Review: Bar Douro, Southwark

This is the first time I’ve lived in London. I mean, I lived for 7 years in Sunbury-on-Thames and 3 years in Richmond and I called myself a Londoner… but hopping on the train once a week to do something around the West End or Kensington really doesn’t count, and my work was always in suburbia too. So, explorer that I am, I’ve been taking every opportunity to poke around as many areas as possible. Samuel Johnson springs to mind: “A man who is tired of London is tired of life.” Highgate is bucolic. Mayfair is Regency Islam. Crystal Palace has amazing views. Peckham high street feels like Africa. Blackheath is a village.

Some of the best surprises are getting around areas that you thought you knew. How many times have I been in-and-out of Waterloo station without knowing about Lower Marsh and The Cut? And how many times have I walked from London Bridge to Tate Modern without realising that “Bankside” actually extends a good way in from the river? Flat Iron Square is a food court tucked away in

that area, and in there is Bar Douro; a Portuguese tapas bar decorated all over with cheerfully Atlantic blue-and-white tiles.

We slurped on a wine flight of 3 different Alvarinho vinho verde and they were both diverse and excellent. Write this down: Portuguese Alvarinho is going to be big next year. Or at least, it deserves to be. Onto food…

Smoked sausage croquetas were excellent bites of warmly earthy meat and smooth potato. Grilled chicory with roast almond butter was a truly excellent veggie tapas; the bitter and smoky notes of the blackened chicory rounded out by the sweetly nutty almond and pepped up by orange juice.

Salt cod hash was less successful. Nice looking pile of crispy fried potato tangled up with bits of salt cod, egg, olives, onion and other stuff. But the reality of eating it was that the potato became rather oily once it had been on the table for a minute or two, and the salt cod scattered in there didn’t give enough bang for its buck.

Much, much, MUCH happier with the presa Iberica. This was a truly beautiful piece of pink and yielding pork, with nicely browned and salty edges. And the simple tomato-ey/chorizo-ey broth with the fat and placid broad beans was absolutely perfect as an accompaniment. This is how to showcase traditional cooking.

Their pastel de nata was unsurprisingly excellent, so was the richly wobbly slice of almond cake. You’ll probably need £28 for dinner before drinks, and I reckon that good value. I have no idea when and why I’ll find myself back in this corner of London, but explorer though I am, I’m going to be very tempted to visit Bar Douro every time.