Food Review: La Gamba - Spanish vibes on the South Bank

It was during that last sneaky cold snap, when the calendar promised spring but the weather delivered a late bite of winter, that I visited La Gamba.

It’s a new Spanish tapas restaurant from the Applebee brothers, Jack, Harry and Matthew, whose Borough Market outpost Applebee’s Fish is a perennially busy hit.

Directly on the South Bank, and part of the Southbank Centre complex (tucked beneath Royal Festival Hall), La Gamba promises a taste of the north-western Galician region of the country and, unsurprisingly given the titular specialism of the brothers’ sister restaurant, a focus on fish.

A taste of Spain, a place we Brits associate with sun-soaked holidays, was an especially appealing prospect as a sharp wind snaked up the sleeves of my too-light jacket. The chance to duck inside a restaurant with a permanently summery mood – not to mention a serious radiator and umbrella combo fending off the cold on a vast terrace overlooking the Thames – was welcome to say the least.

Co-owner Jack was on call that night and while I waited for my companion, he gave me the top line on how the opening was going so far. He’s friendly and vivacious, and seems genuinely humbled by the response to the restaurant. A soft launch saw the team cater for 1,500 diners in the first two-and-a-half-days – quite the baptism of fire, especially considering the 160-cover La Gamba is double the size of the brothers’ first restaurant. “It’s a good problem!,” Jack grinned, unperturbed. I’d been liaising with his partner Kim, a public relations professional, who’s helping drum up some hype around La Gamba’s opening. Her and Jack met when she was doing the PR to launch Applebee’s Fish, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Things got off to a pleasing start. Armed with a red sangria (light and summery, with none of the pungent notes Spain’s native cocktail can fall victim too) and a bowl of the best olives I’ve had in ages (large, green, stoneless rounds, not oily but with a saltiness that suggested they’d only recently parted company with some anchovies), I took a moment to soak up the scene: Spanish pop played softly over a wide, open-plan dining room, lit by a cluster of rattan-shaded lights. A large, bottled-lined bar formed the restaurant’s centrepiece, with seating all around it for those popping in for a quick drink or bite to eat.

A busy huddle of chefs were just visible through a peep-hole to the kitchen at the back, while manning the floor was an impeccable team of waiting staff, attentively topping up water and making sure we had everything we needed. At a time when the hospitality sector is so stretched, with restaurants doing their best to operate on a skeleton staff, it’s positive to see an opening that hasn’t scrimped on service to get itself off the ground.

Moving from sangria to a decent glass of Rioja from La Gamba’s generous menu of Spanish wines, we readied ourselves for the parade of tapas coming next, which turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag.

Hunks of tough, dry bread were partially saved by their accompanying dish of mild anchovy butter. A plate of picanha steak, too, was unpleasantly chewy – and there were no steak knives on hand to cut the slivers into more manageable bites. King prawns, while looking the part with their garlic and chilli oil dressing, could have done with more seasoning.

It wasn’t all duds, though. Mussels served in a creamy, tangy sauce were delicious – and there was not a single stubbornly closed shell among the pot. Iberico ham croquettes, while nothing fancy, lent the spread some salty comfort.

The real saving grace, though, came after the main event. La Gamba’s take on torrijas, Spain’s answer to French toast, was honestly one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten. It’s essentially bread soaked in condensed milk then baked in runny caramel, and if I could, I would order it to my door at least once a week as a treat. There was also a towering wedge of Basque cheesecake, moreish enough to polish off despite its size.

Despite having only been open for three weeks, La Gamba had a relaxed energy to it on our midweek visit that you’d typically expect from an old favourite.

It’s not destination dining, but if you’re peckish on your next visit to the South Bank, and you want to break free from the chains that shackle this stretch of the river, you’ll find a pleasing enough taste of Spain here.