Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Michelin star, no stiff formality.

Sabor holds a Michelin star and an OAD Casual Europe top-110 ranking, making it one of London's strongest arguments for Spanish cooking at the £££ price point. Book El Asador upstairs for the suckling pig and copper-pan octopus; use the walk-in counter for a faster, more affordable session. Reserve two to three weeks out for the bookable room.
Sabor is the right call if you want Spanish cooking that earns its Michelin star without the formal-dining formality that usually comes with it. It works for food and wine enthusiasts who want depth and regional specificity over safe, crowd-pleasing tapas — and for anyone willing to plan around its structure. The ground-floor counter suits solo diners and pairs. Upstairs at El Asador is where groups of three or four get the most out of the room, particularly at lunch when the pace is more relaxed. Book this over Barrafina or José when you want the full arc of a Spanish meal — bar, counter, and roasting oven , rather than a focused snacking session.
Sabor sits on Heddon Street, one block off Regent Street, and has operated since 2018 under chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho and co-founder José Etura. The space runs across three distinct areas: a ground-floor bar, a counter where dishes from across Spain are served (with no bookings taken), and El Asador upstairs , the only reservable section, focused on the roasting and grilling traditions of Galicia and Castile. The structure is deliberate and worth understanding before you arrive, because which area you end up in shapes the entire experience.
The ground-floor counter is walk-in only, and queues form early , midday on a weekday is not unusual, according to documented reporting. That queue is a reliable indicator of the demand the kitchen generates. At the counter, orders are marked in pen on the surface in front of you and crossed off as dishes land. It is an efficient, informal system that keeps the pace moving and keeps the focus on the food. Fresh seafood comes through an in-house fishmonger, which gives the counter menu a market-driven quality that pre-set tapas lists rarely match.
El Asador upstairs is where Sabor's most ambitious cooking happens. The suckling pig from Segovia is roasted in a dedicated oven; the octopus is cooked in copper pans. These are not incidental dishes , they are the reason this room exists. If you are booking for the first time, El Asador is where you should start. The roasting oven produces the kind of results that take years of practice and the right equipment to achieve, and London has very few places doing this at this level.
Sabor picked up its Michelin star shortly after opening in 2018. By 2024 it was ranked 148th on the Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe list, climbing to 106th in 2025 , a trajectory that reflects sustained quality rather than opening-year hype. The Google rating sits at 4.6 across nearly 2,000 reviews, which at that volume is a meaningful signal. This is a kitchen that performs consistently.
Given the editorial angle here, the drinks deserve direct attention. Sabor's Spanish wine list is positioned to match the regional scope of the food , which is its main practical advantage over London's generic wine bar lists. Spain produces serious bottles across a wide price range, from Galician Albariños and Ribeiro whites that cut through seafood, to Rioja and Ribera del Duero reds that hold up against roasted meat. One documented source references Spanish wines from £7.50 a glass, which is an accessible entry point for a Michelin-starred room. Sherry is the other pillar, and for a venue whose cooking draws on Andalucian as well as Castilian and Galician traditions, a well-chosen sherry list is a structural asset, not an afterthought. Fino and manzanilla alongside counter seafood, and an oloroso or palo cortado with the suckling pig upstairs, give you pairings that are grounded in the same regional logic as the menu. Estrella beer is also available for those who want a lighter option at the counter. For food and wine explorers, Sabor's list offers more coherence between glass and plate than most Spanish restaurants in London manage.
Sabor is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch (noon to 2:30 PM) and dinner (5:30 PM to 10:30 PM). Monday is dinner only, from 5:30 PM. The restaurant is closed Sundays. The El Asador section accepts reservations; the ground-floor counter does not. Book El Asador at least two to three weeks out , demand is consistent and the room is small. The address is 35–37 Heddon Street, W1B 4BR, a short walk from Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus. Dress code is smart casual; the room is informal enough that you do not need a jacket, but the Michelin context means most diners dress up slightly from street level. The price range is £££, which positions it as a mid-to-upper spend for London, roughly comparable to Barrafina on a per-head basis, though El Asador dishes such as the whole suckling pig can push the bill higher depending on group size.
For more options across the city, see our full London restaurants guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide. If you are travelling further afield in the UK for serious food, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are all worth considering. For Spanish cooking in other cities, Casa Mono in New York City and Bar Isabel in Toronto offer useful points of comparison.
Quick reference: Michelin one star | £££ | Book El Asador 2–3 weeks ahead | Counter walk-in only | Closed Sundays | 35–37 Heddon Street, W1B 4BR.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabor | £££ | Moderate | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Sabor and alternatives.
Yes, at £££ it delivers Michelin-star cooking without the stiff covers and service charges that inflate bills at comparable London addresses. The ground-floor counter in particular offers strong value — you get the same kitchen at lower spend than El Asador upstairs. Ranked #106 in Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list for 2025, it sits in well-credentialed company for the price point.
The menu draws on seafood, pork, and meat-heavy regional Spanish traditions, so options narrow significantly for vegetarians and are limited for vegans. The counter format means dishes arrive as ordered rather than as a set sequence, which gives some flexibility, but this is not a venue to book if dietary restrictions are extensive — check the venue's official channels before reserving El Asador upstairs.
El Asador, the upstairs dining room, takes bookings and fills quickly — aim for at least two to three weeks ahead for dinner, longer on weekends. The ground-floor counter and bar are walk-in only, so arriving close to opening time is the practical strategy there. Monday is dinner-only, and Sunday the restaurant is closed entirely.
Sabor does not operate a conventional tasting menu format. El Asador upstairs is the closest equivalent, built around regional Galician and Castilian specialities including Segovian suckling pig roasted in a dedicated oven. If a set, chef-led progression is what you want, El Asador delivers that in spirit; if you prefer to order freely, the counter downstairs is the better fit.
The ground-floor counter is one of the better solo setups in London — orders are marked directly on the counter in front of you, service is informal, and the walk-in format removes the awkwardness of booking a table for one. Solo diners wanting El Asador should check availability, as that room is designed around shared dishes and group formats work better there.
Lunch is worth serious consideration: the counter runs from noon and queues form before opening, which signals how well this slot is regarded by regulars. Dinner has more atmosphere in the evening but also more competition for counter space. If your priority is El Asador, both sessions are comparable — book whichever slot fits your schedule and secure it early.
There is no formal dress code at Sabor. The ground-floor counter and bar are genuinely casual — jeans are standard. El Asador upstairs is a step more settled in feel given it takes bookings, but smart-casual covers it comfortably. This is not a white-tablecloth venue despite the Michelin star.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.