Review: Paladar, Elephant & Castle

Paladar is a pan-Latin American restaurant in Elephant & Castle. It gives out very relaxed vibes, especially the colourful courtyard, but the food shows great care and refinement – crucially with no compromise on the punchy flavours of the menu’s origins.

We stopped in for the early evening menu, a solid bargain. We shared plantain chips with guacamole for a starter. Very light and creamy guacamole, made fragrant with a fine dice of toppings, and the best plantain chips ever: each sliced the full length of the plantain, thin, crisp, sturdy enough to dip, ripely flavoured and not the slightest bit oily.

For main I chose the cochinita pibil, a reminder of holidaying in the Yucatan last year. Of course I doubt they have a firepit dug into the back yard here, but I equally doubt whether anyone can really taste whether it’s been cooked underground or not! Just whether it’s been cooked well. This one was. Plenty of succulent shredded pork turned a terracotta red by the pibil marinade, warmly spicy and earthy without being fiery. The roast pineapple chutney was tangy but I’d have actually liked more oomph. There oughta be a little fire in a chochinita pibil. Fantastic soft and corn-y tortillas with that nice dry toasty flavour.

Maureen’s main were boneless chicken thighs, beautifully grilled to give them a properly smoky kiss, and a warn brown colour from whatever absolutely marvellous marinade they had been prepped in. I can’t quite describe the flavour, beyond: OH YES! There was a lush mojo rojo sauce to dip them in, and sweet charred pieces of corn on the side. She ordered a side of green rice, and this was beautiful enough on its own; jewel-like rice grains tossed through with finely chopped herbs and brightly flavoursome.

This early evening menu is £20 for a main and a side, otherwise you’ll probably pay £40 each for dinner before drinks. I think that’s about right for the quality, it’s a very solid notch up from street food even if closely based on it. They’ve got some lovely South American wines by the glass, based on our picks. Worth knowing.