Affordable Tapas in an Elegant Setting at The Gore Hotel’s Bar 190

What’s with fancy schmancy hotels in West London serving tapas? First, we reported on the tapas available at Knightsbridge hotel, The Cadogan. Now, we’re here to tell ya that The Gore Hotel in South Ken (one of our favourite spots to catch burlesque in London) is now offering tapas at their Bar 190. Happily, we can also relate to you that their tapas are a bit of a bargain, especially considering the chic backdrop.

With all items on Bar 190’s tapas menu priced at £4.50 or less, the menu represents an inexpensive opportunity for Londoners to enjoy the cushy benefits of boutique hotel design without having to book a room. And for visitors staying at the hotel, well, congrats on finding a room with a decent bar right below!

Londonist slid over to The Gore this week to sample a few tapas with a friend. We decided on four of the menu’s many choices: chorizos al vino, patatas bravas, gambas pil-pil, and pulpo gallega. Each tapa was tasty. Nothing revolutionary but certainly more than satisfactory. Next time (and we wouldn’t mind there being a next time for tapas at The Gore again), we might be a little bolder and go for the chicken livers cooked in red wine or steamed clams in white wine and garlic sauce. Spread out over a few drinks, the tapas suited Bar 190’s candlelit atmo and enhanced the casual mood of our meet up.

Being a weeknight, the bar wasn’t terribly packed. In fact, it kinda felt as if we were in on a secret. Bar 190’s mahogany-panelled walls and elegant leather seating gave us the impression we were lounging in a private club. With so many of London’s finer things off limits to most of us, it’s heartening to know there are still a few accessible venues retaining an air of sophistication.

Images courtesy of The Gore Hotel