Tapastry Tapas Bar, Honor Oak Park

Our first visit to Tapastry last weekend was an enjoyable one, but the place seemed to suffer from a general lack of communication.

Just booking a table proved difficult enough, with us constantly reaching the answer machine. Eventually we received a message in return from Tapastry to confirm our booking, but it was left on our house phone, not the mobile number we’d supplied – useless, since we were out for the evening.

When we turned up, our name (or an interpretation of it) was scribbled in the book, but alas, no table. Not to worry, the manager was very welcoming, and we sat at the bar enjoying a lovely pint of Cruzcampo. We were offered a choice of tables, which were soon to become vacant, and informed the manager which one we’d like, but when it eventually became free, it was snapped up by a couple of passing buzzards, who swooped in before we could get off our bar stools. Rather than turfing them out of said hallowed table, we were then told that we should take a table in the corner or we ‘could be waiting for some time’.

For our food, we ordered a selection of hot and cold tapas, asking that the bread, olives, and manchego cheese be brought out first, before the warm dishes. As it all arrived together, five minutes later, we realised that this was not a place that plays by the rules, but one that just goes with the flow!

The food itself was excellent, and at a decent price. The atmosphere was also buzzing, and the music eclectic but cool (theme tune from Minder, anyone?). Tapastry is exactly the kind of place that Brockley Cross could do with, albeit slightly better organised. It is no doubt worth the walk to Honor Oak, and we’d love to know what you think. Perhaps try it on a weekday night.