Pinchito Tapas

The look may be 100% pure Shoreditch (bare floorboards, stripped-back brickwork, battered, vintage-chic chairs), but this low-lit tapas bar has substance as well as style. Like its acclaimed sister in Brighton, it's a convivial spot. At the bar, charming staff dispense draught Cruzcampo, cocktails and glasses of chilled sherry, along with the odd free shot for those perched at the bar. Punters eye up the pinxos: bite-sized Basque snacks, precariously piled with hunks of tortilla, octopus and manchego. For more substantial sustenance, the concise main menu runs from leisurely breakfasts of chocolate con churros and Spanish-slanted fry-ups, to classic, no-nonsense tapas (patatas bravas, padrón peppers, boquerones). Scrawled on a blackboard, ten or so tapas del dia offer more eclectic flavours, ranging from the deep-fried delights of rotos con chorizo (fried egg and chorizo, stacked with skinny chips) to tender chunks of pork belly with mango purée. Though a couple of dishes lacked bite (a watery lentil stew, and bland sardines escabeche), others had real panache; beautifully light cod fritters, drizzled with honey and spiked with garlic, were a tantalising taster of the kitchen's capabilities.