London Restaurant Reviews : Las Banderas

Kris and I love Spanish cuisine and we love our weekend brunches. So when the opportunity came to combine the two, we were definitely on to it!

Las Banderas is a Spanish-themed restaurant specialising in tapas, with branches in Soho, Fenchurch Street and Farringdon. It was formerly MásQMenos but the owners wanted to distinguish this particular brand from the bigger chain that exists in Spain.

The food is distinctly Spanish and you can see the influence right from the interiors down to the menu.

They offer a short and sweet bottomless brunch menu, which combine some of their more popular tapas with a bit of added brunchy twists. At £32 per person, you get a choice of one dish and 90 minutes of unlimited drinks that includes Cava, Sangria or Bloody Mary.

We kicked off our meal with a Classic Sangria and a Banderas Bloody Mary each. Their Bloody Mary was bloody good – delicious and spicy, just the way I like it. It was genuinely of the best versions I have had.

For brunch, we tried the following savoury options:

Meatballs Brekki | Spanish Albondigas, Bravas Potatoes with Egg on top & Salad

Halloumi Flashback (v) | Ciabatta topped with Halloumi Fingers and Guacamole Sauce, Scrambled Egg & Salad

The gravy-soaked meatballs were nicely flavoured and textured. It came with a fried egg on top of a bed of patatas bravas. It was a decent meat-and-carbs-oriented dish.

I tried the halloumi which was inspired by the Spanish bocadillo. It had fat slabs of fried halloumi on a tomato sauce slathered ciabatta. All the elements worked wonderfully. The fried halloumi was well done, the guacamole had a slightly runny consistency with a kick to it and the peppers added colour. The scrambled eggs, whilst not the best version I have had, were decent enough to be a part of the whole ensemble. I loved the inclusion of the fresh salad to balance out the otherwise carb-heavy plate of food. Altogether this dish was very tasty and filling so a great one to have first thing in the morning to power up for a busy day ahead. For me, it was the standout dish of the day.

To end our brunch on a sweet note, we shared the Sweet Iberico Sensation (American-style Pancakes topped with Jamon Iberico, Maple Syrup, Strawberries & Sugar-Coated Walnuts)

It was quite an interesting fusion dish. The pancakes were perfectly fluffy and substantially portioned, the strawberries fresh and the walnuts added crunch.

However, opinions were divided on the inclusion of the Jamon Iberico. It was definitely a bold and intriguing dish.

Kris was sceptical at first but then said that the dish kind of grew on him.

As for me, having recently attended and learnt about Iberico Ham at the Ham Passion Tour, I understand the culinary greatness of Iberico ham. Here, it felt a bit lost alongside everything else. I still prefer my Jamon Iberico on its own or with cheese and a lovely glass of red. It needs its own platform rather than being a side act.

Spanish-themed brunches are not something that springs to mind when one thinks of weekend brunch. In a city deluged with boozy brunch deals that offer the usual eggy brunch fare, it is nice to see that Las Banderas is trying to create something different.