Celebrate everything Spanish - in London!

The market is sure to be a continental affair

As ever with English weather, there's no guarantee of a warm and sunny Bank Holiday weekend.

However there is a promise of one Mediterranean delight that is scheduled to hit London over the long weekend of May 3-6.

The UK’s favourite Spanish wine brand, Campo Viejo is bringing the vibrancy, life and colours of Spain to London’s Southbank Centre with its ‘Streets of Spain’ festival – a four day celebration of modern Spanish food, wine, art and culture unlike anything London has experienced before. 

Running from May 3-6, 10.30am to 7:00pm, the festival promises to bring the bustling energy and tastes of Spain to London by welcoming market stall owners from Barcelona’s world-famous La Boqueria food market to the UK for the first time ever.

Bringing fresh produce and tapas direct from Spain, the event will be the first time people will be able to buy the famous offerings here in London. The festival also impresses with a myriad of authentic Spanish experiences, such as wine tastings straight from the Campo Viejo cellar door hosted by winemakers; art demonstrations by famed street artists Okuda and Remed; films as showcased at the Spanish Film Festival; and authentic Spanish tapas prepared by La Boqueria chefs.

There is bound to be a high-class selection of Spanish meats on offer

Following the daily bustle of the market, the Streets of Spain will transform each evening into an exclusive pop-up restaurant hosted by Michelin-starred Spanish chef, Angel Pascual. The Campo Viejo pop-up experience will offer food and wine-lovers a world-class Spanish menu designed by Pascual, matched with wines from the UK’s favourite Spanish wine brand, Campo Viejo.

The Campo Viejo Streets of Spain festival offers the following colourful Spanish experiences:

Masterclasses:

• Blend your Own Wine: Attendees will have the chance to become a winemaker for an hour.  Our winemakers will explain the fundamentals of a great tasting Rioja, demonstrate what this could look like and then our fledgling winemakers will be able to try it for themselves. The ingredients will include young and aged samples, the key grape varieties and regions of Rioja. Their final blend will then be blended by the winemakers and bottled for them to collect and take home at the end of the day with their own personalised label. Places are very limited.

• Introduction of Spanish Wine: Winemakers will offer information on the Rioja region, Spanish grape varieties and styles, as well as wine busting a few myths and answering all those questions you have always wanted to ask. Attendees will have an opportunity to taste the full Campo Viejo range of red wines including Tempranillo, Reserva, Gran Reserva and its super-premium Dominio de Campo Viejo, together with two Campo Viejo Cavas.

Take home some tips from Spain's famous chefs

• Taste Experience – Looking at how taste influences wine perception: This will be a guide to discovering the effects of basic tastes – acid, sweet, salty, bitter and umami – on tasting different wines using two popular Campo Viejo products; Tempranillo and Gran Reserva. Lucky attendees will be treated to some unusual, controversial but sensational food and wine combinations: red wine and desserts or fish anybody? This session will make you think completely differently about food and wine matching and open your eyes up to the wealth of possibilities.

• Advanced Spanish Wine Masterclass: Campo Viejo Winemakers will host a Tempranillo masterclass, which as the name suggests will immerse attendees into the delights of the noble grape variety of Rioja. Tutored by our experts, attendees will compare wines from different sub-regions of Rioja – including Rioja Baja, Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa – showcasing the diversity and richness of both Rioja and Tempranillo. There will also be an opportunity to try our new vintage; Campo Viejo Tempranillo 2011. Additionally attendees will be able to taste the other Riojan varieties (Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano) and understand the differences between wines aged in French and American oak.

• Spanish breakfasts served daily from 10.45am

Live art experiences:

•  Campo Viejo will partner with two famous artists, Okuda and Remed, at the Streets of Spain event

• They will be creating a live piece of art outside the Southbank Centre inspired by the Campo Viejo brand, and will bring Spanish colour and vibrancy to the Festival Village with a number of 3D installations that will be on display throughout the weekend

Michelin star pop-up restaurant each evening from 7pm to 10:30pm.  To reserve a table, visit the Campo Viejo Facebook page.

•  Five course food and wine match menu for £65 per person

Cinema viewings of celebrated films previewed at the Spanish Film Festival

For more information and to book masterclasses and a table at the pop-up restaurant, visit www.streetsofspain.com where you will find the Streets of Spain tab on the Campo Viejo Facebook page. Also see Twitter at #streetsofspain for more information.

So I shall be keeping my fingers crossed for some decent weather come the Bank Holiday weekend, in the hope that I can experience my own little Spanish summer in the capital. 

All aboard for some tapas on The Thames!

It may well be 'the party boat rocking The Thames,' but my recent trip to Bar&Co was less to sample the nightlife and all about checking out their tapas menu.
Moored at Temple Pier, and running as a fully licensed bar, restaurant and nightclub, the venue really does appear as though it can cater for any kind of party.

Only five minutes from Holborn and right outside Temple Station in this unique location with views to the London Eye, Big Ben and Oxo Tower, after a couple of beers to whet my appetite beforehand, I was ready to experience some fine Spanish cuisine.


Idyllic setting makes Bar&Co a great choice for a meal or a party on the Thames

And I was not disappointed. My partner and I shared five tapas from the varied menu, and choose to accompany it with a bottle of the house red (I can never remember whether it's beer BEFORE or AFTER wine leaves you feeling fine).

For a Sunday night it was, perhaps as expected, very quiet. However, this is all the more reason if you are there for some great food and not a party night, to take advantage of the quieter nights. Service was attentive and efficient, prices were reasonable, and the setting was unique and relaxing.


The tasty croquetas de setas

The croquetas de setas (Mushroom croquettes) were sizeable for two, and came with a fresh and juicy salad, a perfect mix. The texture of the potato was smooth, and the mushroom flavour added to it perfectly.

The chorizo a la sidre (chorizos cooked in a cider sauce) was my first choice from the menu (and it wasn't just to add another alcohol source to my evening). It was just what I hope for - juicy sausage with sweet sauce that didn't last long in the dish! One of my pet hates about chorizo is a piece that has more fat than meat; safe to say this pet hate was left on the dock!

If chorizo was my first choice, then the albondigas en salsa (meatballs in tomato sauce) ran them close. This was reflected in the tasting - big, juicy balls bursting with enthusiasm and delight. Creamed in a tasty and slightly spicy tomato sauce, they went down a treat.

By the this point, the wine had already run low, but we decided not to drown our paletes in red and try and save our tastebuds for the rest of our tapas buffet.

The patatas fritas a la brava (fried potato in a tomato sauce) may seem like a standard choice, but we were deligted, not least with the size of the dish, as well as the crispyness of the little beauties.

The meatballs are served with a generous helping of sauce

Our final dish was the plato de jamon serrano (Spanish ham platter) that came recommended. It was a nice, cold alternative and afforded a little breathing space compared to the filling other dishes.

Prices on the tapas menu range from £2 to £10 (bread is £1.50), and I would advise you to take advantage of the knowledge of your waiter/waitress who can help make your decision as easy as possible.

The lighting is superbly suited for either an intimate meal with a partner, or a calm and relaxed evening with friends. The gentle bobbing of the boat is evident as you look towards the portholes, yet when seated it is barely noticeable. All in all we had no complaints on leaving Bar&Co, and complemented the servers as well as the chef on our exit. 

The stroll back along Temple pier, suitably filled up on scrumptious Spanish fare, was a perfect way to end the evening.
I am now looking forward to my invite to investigate the party element of Bar&Co!!

The view across the Thames is dazzling

Bar&Co



















Scores on the doors (out of 10)

Setting - 9
Service - 8
Quality of food - 8
Cleanliness - 8

Total - 33/40


Click here for more information on Bar&Co and to book your meal or night out there.

Click here for a Tube map to plan your journey.