Brindisa, London

We were very focused knowing we only had one day in London to do/see/eat selectively, and decided to go to the Tate Modern and walk along the Thames.
It was a beautiful walk looking across the Millenium Bridge to St Pauls.

We spent some time looking through the Tate Modern and trying to understand how a scribble on a piece of blank canvas, which looked like something my 9-year old nephew could have drawn, could be considered complex art.

For lunch, our friend that we met for breakfast strongly recommended Brindisa at Borough Market. It was a pity that the market was closed, but thankfully Brindisa had recently decided to open on Sundays as well.

We both had wines - I can't recall what we had now; one was a Spanish red.

A serve of mixed olives and capers

Traditional potato tortilla with aioli. This was nice and moist.

Crispy pork belly with quince sauce. This got us very excited - the skin wasn't as crispy as the normal siew yoke, but still pretty good. The meat was very soft. It was brilliant with the wine.

Oh-so-tender pork.

Deep fried Monte Enebro cheese with orange blossom honey. The cheese was unexpectedly strong, but lovely with the sweet nectarish coating.

Ox cheeks braised in red wine with celeriac mash. This was a winner - the ox cheeks were cooked under tender, practically melting in the mouth.

We were quite particular to make sure that the items we ordered went well with wine, and we were not disappointed. The service was excellent - there were 3 waiters in the section, always silently on the lookout to refill empty glasses and clear plates, and observing the body language of the patrons. It was one of the best examples of good service in a regular cafe/diner that I have ever seen, and I was more than happy to leave a good tip. All these dishes cost us around 50 pounds.

Website: http://www.brindisa.com/