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Tendido Cero

174 Old Brompton Road, SW5 0BA Full details & map

Restaurant: Spanish

Time Out says 2 Users say 3/5 Rate it

By Time Out Editors Posted: Oct 20 2011

Most tapas bars are noisy, but Tendido Cero makes a virtue of what could be a fault. The waiters and cooks communicated freely between the small main room and the tiny semi-open kitchen, and service was dashingly fast.

The food, however, is quirky rather than brash: tiny cuts of oxtail were wrapped in sweet, succulent peppers; a delicate bream came cut into three neat triangles, swimming in ratatouille. And the names of dishes parody the titles of Spanish noblemen; witness the carrillera de cerdo ibérico guisada con pedro ximénez y parmentier de patata (pork cheeks in dessert wine).

Even that most elementary of appetisers, cured ham on tomato bread, is presented artfully - and without an excess of olive oil that might drip on to the immaculate clothes of the generally well-heeled customers.

The design is also striking: walls are daubed in bright ochre and pink, and hung with huge, rather camp photographs of matadors. It's certainly a lively, fun place (those looking for a more formal experience should head across the road to sober sister restaurant Cambio de Tercio), but, in this instance, cheerful certainly doesn't equate to cheap. To curb the bill, you could try sharing a dessert - the crema catalana is a decently sized variation on crème brûlée, lovely with a glass of moscatel - and have beer rather than the underwhelming and expensive house wines.

Tags: European, Spanish, Creative cooking, Wines, Central, South Kensington, Mid-range, Tapas, Restaurant

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Tendido Cero details

Address

Tendido Cero

174 Old Brompton Road SW5 0BA

Transport Gloucester Road or South Kensington tube

Telephone

020 7370 3685

Tendido Cero website

Tapas served noon-3pm, 6.30-11pm daily

Tapas £4-£14

Credit cards AmEx, MC, V

Local Authority food hygiene score
1 out of 5 stars

Facilities

Tables outdoors ( 5, pavement ), Babies and children admitted, Booking advisable ( dinner Wed-Sat ), Available for hire

Tendido Cero map

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Comments & ratings 3/5 (Average of 2 ratings)

By Mr D - Feb 26 2011

1/5

The food is not bad, but seriously overpriced, especially as they are prone to "boost" the bill by adding extra food abd extra wine. This has happened to me twice in a week in the same restaurant (a bit strange to be a one off error), also I made it aware to the manger, and he told me NOT TO GO THERE EVER AGAIN. And I will follow his suggestion, as this is London and there are more restaurants than people, so if this is the attitude that they have managed to grow over the 9 years of business, I don't want to imagine how they cook the food.

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By charles of london - Apr 26 2010

Our short trip to Tendido Cero was a two stars experience. The positives were the service, as good as Spanish waiters can provide and the quality of the jamon was also excellent. The negatives were the tapas: they serve bread with tomato with a 0.5 cm layer of tomato, reminiscent of brusqueta and nothing to do with the real thing or price (4 small pieces served on a black sushi plate?), eggplant chips could have been "styrene" chips, no taste. The octopus was edible but quite oily as fried in the last moment to heat it up, I could go on as we tried several tapas but the shocking bit was the humble "tortilla" which did not seem to have egg yolk in it and was indeed fluffy and tasteless (not surprisingly you could add alioli). Actually there was another shocking thing, we had Gulas del norte, which are made from reconstituted fish, and were described in the menu as baby eels, could they have missed the "wannabe"?.

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By H.P. Martin - Apr 5 2010

The service was above excellence, the extremely friendly staff of Tendido Cero did their outmost to ensure the perfect evening. It was a crowning highlight of our London experience and nowhere near the description above on the service front. Their new patatas bravas was some of the most boldest experience in tapas we've come across in a long time and in extensive travelling - and may we add that we are well known and discerning connoisseurs of Spanish cuisine. The carpaccio was nothing short of legendary, the chef deserves praise for that one. Whatever the reviewer of T.O.L. experienced, the Tendido Cero deserves an upgrade to five stars for their food and service quality. We'll be back and we will be regulars, and if it hasn't been for that the staff of the Tendido Cero deserves their prase beyond the above review, we'd be happy to keep it our secret. It is out there now and normally with full house, so make a reservation to make the most of it.