Del Parc

I’m conflicted. This was one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever had. A real dining experience because you don’t order food. You tell the owner what you don’t eat and he brings out dish after amazing dish sort of like in courses. As the menu indicates, you end up paying ~£35pp in the end. The food was uniformly unbelievable with great veggie options. Very neat to see the one chef preparing all the food as we ate. The cocktails were kind of bad – overly tangy and not sweet.
HOWEVER, the owner came up to me towards the end of our meal and asked me not to laugh because it was disruptive. It really hurt my feelings and pretty much ruined the meal for me. However, the food was outstanding as was the ambiance.
So, I debated giving this place 1 star or 5. I settled on 4.

We’d been meaning to check out Del Parc for a while but, sadly, will never, ever return. When we got there, it was completely empty but we didn’t even make it over the threshold before the owner came out to tell us we weren’t welcome because we had a stroller. No ‘does it fold up’ or ‘is it okay to leave it outside’ or ‘while we’re completely empty, please stay and have a drink’. Instead, he suggested we get a babysitter! Glad to have shared this with all the local NCT groups and the Archway and Tufnell Park forums.

Yum.
I just had one of the tastiest meals in aaages at Del Parc. What a lovely, lovely place!
It is quite a small restaurant, and they were too full for us to reserve a table, so we just sat by the bar at the front. The staff were friendly and helpful and the smells coming from the kitchen made me hungry as soon as we stepped inside the door!
They have a tapas menu, an a la carte menu and the chefs menu (where they just keep bringing you food until you roll out happy and full… for £30.) We (of course) went for the chefs menu, and I am sooo glad we did.
I didn’t take any photos of the first few dishes as we were hungry and the lads I was with ate half of everything before I could get my camera out… but I remembered for about half the dishes — have a peek at my photos for a better description than I could possibly paint with words.
Marc and I normally try to avoid Spanish food (as Marc’s mother is from Catalonia and is such a good cook, that normally tapas in England is rubbish in comparison.) This is the first time we have ever found a Spanish place that we both love… we’re even considering bringing Marc’s mum to try it next time she comes to London.
If you ever find yourself near Tufnell park or Archway, just come here.

The food was nice at Del Parc but not nice enough to justify the terrible service we received. The waiter effectively barred my husband for laughing too loudly. It was the most extraordinary experience I think either of us have ever had in a restaurant. So, if you go, please don’t try to have a nice time if you want to be allowed back.

I live relatively close to this place, yet in almost 5 years I’ve not managed to come and check this place out… until this past Sunday. I was in an experimental mood and with my other half gone on a business trip, I browsed through my bookmarks list on the Unilocal App until this place came up ;-)
When I arrived, I was welcomed by Alan, one of the owners, and was seated right away. Turns out it was a very slow evening, which Alan attributed to the fact that it was Marathon Sunday in London. Well, good for me, as I had all the attention of the staff and therefore had a very pleasant dining experience.
My favourite part of Del Parc is that I don’t have to make a decision when it comes to food… in fact, you cannot make a decision. You just tell the staff about any dietary limitations you might have and off they go. I was reading on the blog of the Kentishtowner that this idea has evolved from the fact that many of the regular patrons just told the chef to prepare whatever he deemed to be best. This is my kind of restaurant ;-)
And soon the platters (tapas) started appearing: at first a charcuterie selection, accompanied with pickles and filled olives. Then, a plate of Galician mussels was placed in front of me… and I was at first a little shocked. I should mention that I don’t like mussels, but I had made a pact with the staff and my dietary limitations didn’t include mussels. Well, turns out I actually do like mussels and I would’ve never found out, if I wasn’t «forced» to eat them.
The following dishes were spinach with pine nuts and marinated raisins, followed by king prawns in a very garlicky sauce. I confessed to Alan that I’m no pro in eating prawns and he suggested to just use my hands and dig out as much meat as possible. As this was a very messy undertaking, he brought me a bowl with lemon water to wash my hands in afterwards. He also brought me some additional baguette to soak up the garlic sauce.
When I said that you don’t need to make any decision here, then I was slightly incorrect: you do need to make a decision about what you want to drink. I went for sherry, as this fit perfectly into my experimental mood… being somewhat of a sherry-​virgin ;-) I really liked the sherry that Alan chose for me, although I thought it was a little to chilled.
After I’d finished my meal, I engaged in a longish conversation with Alan — given that there were no other customers, he was able to dedicate a lot of attention to me. He told me that they’d been at this place for about 12 years now and that before this little tapas place, he and his partner-​in-​crime, Steve (the chef) had actually run a deli nearby.
Overall I really liked it here and I will have to come back with more people — given that this is a tapas place, it ought to be more fun to sample more dishes.

Nice atmosphere, but the menu is a bit confusing and most dishes are over– priced. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves & service was good.

Nice atmosphere, intimate, interesting food — good for a romantic dinner or dinner with a couple of friends.

Excellent food, good prices but you have to tell the chef about veg meals, if you’re in a group, otherwise it’s chef’s choice and it ain’t veg.
However all meals /​every dish we’ve had so far has been delicious (especially Fatayers and the green olives w smoked Paprika) … not to be expected in good old Archway. Certainly well worth a visit to N London :)

In a world full of chain restaurants Del Parc is an absolute joy. The food is interesting, delicious and there is a fantastic variety on offer. From what I could see the place is quite literally run by only two people — the owner who waits tables and the chef who cooks the food the entire night right in front of you!
Lovely place, lovely food, lovely atmosphere. This is what good food is about.

I have lived in and around Tufnel Park for over ten years and have watched this small bistro develop from a breakfast café to a fully fledged tapas restaurant. I do not give 5 stars without careful thought and I am just pleased that I ate there last night so I can review it today and give it 5 stars. It is owner operated and the food is cooked in front of you and comes when ready — delicious, succulent and mouth watering. I have never had a bad dish. Last night we delighted in goats cheese and honey croquets, calamari, fresh humous, filo parcels with spinach and cheese and fresh grilled prawns. As you know I love to eat, but six tapas plates here and I am full up, a shame because I would like to keep trying dish after dish after dish. Great wine list, always go for the Rioja. Next time we will go in a group of four so we can try more. To sum up, go, you will need to book becuause it is small and pefectly formed. Please please try this restaurant.