Over the years, interest in Latin American cuisine has grown steadily, peaking over the past year after a flurry of restaurant openings. The good news is that Londoners don’t have to travel several hours to South America to try it out. Nestled in the heart of London’s SE1 district, a short walk from Southwark station is the vibrant Latin American restaurant, Paladar. The restaurant draws inspiration from the rich flavours and ingredients of Central and South America, offering an entirely gluten free menu, a selection of innovative cocktails and a lengthy list of home-grown wines and spirits.
‘Paladar’ means palate referring to taste and in Cuba, a paladar also happens to be a small, privately run restaurant with flair. The concept was founded by established restaurateur and general manager, Charles Tyler who, after a trip to Latin America, was impressed by the food and drink culture that inspired him to create his own London based version, enter Paladar. The menu is as diverse and authentic as the team - Internationally renowned Colombian Head Chef Jose Rubio-Guevara, Cuban Front of House manager Yalain Pita-Salomon, Ecuadorian Sommelier Rafael Cabezas-Castro and French bar and operations manager Cedric Gautier who kindly talked us through their thoughtful and exceptionally well executed bar menu. Yalain took us through the restaurant’s eclectic array of dishes which he told us focuses “less on the traditional and more on the creative”.
The restaurant itself is fabulous and full of Latino charm. Not only is this an eatery, but a space to showcase colourful original art and photography from emerging Latin American artists. After admiring the interior elements and beautiful adorned artwork across the walls, my guest and I scanned through the expansive menu which is packed with authentic yet contemporary influences from Cuba, Chile, Brazil, even Africa and Asia. Time to order.
As a non-alcoholic drinker, it was refreshing to see the mouth-watering mocktails on offer. The berry mocktail packed a punch - fruity and sour with the perfect amount of kick. Onto the starters where we ordered 3-5 dishes based on Paladar’s concept of sharing plates. First in line, the insanely moreish, crunchy green plantain crisps paired with taquero guacamole, “the best guacamole in London” according to Yalin…and he wasn’t far off, this was one smooth tasty guac! The tapioca and cheese croquette dice served with guava and balsamic reduction were crunchy, pillowy and fantastically cheesy but it was the smoky, indulgent and comforting Quinotto (creamy wild mushroom quinoa ‘risotto’) topped with slices of crispy plantain, that stole the show in this category.
For food lovers with a sweet tooth, there’s a trio of dessert options. The most unusual on the list is the purple corn churros which sounded quite odd… but also had my name written all over it. Churros are of course a popular South American dessert which I adore and Paladar’s version hit the spot. Be sure to make use of the indulgent chocolate & ancho chili sauce and the decadent coffee dulce de leche for the ultimate dessert pairing.
If you’re after a bar with some of the best Latin American sourced drinks in town or want to enjoy a multi-sensory dining experience with some fantastic food, you might want to get down to Paladar!
