It's been a long time coming (the original opening date was set for October) but José Pizarro's second Bermondsey Street restaurant is about to open its doors.
Hot Dinners got a sneak preview of what to expect when we were the first diners to try the restaurant at this week's Dine With Dos Hermanos at Pizarro. Having taken over the space once occuped by the Bermondsey Kitchen, José has turned it into a convivial space with a row of seats facing out on to the street, lots of booths, a communal table stretching across the front section of the restaurant and a private dining room.
"I'm incredibly excited," José told us, before revealing that although the opening date was going to be Monday 5 December2011, Pizarro would start with four days of soft launch with 50% of the food.
If the aim of the soft launch is to give kitchen and front of house a chance to gel, it seems like they barely need it. The restaurant was packed for DWDH (Simon Majumdar told us they'd had 1000 applications for around 50 or so places) but the staff managed to serve us all at the same time without a hint of trouble - and plenty of charm.
The wine list at Pizarro will focus on cavas and the one we tried, Cava Gramona Brut imperial, was a standout choice - made to the methode champenoise and perfect with the charcuteria Iberica we wolfed down. José's croquetas were a triumph but our favourite dish of the night was the Iberico pork cheeks braised in cava. We're not sure how many of these dishes will appear on the menu, but if any one of them are a sign of how this place will turn out, Pizarro will be just as packed as José tapas joint down the road.
Sadly for anyone not living or working in the vicinity, Pizarro, like José, will not take reservations, so you'll have to take pot luck on getting a table here. If you manage it during the first four days of the soft launch, you'll feel like the luckiest people in London.
Pizarro is at 194 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3TQ. Opening times are 12 – 3 p.m. then 6 – 11 pm.
