Lola Rojo - A Taste of Spain in Nappy Valley

The Eatery: Lola Rojo, 78 Northcote Road, Battersea, SW11 6QL
The Site: http://lolarojo.net/
The Companion: Dinner for two
The Dolla: Around £35 a head

Lola Rojo is a small and stylish restaurant and deli on Northcote Road in Battersea. As a local to Battersea I have to say I predominantly love this restaurant because it allows you to step away from the madness of the Northcote Road (otherwise known as Nappy Valley); home of the double buggy and the dog safari experience, and enjoy some serious and authentic Spanish food in a gloriously civilized setting.

Every night, this mini modern dining room is packed with people sipping on delicious wine from the extensive wine list and sampling Lola Rojo's modern twist on tapas.
 

Broken duck eggs, chorizo and piquillo peppers

Some of my favourite small dishes are the cauliflower croquetas with herby mayo and the stunning broken duck eggs on a bed of sweet piquillo peppers and topped with delicious chucks of tasty chorizo.

 There's also a great array of cold meats on offer - try the selection of Iberian cured meats or the Iberian chorizo plate - great paired with some of the Catalan bread served with tomato or aioli.

Grilled octopus, savoy cabbage and "trixat" paprika oil

Last time, I went for the grilled octopus when choosing my larger dishes and have to say despite the beautiful presentation I was slightly disappointed. The octopus was a little bit dry and overcooked and no match for the similar dish I'd had at Lola's sister restaurant; Rosita a few weeks earlier.  This may have been a one off but we found ourselves jealously eyeing-up the baby squid brochette with chimi churri sauce and rosemary potatoes the couple next to us were happily tucking into!

Comfit of suckling pig, vanilla apple puree, crispy vegetables

However, all was rectified when the comfit of suckling pig arrived; not everyone's cup of tea as the vanilla apple puree is quite sweet but this is one of my absolute favourites. Great combination of sweet and sour flavours and mix of soft and crunchy textures. 

If these dishes in the "Carne y Pescado" section of the menu don't float your boat then I'd definitely recommend going for one of their paellas for two or  one of the rice dishes; the black rice with squid and saffron aioli is something special. You're certainly spoilt for choice with this menu.

Red berries, fresh cheese 'ice creme' and alicante turron

If you've still got room for dessert then there's a strange selection of dishes on offer, we went for the red berries, fresh cheese 'ice creme' and alicante turron as we felt like something light but also due the fact that there wasn't that much else that appealed to us! The concept of pan con chocolate with olive oil and salt did intrigue me though! At this point, in all honesty, I wasn't craving originality just some good old fashioned churros!

The verdict? A great atmosphere which might be partly due to the top notch wine list. The dessert menu leaves a bit to be desired and the service can be a bit hit and miss (they brought three of our dishes to the table next to us by mistake) but the ingredients and flavours used are high quality and authentic and the menu is refreshing and inventive.

Lola's definitely a lady to get acquainted with and once you have, try her sister Rosita down the road!