Copita tapas bar, London

What one needs after searching for curtain fabric is a glass of wine. Luckily we stumbled across Copita in D’Arblay Street. And what a find.

D’Arblay Street – laid out in 1735 when Philip V was King of Spain and named after the novelist and playwright Fanny Burney (later Madame D’Arblay) – is a tiny road in Soho, London. Not too far from doorways with notices like ‘Model, 1st floor’ (yes, they still exist).

We could barely fault Copita (a small glass or cup). Run by Spaniards, the food is amazing and the service top-notch (even if our waitress was a little unsure about the wines).

The place is smallish with cream tiles, industrial lighting (but dimly lit) with high stools and tables – each with its own cutlery/olive oil and salt station. It’s relaxed, non-stuffy and has a friendly atmosphere. It probably gets very noisy on busy nights but with 15 people it was fine to talk normally instead of damaging each other’s hearing by bellowing about curtains.

We ordered four items: ‘Don Agustin’ chorizo de Bellota (£4.95), Mushroom croquettes X 2 (£1 each), cauliflower purée with yogurt and toasted nuts (£4.10) – possibly our favourite thing – and Secreto Iberico with chickpea stew (£5.50) – apparently the pork is cooked ‘fashionably pink’…umm. We survived.

We both agreed that we’d rather spend £20 on a small amount of utterly delicious food (it is tapas after all) rather than a huge plate of mediocre fare.

The only gripe was Copita adding an ‘optional 12.5% service charge’ to the bill. Accents aside, it really did seem like we were in Seville or Granada.

Dim but delicious