their but the new management a couple of spanish brothers have really done something special.You might find jose working behind the bar and the georgian waitress always seems happy.Honestly if you want a gastro treat go there.I agree the neon is mad but kinda cool.
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January 24th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
[...] While out I noticed that the España Tapas Bar was closed. I hope this is just a Sunday-night closure, because it’s our favourite food in Camberwell and closure would be a tragedy. Can anybody help me out by telling me it’s still open on other nights of the week? I’m fairly sure it was open last weekend. Apparently ‘dozens’ of people turned out to support the Camberwell Tube Station campaign last Tuesday. I don’t think a tube station is the answer, and I don’t believe Camberwell will ever see it. Maybe an alternative would be trams? There used to be trams in the streets, and Peckham is set to get them, so why not Camberwell? A line to Elephant & Castle or Oval and an increase in trains through Denmark Hill… cheaper and better, right? [...]