Taking the Sherry Ferry to Camino Westferry

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One of the most underused transport mode in London is the waterbus better known as the Thames Clipper. There aren’t enough stops and the tickets are more expensive than the tube. Recently, they have extended the Oyster card usage to include the water bus routes and I am sure this will increase the traffic.

We were invited for a trip on the “Sherry Ferry” for a meal at the newly opened El Camino at Westferry in Canary Wharf. A group of us met at London Bridge and boarded the water bus. The Sherry Ferry was the beggining of our Spanish themed evening, the crew were serving up some Tio Pepe sherry and trays of Spanish chorizo and cheeses. Views of London from the water is quite spectacular, especially as it gets dark and the buildings all get lighted up. It makes London seem like a different city altogether. Quite magical.

On arrival, we were greeted with a glass of Cava before the short wllk to the restaurant which has a big bar area which was buzzing with the afterwork crowd from Canaray wharf. We were in for a real treat when we arrived, we met Chef Nachos (below) and toured their kitchens and then of course we sampled almost the entire menu.

For starters, we had a selection of tapas:Anchoas con Pimientos
Anchovies and piquillo peppers with sherry reduction

Higos con jamón
Grilled stuffed fig with Mahón cheese, wrapper in ham with rocket and sherry reduction

Chipirones a la andaluza
Crisp-fried baby squid with alioli and lemon

Mini escalivada
Charcoal-grilled onion, aubergine and red pepper with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil

All this was served with Godello, bodegas Valdesil 2007.

These were followed by the warm tapas :

Pulpo a la parrilla
Octopus tentacle with olive oil mash and paprika – This was a spectacular looking dish with tender octopus. If this is not something you would normally order, you need to try this.

Arroz negro
Black rice, made with cuttlefish, squid ink and Calasparra rice, with baby squid and alioli –

This was one of the favourite dishes, creamy rice topped with baby squids.

Croquetas de jamón
Serrano ham croquettes

Pinchitos de pollo
Herb marinated free-range chicken skewers

Served with Pinot Noir, Vinas del Vero 2008.

Chuletón a la parrilla
Scottish ‘Mathers Black Gold’ rib-eye steak, matured 28 days, served basque style

Presa ibérica
Ibérico black pig shoulder blade cooked medium-rare – This is a rarity in the UK where people tend to cook their pork well done. Here they use a specially reared iberico black pig and cook it medium rare with a Pedro Jiminez (PX) reduction, sensational.

Papas arrugadas
Sautéed potatoes with mojo picon

Pimientos de Padrón
Sautéed little green peppers with sea salt

Served with Torre Silo, Cillar de Silos 2006/2007.

For pudding, we had a sample of these :

Tarta de Santiago
Almond tart from Galicia with warm vanilla cream

Bombitas de crema
Cream-filled profiteroles with molten chocolate on top

Helado con Pedro Ximénez
Bourbon vanilla ice-cream served with PX

Crema catalana
Catalan burnt custard cream

The wine list was

The restaurant is a one minute walk from the Westferry Water bus stop and has an alfresco area in the front facing the water. For a brilliant night out, try out this trip and discover a new part of London. It’s totally fun and what a better way to end with some great Spanish food.

(Camino at Canary Wharf is the new branch of the original Camino in a hidden couryard in Kings Cross. Across the square is the Bar Pepito sherry bar which recently won Time Out London’s Best New Bar Award for 2010. Be sure to book as these 2 places gets really busy and they don’t allow you to order food from Camino to Bar Pepito even if they are under the same ownership. )