London’s Spanish food scene has grown from a single no-reservations counter on Frith Street in 2007 into one of the strongest outside Spain itself, with two Michelin-starred tapas kitchens, a Bermondsey Street institution from one of the country’s most influential Spanish chefs, and a Shoreditch newcomer that picked up its own star within its first year. Here are the eight best Spanish restaurants in London worth seeking out in 2026.

Barrafina changed the shape of London’s Spanish food scene when brothers Sam, Eddie and James Hart opened the original counter on Frith Street in 2007, becoming the first no-reservations restaurant in the UK to win a Michelin star. That original site closed and relocated one street over to Dean Street in 2016, where it continues to hold its Michelin star today.

The format hasn’t changed since day one: a horseshoe counter with no bookings, watching chefs plate modern Spanish tapas as it’s ordered. Prawn and piquillo pepper tortilla, cured monkfish and the patatas bravísimas remain the dishes regulars build a visit around, and the group has since grown to five sites across the city.

Barrafina — 26-27 Dean Street, Soho, London W1D 3LL | barrafina.com

Sabor opened on Mayfair’s Heddon Street from Nieves Barragán Mohacho, the former head chef at Barrafina, and holds its own Michelin star for cooking that ranges across Spain’s regions rather than sticking to one region’s playbook. The two-floor space splits into three distinct experiences under one roof.

Downstairs, the bar and a walk-in-only counter serve tapas built around fish from Sabor’s own in-house fishmonger; upstairs, the bookable El Asador focuses on wood-fired specialities from Galicia and Castile. It’s one of the few places in London where you can choose your format on arrival rather than committing in advance.

Sabor — 35-37 Heddon Street, Mayfair, London W1B 4BR | saborrestaurants.co.uk

Legado is Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s second London restaurant after Sabor, opened in Shoreditch and awarded its own Michelin star in the 2026 guide within its first year of trading — a rare feat for a chef already running one starred kitchen elsewhere in the city.

The menu is built around the food of Spain’s regions and islands rather than a single national style, giving the kitchen room to move between Basque, Galician and Balearic influences across the same table. It’s quickly become one of the most talked-about Spanish openings London has seen in years.

Legado — 1C Montacute Yards, 185-186 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6HU | legadorestaurants.com

José opened on Bermondsey Street in 2011 as the first restaurant from José Pizarro, one of the most influential Spanish chefs to have worked in London, and has held a no-booking policy from day one. Its success led Pizarro to open a second, larger restaurant further down the same street later that year.

It’s a standing-room-heavy sherry and tapas bar rather than a sit-down destination — small plates arrive quickly from a kitchen visible from the counter, built for a couple of dishes and a glass of sherry rather than a lingering multi-course meal. The buzzy, packed-in atmosphere is very much the point.

José — 104 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UB | josepizarro.com

El Pirata has been serving classic Spanish tapas from the same corner of Mayfair since 1994, making it one of the longest-running Spanish restaurants in the city and a genuine institution rather than a recent addition to the scene. It won the SME Awards’ best Spanish tapas title in 2020/2021.

The menu sticks to traditional tapas rather than chasing modern reinterpretations, backed by a wine list of more than 100 Spanish bottles built up over three decades of trading. It’s a reliable, unpretentious option in a part of Mayfair better known for pricier, flashier dining.

El Pirata of Mayfair — 5-6 Down Street, Mayfair, London W1J 7AQ | elpirata.co.uk

Morito sits next door to its bigger, more famous sibling Moro on Exmouth Market, opened by Sam and Samantha Clark as a noisier, more rebellious counterpoint to the main restaurant. Where Moro serves a full Spanish-North African menu, Morito distils that same Moorish sensibility into a tighter tapas format.

The small-plates menu draws as much on North Africa and the Middle East as it does on Spain, paired with low-intervention wines and cocktails in a room built for quick turnarounds rather than long lingering meals. It’s one of Clerkenwell’s most consistently busy tables.

Morito — 32 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE | morito.co.uk

Camino opened its first restaurant in King’s Cross in 2007, after founder Richard Bigg came back from a road trip through Spain determined to bring the country’s tapas bar culture to London. It’s since grown into a four-strong group with sites in Monument, Shoreditch and Farringdon too.

The King’s Cross original sprawls around a hidden courtyard that fills up fast in the summer, with DJs playing Thursday to Saturday and a bar dedicated to Rioja and sherry across the way. It leans more into buzzy, late-night energy than any of the other restaurants on this list, and reviewers back it up in numbers — over 4,000 Google reviews and counting.

Camino — 3 Varnishers Yard, King’s Cross, London N1 9FD | camino.uk.com

Copita has been trading on D’Arblay Street for around 15 years, opened by former wine importer Tim Luther from the same team behind Fitzrovia’s Barrica, and picked up a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2014 for cooking well above its price point.

Tiled walls, exposed bulbs and shared wooden tables set an intentionally unfussy tone, with the focus on a list of around 20 sherries and 30-plus wines by the glass alongside a compact, frequently changing tapas menu. It’s one of Soho’s better spots for dropping in solo at the bar rather than booking a table for a group.

Copita — 27 D’Arblay Street, Soho, London W1F 8EP | copita.co.uk