eating | THE LIST

26 D’Arblay Street, Soho, W1F 8EL / Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus

Price: £36

Food:

Ajo Blanco & Beetroot
Duck egg yolk with Sun-dried Tomatoes
Venison Burger with Carrot Ketchup

Drink:

Carafe of 12 Lunas Tempranillo/Syrah 2009 (Somontano

What we thought

Copita is one of the many tapas come “small plate’ abodes which have been popping up all over Soho for the last couple of years, importantly not to be confused with the likes of Polpo though. Copita has a distinct spanish influence priding themselves with authentic foods and wines of a Spanish origin. It is clear from the outset that the desired atmosphere is one of casual dining coupled with exciting food. Copita is housed in a relatively small and compact space, the seating arrangement is similar to that of a bar, with the stalls surrounding long wooden tables. This naturally leaves no space for intimate dining where more often than not the conversation across the table is shared as much as the jug of water. We would therefore not recommend Copita for lazy, relaxed dining, this is very much a place you come for good food, quickly.

The menu changes often, however a dish which is forever present and the reason we were lured here is the Ajo Blanco & Beetroot. As quickly as we were shown to our seats and handed the menu, we had chosen our plates and our wine. Not feeling particularly hungry we only decided on three dishes, Venison Burger, Duck Egg Yolk and the Ajo Blanco. The wine was with us almost immediately, a decent sized carafe was plenty and a perfect accompaniment to our small meal. As we have said previously we are not wine snobs and are not swayed by price so tend to choose a medium range wine and the Tempranillo fitted this bill excellently.

The food arrived quickly, the Ajo Blanco being a cold dish was served first, this was presented in a small Earthenware dish and was bright white in colour with gem like beetroot shining through. This Spanish white soup was something we had never come across before, the soup had a smooth cream like texture with almond base flavours and slight garlic notes. We found the beetroot worked really well in this dish, bursting in the mouth and cutting through the creaminess to create a memorable and lasting impression.

The Venison Burger couldn’t have been more different from our previous dish. The venison was rich in flavour, succulent in taste and cooked medium the way we like it. This burger, however, would have been average if it wasn’t for the carrot ketchup, this homemade condiment added a beautiful sweetness to the robust flavours of the venison. We really enjoyed the burger and the only disappointing aspect was it’s size, smaller than a slider, we felt a little wanting after we had finished and only wished it was bigger. The duck egg was the let down of the meal and quite an unusual concept. More recently we have noticed this has actually been replaced on Copita’s menu suggesting it had left other confused and disappointed. The combination of such rich ingredients was bordering on unpleasant, the thickness of the yolk and the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes made a texture that coated the roof of your mouth.

Overall we really enjoyed Copita’s, it had a great atmosphere and energy. We were not disappointed on the food front and enjoyed trying dishes we had not come across before, even if one of them didn’t work so well. We have recommend this place to a number of friends and they have not been disappointed ether.With a constantly changing menu we will be sure to return soon and will definitely be trying one of their enticing gin and tonics. One tip for this place is to maybe skip dessert and try the incredible ice cream parlour Gelupo around the corner.

Rating

Food: 8/10

Atmosphere: 8.5/10

Service: 7/10

Value: 7.5/10