Piccadilly Circus at night is the starting point for this London outing: red buses, illuminated signs, people meeting on the steps and a short walk towards dinner at Morada Brindisa Asador.
First published on 8 March 2015, this film follows an evening after work in the West End. The street scenes lead into a long, relaxed meal at the restaurant counter, with several rounds of Spanish food and a view of the open kitchen.
This is an archive visit. The restaurant, menus and trading arrangements shown belong to 2015 and should not be treated as current visitor information.
Piccadilly Circus at night
I have finished work and am meeting my girlfriend a few streets away. Before dinner, there is time for a quick look around Piccadilly Circus.
The film catches the junction in constant motion. Buses and taxis pass the illuminated buildings while people cross between the pavements. Above them, the advertising screens change colour and throw light across the scene.
It is a place to pass through, but also somewhere to stop. People wait on the steps near the fountain, checking phones and waving as they try to find one another. Visitors take photographs, others watch the street performers, and some simply sit and watch London going by.
The commentary reflects on the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, commonly called Eros, before moving towards the Four Horses of Helios. At street level, the horses make an especially striking subject for the camera, with people gathering close to the sculpture.
Heading to Morada Brindisa Asador
Dinner is at Morada Brindisa Asador, which I introduce as a new addition to the Brindisa restaurants at the time. Brindisa is already a personal favourite, familiar from its Spanish produce shop and street food at Borough Market.
What interests me about the group is the difference between its restaurants. Familiar dishes may appear across the menus, but each place has its own style. For this visit, I am looking forward to a menu built around charcoal cooking, roasting and the open kitchen.
The evening gets off to an uncertain start. A reservation arranged through a friend of my girlfriend has ended up on the wrong day. We explain the misunderstanding and apologise, and fortunately there are seats available at the bar.
That turns out to suit us very well. Rather than sitting at a table around the edge of the room, we have a close view of the kitchen and the food being prepared.
Ham, peppers and the pleasure of sharing
A beer for me and sherry for my girlfriend give us time to look through the menu. We start with Padrón peppers and a small plate of Ibérico ham. Hams hang around the bar, and the carving becomes part of the scene.
Sharing is what I enjoy most about tapas. We can talk over a drink, choose a couple of dishes, then decide what to try next. If something passing the counter looks good, it can join the next round.
It makes dinner a sequence of small decisions rather than one order placed at the beginning. There is time to watch the kitchen, compare favourites and enjoy being there.
Bread with tomato and pork from the grill
The next round brings bread with tomato, potatoes with pork, red wine and pork skewers cooked over charcoal. The camera stays close to the counter as the plates arrive and we put the bread and tomato together.
The counter gives the film an intimate viewpoint. Glasses, plates and serving dishes fill the foreground while the work of the restaurant continues just beyond them.
Lamb cutlets and Ibérico presa
After another pause for wine and conversation, we order grilled lamb cutlets with refried garlic, chickpeas and spinach. Then comes another round: half a kilo of Ibérico presa, served pink and sliced across the plate.
The presa is my favourite dish of the evening. In the film, I describe it as perfectly cooked and delicious. The close views show the browned outside and pink centre as we share it at the counter.
One dessert between two
By the fifth round, sharing becomes a necessity. We cannot manage more than one dessert and have to choose between almond cake and dark chocolate cake. The chocolate wins.
The evening ends with a warm impression of the restaurant: a busy room, the theatre of the open kitchen and friendly, relaxed service. Considering that we have arrived a day later than the reservation, the welcome is particularly appreciated.
From the lights of Piccadilly Circus to the last plate of chocolate cake, the film preserves a complete evening in London in 2015.
