Style Points: 3/5
Price: ££
Overall: 4.5/5

I can’t say that I spend much time South of the river and I had never even heard of Herne Hill which is a little area near Brixton. But my husband is a big fan of tapas so when I received an invite to Number 22 Restaurant & Bar I asked him if he minded the trek south of the river and his response was just “Tapas tapas tapas, yes please!” So we booked a table and turned to our trusty Citymapper App for how to get to this area of London that was completely foreign to us.

As it turns out Half Moon Lane where Number 22 Restaurant is located flooded about a year an a half ago. But the owners of Number 22 persevered and reopened late last year. I have no idea what the restaurant looked like before but now walking in, it really feels like a funky, hip restaurant.

Everything from the lighting fixtures to the art on the wall and the large mantelpiece with a huge mirror above it gave it an awesome feel. I’ve never been to Spain so I couldn’t tell you how authentic the decor was but it was attractive and I liked the feel of it either way! It’s not what I would call swanky in the traditional sense but it had a really good feel and I think a formal tapas restaurant would be a bit strange anyway.

Bar area

Interior of restaurant

Would I Want Seconds?

We started the evening by ordering a bottle of white wine (Les Cépages Oubliés Gros Manseng Colombard-  £22 bottle) and with it some salted marcona almonds (£3). The server sat down and went over what dishes would be best for us based on our preferences and his favourites. So we made our selections and then waited as the dishes came out one by one as they were ready.

The first dish that came out was croquetas- which you can order either Jamon Iberico or Spinach & Piquillo Croquetas (£5) but knowing I was going to write a review the really nice server let us mix them so we got two of each. The outside was lovely and just slightly crispy while the inside of both were creamy a delicious. Although they came out very hot, so might be worth letting them cool a bit before really digging in! I have to say I was a bit more partial to the taste of the ham but I would happily either either of them all night long.

The next dish that came out was the cod brandade with roast green peppers (£5.25). This was served on a crispy toast and the taste of the cod was subtle and not overly fishy - which is how I prefer it. The green pepper on top was stuffed with little jelly balls that may have been some type of caviar? (I have to admit I’m not well versed in caviar or culinary techniques so I couldn’t verify what it actually was). But nonetheless I liked the taste and was happy with the recommendation of this dish.

Our wine bottle

Croquetas

Cod Brandade

My husband's favourite Spanish dish is chorizo so when asked what we liked we said something with chorizo had to be in the mix. So we ordered the chorizo 'lollipops' served with apple aioli (£5.25). The waiter warned us that the dish was a bit basic yet popular. We certainly didn't have any complaints. The fried outside was crispy and delightful and the chorizo had all the wonderful flavour you would expect. I didn't find the aioli to be overpowering with the apple taste, it was just a nice compliment to the dish.

The next dish that came out was the vegetable 'fiduea' with cuttle fish (£7.95). The bed of vegetable under the cuttle fish was flavourful and accompanied by a tasty sauce that sort of pulled the dish together. The top of the meat was scored which helped to absorb the flavour whilst adding texture to the dish. I also didn’t think the fish was extremely flavourful on its own - but with the vegetables and sauce it was a perfect blend.

I’ve only just recently had scallops the first time and that was at Kintan where we cooked them ourselves so I was eager to try them prepared properly. We ordered the scallops served with Spinach and crispy iberico (£9). They. were. good. Melt in your mouth delicious. And do you know what crispy iberico basically is? Super tasty bacon (the crispy American kind). So this dish was a winner for both of us!

The last dish we ordered was the slow cooked pork cheek with ‘meloso’ rice (£8.50). The pork cheek was ridiculously tender and  melted on your tongue in the best possible way. I could have done without the rice although my husband thought the rice really completed the dish. I think if you were going for fewer more substantial plates then rice would be perfect - but as it was our last dish to come out I just found it unnecessary and heavy. Though there was nothing wrong with the taste and I certainly ate my half!

Finally, our very kind waiter brought us a dessert that they were still working on. It was a dark chocolate soup with a white chocolate middle and little bits of coffee biscuits around the edges. He said that the white chocolate should have been more set and that it wasn’t quite ready. Now I could see his point of needing to set and having more of a separation, but the flavours were wonderful. Though as a disclaimer I feel I have to tell you I’m a sucker for anything chocolate. I don’t however have much of a taste for coffee. The coffee biscuits weren’t overwhelming though and were just a nice compliment to the dish. But I sure finished it with a nice spoonful of dark and white chocolate mixed!

Chorizo Lollipops

Cuttlefish

Scallops

Pork Cheek

Chocolate soup dessert

Could I Afford Seconds?

The smaller tapas plates mostly hover around the £5 mark. The slightly more substantial small plates are more like £7-10.  How much you spend ultimately will depend on how hungry you are. My husband and I probably overdo it on portion sizes and would order more plates than most. As an average 3 of the smaller tapas plates per person is perfect and would make it just over £30 for a meal for two plus extra for drinks. I’d call this pretty reasonable. It would cost slightly more if you mixed in some of the small plates but I’m glad we did to make sure we had plenty of food, However, everything looks so good you just might be tempted to get more plates just to try them all and end up with a pricy bill!

Overall:

The food was wonderful. Everything they brought out my husband and I both were just in heaven. We barely spoke more than a few ‘mmm’s and ‘this is great’ throughout the meal. I also loved when the server told us they were constantly updating the menu changing a few items each week. That certainly made us want to come back!

The downfall for me and this restaurant is the location. I really loved the place and will be returning at some point because the food was amazing and the service was on point. But being in NW London, this location isn’t practical enough for us to become regulars. Now if they wanted to consider a move to NW London I might consider just setting up camp and eating there all the time! If you are lucky enough for this to be local for you then run there right now and give them a try!

Website: number-22.com

Address: 22 Half Moon Lane, Herne Hill, London SE24 9HU

Closest Tube Station: Brixton (but there is a train station at Herne Hill even closer)