Back to El Patio

Friday past, back to El Patio in Ebbisham Square, an evening just about warm enough to sit outside. This establishment being chosen because one could take wine with a snack, rather than wine with a full-on meal which we did not want, having had a full-on meal in the middle of the day.

The wine, a bottle of 2016 Noradaneve Albariño, had moved on a year, but was just as good as we remembered. Taken with bread, some pork with beans and some croquettes. White bread very good for a restaurant, apparently made on the premises. Pork with beans good, the same sort of formula as the Garbanzada a lo Canario we used to like on Tenerife, getting on for twenty years ago now. Croquettes fine. All followed by expresso and Black Label, which seems to have displaced Red Label in bars. Entertaining cups, snapped above.

Further entertainment provided by the hookah man, who probably had an arrangement with the restaurant whereby he was allowed to sell smokes on the outside table, visible top right in the snap, not that there were any takers in the couple of hours that we were there. Presumably a bit early, the parties of young men were neither numerous enough nor warmed up enough. Which meant that the hookah had time to explain to us how it all worked. I had not realised that you needed to have a little brazier on hand in which to get the charcoal cubes going, before they were transferred to the top of the hookah. Perhaps not unlike the toasting gadget from Phillips in that you then drew the hot air from the charcoal through the tobacco. Not impressed that the hookah man saw fit to provide flavoured tobacco, in the way of the vape people. For Phillips, see references 2 and 3.

And then there was the chief barmaid, who affected a Spanish accent, but who slipped into south London when under stress. Something I have noticed in Latin flavoured restaurants in the past. Perhaps there is a school where native English speakers can learn to put on accents appropriate to their workplace.

Starting to get busy by the time we left. Also getting a bit cool to be sitting outside.

Sadly, the green walls planted on trellises around the margins of the square were not being looked after, so not very green at all. A pity, as a splash of green would have improved the rather awkwardly shaped square. I think two of the three street food sheds provided by the council were open, if not busy.

A couple of rather dodgy young men in Court Rec. on our way home. Probably unemployed, quite possibly high on drink or drugs. Certainly making a fair amount of noise. They might have been intimidating had it been darker and quieter than it was.

For us, a good formula, better than the rival Café Rouge - despite the good location of this last - and we shall be back.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/epsom-at-play.html.

Reference 2: https://uk.iqos.com/.

Reference 3: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-new-smoke.html.

Reference 4: http://elpatiotapasbar.co.uk/.