I met my friends Laura and Jess at Copita in Soho the other night for a belated birthday dinner. Sadly Jess was unwell and only had bread while Laura and I shared a selection of dishes.

Copita is a sister restauran to Barrica and although they both serve tapas style small plates, the vibe in the two restaurants are quite different. Copita is more buzzing and feels like a wine bar with very nice snacks where as Barrica has some proper tables and serves more traditional tapas, making it feel more like a restaurant.

I like both, however and food wise they are quite different to compare as their menus differ a lot.

The scallops (above) with broad beans and a creamy sauce were probably my favourite dish of the evening. Very pretty too, but just lovely in taste.

 

 

Almost as nice were the mushroom croquetas with oozing mushroom bechamel in the middle and a nice and crisp shell keeping it in place.

 

 

 

 

 

The aubergine with harissa and mint was nice, but not extraordinary.

 

 

 

 

 

The octopus with paella style rice I really enjoyed but it was pretty sparse with the fish.

 

 

Gnocchi with saffron, butternut squash and almonds was a nice and fresh dish, although I wanted another dimension with different textures. The almond slivers didn’t quite to the trick, maybe some crisp breadcrumbs or chopped hazelnuts would have worked butter. Otherwise great in flavour!

 

 

The duck breast with beetroots, apple and raisins was probably my least favourite, but only because I have a fobia for raisins in food so I couldn’t fully enjoy it. The meat was lovely and rich in flavour though and super moist and the thin apple slices worked well with it.

Drink wise I was really tempted by a proper G&T with Hendrick’s gin, but we decided on wine instead and had a caraffe of what they called super fresh, which we thought was quite funny. It was indeed a fresh wine and it worked well with the different dishes.

Copita, 26-27 d’Arblay Street, London W1F 8EP