Restaurant Review - Jose

Jose is the creation of Jose Pizarro, formerly the chef and co-founder of well-established tapas bar Brindisa, which in itself has now spawned a mini-chain of establishments. Jose is a tiny tapas bar in Bermondsey, and late in 2011 a slightly bigger (50 seat) sister restaurant opened nearby, called Pizarro.

Jose is very much a tapas bar rather than a sit-down restaurant, and indeed I didn’t get to sit down at all there. They take no reservations, and despite arriving at 6:30 p.m. all we could do was squeeze into a narrow gap between the bar and the window and eat our food from the ledge. Even at this early hour on a weekday I counted 34 customers packed into a space that could comfortably deal with, oh, about a dozen. Those seats that exist are mostly stools at the bar, so this is not a place to linger. There was a short selection of sherries and wine available, with some well-chosen Spanish wines.

I enjoyed the padron peppers, which were a mix of mild and quite spicy (2/10). Boquerones (£4) were simple but pleasant (2/10). A slice of tortilla (£4) was well made, with good texture (3/10).  I also liked the patatas bravas, with an aioli and a spicy tomato sauce (3/10). The least good dish was grilled prawns, which were a little overcooked (1/10), but slices of Iberico pork fillet were properly cooked, served with some slices of red pepper (2/10).

The bill came to £35 a head with a glass of wine each, which is not unreasonable but also not exactly a bargain given that we didn’t even get a seat. Staff were friendly and skilled at manoeuvring in the restricted space.  jose has nice food but is not somewhere for a leisurely, relaxing evening.  Sorry about the murky photos but that is a reflection of the equally murky lighting.