Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
No bookings. Walk in. Worth it.
José is José Pizarro's original London tapas bar on Bermondsey Street: no bookings, counter seating, Michelin Plate-recognised cooking at an accessible ££ price point. It delivers technically precise Spanish classics and an all-by-the-glass wine list that rewards exploratory drinking. Arrive early for a seat; expect to stand in the evenings.
If you want Spanish tapas in London and you're weighing up José against Barrafina, the honest answer is: both are worth your time, but they deliver differently. Barrafina has the slicker operation and the Soho address; José, on Bermondsey Street, is smaller, louder, and takes no bookings whatsoever. That no-reservations policy is the single most important practical fact about this place — and it shapes everything about the experience. If you can't tolerate a queue, or if you need a guaranteed table for a group, book Barrafina instead. If you're happy to arrive early, wait briefly, and eat standing at a counter while the room hums around you, José will likely be one of the more satisfying meals you have in London this year.
Walking into José, the visual cue is immediately Spanish in the most functional sense: counter seating along the open kitchen, a handful of high-topped tables, no soft furnishing, no padding. The space is compact and always busy. Seats exist, but they go fast — early birds on weekday lunches have the leading chance of sitting down. Most diners stand. The chalkboard carries the menu. The kitchen is in plain view. This is not a venue that gestures at informality while delivering something polished underneath; the no-frills presentation is the point, and it holds up to scrutiny. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 is a useful calibration: this is a venue where food quality is the credential, not the room.
José Pizarro built his reputation on classic Spanish technique applied without shortcuts, and José the restaurant reflects that directly. The tapas here are not fusion interpretations or trend-chasing plates , they are Spanish favourites executed with precision. The egg tortilla is cited repeatedly as a benchmark version. The croquetas are consistently praised. Pan con tomate is present and correct. These are dishes where the margin between average and good is entirely technical: the right fat content, the right temperature, the right timing. The kitchen does not use complexity to hide inconsistency.
Where José separates itself from the mid-tier Spanish restaurants that have proliferated across London is in the more specialist plates. Lentils with chorizo, squid with jalapeño-spiked pico de gallo, fried goat's cheese with honey , these are not decorative additions to a greatest-hits menu. They represent a wider range of Spanish regional cooking than you typically find at this price point. The acorn-fed Jamón Ibérico is the right call if your budget allows it. For dessert, the crema catalana and chocolate pot are both worth ordering if you have room.
The wine list is the other reason to come. It covers Spanish regions with depth, and crucially, everything is available by the glass. For a food and wine enthusiast who wants to work through Sherry styles alongside food, or compare a Galician Albariño with a Basque Txakoli, José is one of the few London venues at this price point where that kind of exploratory drinking is actively supported. Gin and tonics and rosada spritzes are also available for those who want something longer.
For context on how this compares to the broader London Spanish scene, see Sabor, which covers more regional Spanish ground across multiple floors and takes bookings (for most seating). Sabor is the better choice if you want to plan ahead or bring a group of four or more. José wins on spontaneity, counter energy, and the particular satisfaction of a no-frills room that consistently delivers on its terms.
Reservations: None taken , walk-in only. Arrive early, particularly at lunch on weekdays, to secure seating. Evenings and weekend lunches fill quickly; expect to stand or wait. Hours: Monday to Saturday 12–10:15 pm, Sunday 12–9:30 pm. Budget: ££ , this is an accessible price point for the quality on offer. Plan for tapas-style sharing across several plates. Dress: No formal dress code; the room is casual and the format is counter dining. Smart-casual is perfectly appropriate, but this is not a venue where formality is expected or particularly relevant. Location: 104 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3UB , well-placed for Borough Market visitors and accessible from London Bridge station.
For more London dining options at different price points and formats, see our full London restaurants guide. If you're planning a wider trip, our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide cover the broader picture.
If you're exploring Spanish tapas bars outside London, Casa Mono in New York City and Bar Isabel in Toronto offer useful comparison points in the same casual, counter-led format. For UK fine dining at a different register entirely, 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 represent what the UK's broader restaurant scene is doing at the highest technical level.
José works leading for solo diners, pairs, or small groups of three who are comfortable eating at a counter without a booking and happy to let the kitchen lead. The Google rating of 4.5 across 1,723 reviews is consistent with a venue that has maintained its standard over time rather than coasting on an early reputation. Two consecutive Michelin Plate awards confirm the kitchen's technical consistency. At ££, it delivers more precise Spanish cooking than the price point usually implies. Go at lunch on a weekday to maximise your chances of sitting down. Go in the evening if the energy of a full room appeals more than comfort. Either way, arrive early.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| José | Coming with all the rustic, no-frills charm you'd expect of a tapas bar, José was the original London operation from eponymous chef José Pizarro, who has since spread his brand of classic Spanish cooking all over London. His flagship spot features counter seating at the open kitchen alongside high-topped tables, all of which come with a bustling atmosphere thanks to the fact the place is perennially busy. The menu features plenty of Spanish favourites; the Acorn-fed Jamón Ibérico is a must, as is the chocolate pot for dessert. No bookings are taken, so get here early.; The location may be Bermondsey rather than the backstreets of Barcelona, but there’s something ruggedly Spanish about this pint-sized, no-bookings tapas joint from celeb chef José Pizarro. Expect to queue and expect to be hemmed in once you get through the door; it’s usually standing room only around the counter (although there are a few baggable seats for early birds). Your reward for any discomfort is a boisterous down-home vibe and a stonkingly good line-up of Spanish wines and sherries, plus a chalkboard of proper tapas plates with ne’er a dud in sight. All the classics are present and correct, from definitive egg tortilla and punchy croquetas to pan con tomate, but it would be a sin to ignore some of the more specialist platefuls – perhaps earthy lentils with chorizo, squid dressed with jalapeño-spiked pico de gallo or the sweet-savoury temptations of fried goat’s cheese with honey. If more sweetness is called for, look no further than the ubiquitous cream catalana. The wine list is an oenphile’s tour of the Spanish regions, with everything available by the glass for inquisitive tasting; otherwise, goblets of G&T, rosada spritz and bottles of cerveza help to banish any thoughts of mañana .; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | ££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Lunch on a weekday is your best entry point — the no-bookings policy means weekday midday crowds are thinner and seating is easier to secure. Evenings and weekend lunches fill fast, often to standing room only. The kitchen runs the same menu across service, so the food is the same; timing is purely about comfort and wait time.
Barrafina is the most direct comparison: also walk-in only, also Spanish tapas, but with a longer counter and slightly higher prices. For a booking-friendly Spanish option, José Pizarro's own Pizarro restaurant a short walk away on Bermondsey Street takes reservations and runs a fuller sit-down menu. If you want sherry-focused Spanish drinking with food, Copita in Soho is worth considering.
Groups of four or more will struggle here. The format is counter seating and a handful of high-topped tables in a small room that runs at capacity most evenings. Pairs and trios navigate it comfortably; larger parties should expect to split up or wait for adjacent seats to open. There is no private dining and no reservation system to coordinate a group arrival.
Yes — counter seating along the open kitchen makes solo dining one of the better use cases for this room. You get a front-row view of the kitchen, no awkward table-for-one dynamic, and a wine list available entirely by the glass, which suits a solo pace well. At ££ pricing, it is also an easy solo spend without commitment to a long tasting format.
Come as you are. The room is no-frills by design: counter stools, high tables, a chalkboard menu. Smart casual is fine, but so is coming straight from work or a walk around Bermondsey. There is no dress code implied by the venue's format or price point.
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