Restaurant: Donde Carlos
Location: 143 Goldhawk Road, London W12 8EN
Date of visit: 6 February 2016
Time of visit: 8pm
It was nice to approach a country and have the choice of several restaurants. There is a sizable Colombian community in London, with the majority of restaurants servicing that community based around the Brixton area. However, there was one restaurant that was much closer to home for Elle and I. And judging by the exceptional reviews, it wasn't a choice of convenience over quality. Rather, it looked to be the best of both words.
We tend to aim to arrive at our restaurants around 8pm on Saturday nights. That way, we tend to experience a restaurant at it's busiest, most vibrant. Best staffed. In full flow. That is exactly how we found Donde Carlos when we arrived. It was a wet and wild night in West London. The second we walked through the main door into what was essentially the front conservatory, we were transported in a warm, vibrant, electric atmosphere. People talking, the sound of cutlery against plates, South American music filling in the gaps. First impressions are everything. We knew this was going to be good.
It didn't take long for one of the waiters to notice our arrival. He instantly grabbed two menus and asked if we would rather sit at the front of the restaurant, or the upper level at the back. Elle and I clearly had an unspoken agreement to get as far away from outside as possible, so up the stairs we went.
The restaurant was one big space, but two tiers. The front tier was made up partially of what seemed like a conservatory. Certainly some kind of extension onto the original building. I could imagine they opened this up in the summer time. The place would have been destroyed had they done that tonight. What also helped the hustle and bustle atmosphere was the semi-open kitchen, and all the associated sounds.
Donde Carlos doesn't seem to have a website. However, I did have a sneak peak of the menus thanks to the restaurant's entry on the Zomato.com and their full scan of all the pages. The menus handed to us were identical.
The menu has a fantastically wide choice of different parts of Colombian cuisine, with different types of hot and cold appetisers, breakfasts, arepas, mains, daily specials, tapas (Fridays only!), drinks and deserts. I knew to anticipate a generous portion for the mains (It's an Americas thing!) and advised Elle of the same. So we didn't order any starters. For the main dish I went for the Bandeja Paisa, and Elle chose the Bandeja Montanera. Both are essentially regional Colombian takes on a mixed grill. But much better.
And to drink, we both went for a Colombian beer. At first the waiter seemed a bit surprised at that choice, but with hindsight I think that may just have been a language barrier issue.
There was a good bit of team work going on with the service, as a completely different waiter came to set our table. And the beer came promptly - Club Colombia dorada - with little napkins tied around the necks of the bottles.
The food came surprisingly fast, despite a warning on the back of the menu stating the wait could be as much as fifteen minutes (God forbid!) on busy nights.
I was right. The portions were great. I was presented with a large plate of chorizo sausage, sliced plantain, sliced beef, deep fried pork belly, cornbread, a fried egg, boiled rice, fresh salad and a separate bowl of very saucy red kidney beans.
Every element of this plate was fantastic. Many parts surprised me. Anytime I've had plantain in the past I've never really enjoyed the texture. It's been sloppy, greasy and not very nice. This time it was grilled, not fried. So it was firm, but moist. The most I've ever enjoyed plantain. The chorizo was full of flavour, and itself quite filling. The beef was lean, tender and delicious. The pork belly was something I wasn't really sure about before I ordered. I've never really had it before, and never liked the look of it. To the extent that on a previous restaurant visit (see the China review) I didn't even sample someone else's portion of pork belly. It never appealed. Looked too sloppy and... well, fatty! But I loved it this time round. It was deep fried. It was dry, firm and superbly tasty. Lovely big chunks of firm, salty pork with a rind that was essential pork scratchings. I was so pleased this didn't put me off ordering this dish. The fried egg was a really nice touch, and made it feel all the more like a mixed grill. Or even a breakfast!
On the plate it looks like a really dry dish, especially with the rice and cornbread. But the full bowl of red kidney beans and associated sauce balanced off the dryness and made it all into a really wholesome, ridiculously filling dish with so many flavours, perfected by the fresh vegetables.
Elle's plate came looking a little more crowded than mine, but then there was no accompaniment like there was with my bowl of beans. Her meal was more meat-heavy, with the addition of sliced pork (rather than belly) and chicken fillet. The chicken had a lovely seasoning to it, and was melt in the mouth tender. The same could be said for the pork and the beef. Her meal was definitely drier than, which is maybe the only tiny drawback of the meal.
However, we were also provided with two small pots - one of garlic mayonnaise and one with what seemed like a coriander, garlic and chill sauce. Looked like guacamole but had so much more flavour.
We were fit to burst by the end of this meal. Dessert simply wasn't a thing tonight. Despite being a busy night in the restaurant, there was absolutely no pressure on us to order any more or to ask for the bill. We were very respectfully left alone, but there was absolutely no issue in calling for the attention of a waiter when needed. This was really impressive.
As was the cost. £32 for two fantastic mains, two beers and wonderful service.
As we were leaving the restaurant, the waiter who served us most of the evening asked if we had enjoyed it. He didn't specify if he was asking about the food or the experience. Either way, the answer was "exceptional" for both.
