‘Dickens Yard’. The words sound evocative, making one think of ragamuffins dashing about, cheeking stern men in long coats and perhaps a trio of carol singers giving their best ‘God rest ye merry gentlemen’ next to a burning brazier on which chestnuts are being roasted, etc, etc.
What it does not necessarily connote is a modern development of shops, restaurants and a few bars about five minutes’ walk from Ealing Broadway, which happens to house one of the best Spanish restaurants in London: incongruously, but very welcomely. (Is that a word?)
The reason why Rayuela works so well is that it isn’t trying for any of the pretension that it might have faced if it had a W1 address, although it should be noted, thanks to the speedy Elizabeth Line, this is a 15-minute hop and skip from the centre. Here, you will enjoy some of the very finest traditional Spanish food, served with aplomb, where the least conventional thing about the meal is the setting.
It does, admittedly, take a few minutes to acclimatise to the fact that you’re dining in a development where those dread things ‘luxury flats’ sit on top of your restaurant, but once that’s ignored, you can get stuck into the excellence of an establishment that has a name that literally means ‘hopscotch’.
This proves rather apt, as it captures the sense of fun and joie de vivre that Rayuela boasts in spades. The meal begins with some of the very best jamon I can ever remember trying being carved at your table, and it carries on from there. Leaving aside a pair of vaguely disappointing croquetas, which are a tad too heavy on the potato, it’s hard to fault anything that we eat.
Perfect padron peppers – no fierce spice had, thank God – and finely prepared calamares fritos, along with a really exceptional tomato salad, with Isle of Wight tomatoes complemented by green chillies and crispy leeks, makes for a meal that both surprises and stimulates in the best possible way, helped along by a bottle of – an unexpected combination – Spanish Gewurztraminer, which goes down a treat.
Mains are more unusual, but work beautifully as well. We know that we ought to have something rice-based, so the negro with squid ink and king prawns fulfils that admirably. Still, even better is the pluma pork with guava sauce, accompanied by some excellent patatas bravas. This is honestly what a meal like this should be: fun, reasonably priced (no main is over £30, making this a bargain for food of this quality) and authentically Spanish.
Desserts are perhaps not quite at the same heights as hitherto, but still fun. A Basque cheesecake has an authentic lightness to it, and the addition of coffee to a crema cretalana (a Spanish crème brulee) gives it a proper kick. A couple of glasses of Pedro Ximenez certainly do not go amiss, and then it’s time to head out into the Ealing evening, where there might be a definite shortage of urchins and kindly benefactors, but where a truly superlative Catalan feast has made up for it in no uncertain terms.
Rayuela, Unit 9C Dickens Yard, London W5 2TD. Open Wednesday-Saturday 12-3pm, 6-10.30pm. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.rayuela.co.uk.
