Cambio De Tercio — Restaurant in London

As long as I can remember (2008 to be exact when I first visited Barcelona) I had a love affair with tapas. Small snacks or appetizers famous in Spain. In a way similar to antipasti in Italy or mezze in Greece.

I just love the idea of picking 5,6 things and try a little bit from each, enjoying a glass of wine and talking to friends or reading about the places I visited or the places I plan to visit.

So when I was in London in July and had to pick a restaurant for the first evening to eat in I walked along Old Brompton Road and stopped at Cambio de Tercio.

Now this place is a well-known tapas restaurant with locations on both sides of the street almost facing each other.

Since it was evening most of the tables inside were full but I was in luck and managed to catch the last table outside, able to see the street and enjoy the pleasant weather along a glass of white wine.

London in good weather is an entirely different city so I was glad I could stay outside and watch the street, resting a bit after my flight.

Now, from my knowledge and from visiting Spain, tapas originated as little small bites of food meant as appetizers. They were not meant by any means to make you feel full.

From the start I must confess that the menu states that a person can be satisfied with 2-3 tapas, a thing that is not likely to happen in Spain, where 2-3 tapas just awake your appetite.

Since I was with a friend we ordered about six to seven tapas, not knowing what to expect and relaxed while waiting for them.

Bellow you will find the main points I usually grade when eating at a new restaurant:

Staff. The staff is ok. Not much interaction, nothing fun like Greece or Italy but not total strangers. Overall a pass note.

Food. Now this is where it gets a bit complicated and I will try to explain this as best as I can. The food is good. Most of it. From the six-seven(if I remember right) tapas I tried that evening I really enjoyed three of them, one I disliked and I was ok with the rest.

The tapas are not a single piece of appetizer but rather small plates filled with a few pieces of that tapa. As you can see from my pictures the portions are generous and even I at 100+ kilograms could do well with only two, three tapas tops.

Now for the taste I must be honest and admit that this place holds ok tapas. Unfortunately for me none of the things I tried stuck to my mind. As a comparison I still remember 2 pieces of tapas I tried in Barcelona, six to seven months earlier and that says a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, this place deserves a visit and while the food will fill you and satisfy you it is very likely that nothing will stick to your mind for a long period of time.

Prices. Since this is London I won’t press this matter much but for our six tapas and 2 glasses of wine we paid 80+ pounds. In my book that would qualify as expensive but as I said earlier this is London.

As a final note I would like to point out that while this place does not deserve a special visit to eat there, if you’re close you could surely stop by and sample...

ABSOLUTELY AVOID THIS PLACE!!!!!!!

I strongly recommend to anyone to avoid this place!!! The service is extremely slow and the staff is the worst, unprofessional, rude and very unhelpful! Typical “not my problem” attitude. Avoid this restaurant at all costs, especially if you are ordering online. I ordered my dinner a few hours ago and it was taking ages to arrive! (over one hour and a half and I live 10-15 minutes away from the restaurant). When I called the restaurant one of the guys on the phone told me that “the food has been ready and sitting outside the kitchen for over 15 minuted” and that it was an Uber Eats issue. After 10 minutes I found out that that either was not true or that the restaurant had thrown away the food, instead of giving it to someone who needs it.. what an unnecessary waste and disgusting behaviour, especially in times like this.. the driver was at the restaurant, called me and told me that there was no food and that the kitchen was not going to make a new order. The driver was actually very nice and helpful and made me speak directly to the same person I spoke 10 minutes before. This man again changed his version of the story and said that “some driver was there and had my food” which wasn’t true because I was tracking the order all along. He also tried to blame it on a different colleague while I was positive it was the same person. He told me to complain to Uber Eats instead and that it wasn’t their problem and then hung up the phone. I called again and he was even more rude and unprofessional and hung up the phone again. Worst people I ever dealt with in...

Trapped in restaurant and forced to pay or get charged despite ordering no food if we decide to leave. We had a very disappointing experience at Cambio De Tercio which ruined Valentine's Day dinner. I was aware of a £50 per person no-show fee upon booking, a common practice in the city, and agreed to it without expecting any complex conditions which were not clearly communicated. I don’t know about you but I never thought I would have to worry about terms and conditions when booking a normal tapas restaurant that isn’t even fully booked out. However, upon our arrival at 9:15 pm, despite seeing many empty tables, we were informed about a £125 minimum spend per person, an unwelcome surprise since we weren't planning to spend that much.

When we expressed our concerns, the response was inflexible. Despite my calm approach to the conversation, the manager escalated it to an argument. The manager insisted on the terms and conditions, which I hadn't scrutinized, assuming they only related to no-shows and cancellations. This lack of transparency regarding the minimum spend and the rigid enforcement without consideration for customer satisfaction was disheartening, especially on a special occasion like Valentine's Day. The suggestion to buy an expensive bottle of wine to meet the minimum spend showed a lack of empathy and willingness to find a reasonable solution. All in all this whole experience left a horrible taste in my mouth and would recommend showing a bit of human understanding instead of hiding behind terms...