Sabor — Restaurant in London

I know this review won’t matter to others and that the restaurant management prob won’t read it, but I still want to leave an honest, unbiased review.

We were visiting London and made a point to book well-reviewed restaurants for our trip. Sabor came highly recommended from Instagram foodies to glowing Google reviews and with its Michelin star, we had high hopes.

We originally had an 8pm reservation but arrived early at 5:30pm and were luckily seated at the downstairs tapas bar. Sitting in front of the kitchen was a great experience. We enjoy watching the chefs in action and how the kitchen is run.

Things started off well. Our waitress was friendly when explaining the specials. We ordered cuttlefish croquettes, fresh prawns, crab risotto, and pork tomahawk (which she recommended over the steak on the regular menu we had in mind).

The prawns were bright and flavorful, and the croquettes were excellent, possibly the best I have had, including those in Spain and Portugal. The crab risotto also had great flavor, although it was a bit too lemony for our personal taste. Unfortunately, we found two large pieces of shell in the dish. We mentioned it to the head chef, who acknowledged it and offered to remake it. We declined, since we were almost finished, and appreciated the gesture. That said, at a Michelin restaurant, this kind of oversight was disappointing.

The real letdown was the tomahawk that arrived 40 minutes after our last dish according to timestamps on our photos. No one informed us of the delay or that the dish typically takes longer to prepare. When we asked, the waiter told us it’s taking them a while because they are cooking the fish and meat together. He added that if we cooked it at home, it would us take even longer. I found that dismissive. If I could cook at that level at home, I wouldn’t be dining out.

We also noticed the grill chef repeatedly using a meat thermometer on the pork, then putting the probe up to his lip/mouth or beard area before reusing it. Maybe this is a culinary technique we don’t understand, but it didn’t seem hygienic.

While the pork was resting, we saw the tomahawk erased from the specials board, and we were the only ones who had ordered it that evening. This made us question the quality or freshness of the ingredients. If there was an issue, why were we not told? Or was it prep time? But this was part of their specials, they should have known it would take this long.

When the dish finally arrived, it had been reheated. The pork was dry, and the sauce was average, something between port wine and A1. When the waitress asked how it was, we told her we didn’t like it. She shrugged and removed the plate.

The crab risotto was removed from the bill, which we appreciated, but the 14.5% service charge remained. It also took a long time to pay, as the staff was distracted. We were offered champagne on the house but neither of us drinks so didn’t think this gesture was helpful unfortunately. Eventually, the waiter sensed our frustration and brought the card reader without comment.

This was especially disappointing after a fantastic experience the night before at Barrafina, similar setup, similar dishes, better execution and care. At Sabor, the head chef never acknowledged the delay or made eye contact, despite being right in front of us.

We also noticed some inefficiencies. Kitchen staff in the back frequently had to walk around the chefs in the front to grab dirty dishes/pots instead of passing them through a central station in the wall. The kitchen setup felt cramped and chaotic. One appetizer asparagus and ricotta dish on the menu seemed to take up an extraordinary amount of time for the grill chef, possibly contributing to delays for other main dishes.

The meal began with promise but ended on a frustrating note. While earlier dishes were great, the service breakdown, lack of transparency, and underwhelming final course made us question Sabor’s Michelin star. It was the most disappointing Michelin experience we’ve had. For the price and the hype, it...

I sent it as an email 3 weeks ago but never got a response so sharing as a review:

‘I am emailing you as I am extremely disappointed with the dinner me and my partner booked with you last night for his birthday celebration. To start with, the only reason why we have chosen your restaurant is because you guys had a Michelin star, and to be fair I feel like following that dinner Michelin Stars are extremely poor indicators of a restaurant being good.

First, we had to wait 7 minutes, without being welcomed and without our table being shown to us and we just stood by the desk hoping somebody would say hi to us. To be frank, staff shortage would be a really bad explanation as there was a member who was literally a guardian of Jambon on the first floor.

After showing us our table, we were not offered anything. And then we just waited for the menus for another roughly 10 minutes. After we got our menu with zero explanation we had to stop one of the waiters and ask them if there were any specials as the menu on the board looked slightly different. We also had to remind your staff to bring us a drinks menu, which should be probably the first thing you usually do in the restaurant.

Following that menu was not explained to us and we had to google meals, and really it is definitely not up to a Michelin standard. Next, when we were ordering our food halfway through the order we were told that the thing we want to order is not available anymore - quite a bummer as it was a meat main dish - so at least teach your staff members to communicate with each other? And inform customers upfront.

45 minutes in we were told that the kitchen will be closing soon and if we want any other savoury dishes - our table was booked for 2 hours and rushing through a highly overpriced meal in the michelin place again - quite annoying. As meals were arriving at the table no one was even telling us what we are getting, ‘what is the story’ behind the dish - nothing. Oh and we had to ask waiters to clean our tables as there was olive oil left there.

Then when our mains were served we were waiting 5 minutes for our side dishes to go with them - by that time our meat got cold. Also do not get me wrong - I get the tapas concept - but not for the mains. And not when its potatoes and spinach that are arriving.

In short, I woke up this morning being extremely sad and disappointed that we ended up paying £285 for a meal that was mediocre, and to be frank I would have rated it way higher if service was at least okay. Don’t get me wrong they were a sweet and a very nice bunch of people, but the chaos that was on the floor, lack of care, and interest was just sad. It was a big celebration for us and we decided to go with your place whereas there are plenty of amazing restaurants across the whole of London - sadly we did choose yours and left sad, annoyed and lied to. I know it may sound like exaggeration, but my partner and I travel for food, love food, and extremely appreciate everything that is related to it. We did a lot of Michelin starred places, and we were always passing by your place, and decided to spend an evening which was very special for us at Sabor. After we left - we wished we did not, as there are plenty of other places in London which at this price range would be extremely happy to have us. I hope to be proven wrong and that you guys have an ability to step up in your game, as even though 1 Michelin star is granted just for the food, with the competition on the market and service this chaotic and maybe quite challenging...

Simple yet extraordinary, respectful towards produce, thoughtful, detail-oriented, humble and mind-blowingly tasty – Sabor is a philosophy not just a place to eat at. It was the best meal of our lives.

I booked a table at Sabor a couple of months in advance for my partner's birthday occasion. The booking was for the upstairs area – El Asador. On the entry, we were warmly welcomed, given a key and directed upstairs. Our host met us at El Asador, and took our bags and the key to lock the bags. We were shown to our table and given some time to browse the menu. Shortly after our host gave us a detailed and highly inspirational explanation of the dishes as well as the specials of the day.

We decided to have crispy coated cod cheeks, scallops and crisp fried pig’s ears for starters. For mains, we opted for Pulpo a Feira (octopus), Tortilla Gallega and a quarter of Segovian suckling pig with sides of Patatas Mojo Rojo (fried baby potatoes) and baby gem salad with sun-dried tomatoes.

Our sangria arrived first and we didn’t need to wait long for the starters. Cod cheeks had a light crispy coating outside and were silky and soft inside. Scallops were thinly cut and marinated, with lovely sauce, herbs and caviar. This dish was a work of art. The presentation was so beautiful almost felt sorry to ruin it. The flavour was perfectly balanced, all ingredients complimenting each other.

As a fan of pig ears since childhood I looked forward to tasting Sabor’s take on them. It was the flavours of my childhood taken to the next level. Pigs ears were so light, fluffy and crispy, they just melted on your tongue, and the drops of sauce around them perfectly complemented the flavour of the ears.

The starters gave a perfect boost to our taste buds, leaving us inspired to try the mains.

Pulpo a Feira (octopus) was mindblowing. It was such a simple dish, executed perfectly and embracing ‘less is more’, immaculately soft and full of flavour. Don’t know how I ended up even liking Tortilla Gallega, even though I am not a big fan of eggs. It was cooked to the perfect temperature, making it slightly runny once cut through and so flavorful. Could never imagine potatoes and eggs could taste this good.

And last but not least, the start of the show Segovian suckling pig. These masterminds managed to get the skin of the pig super crispy but also light, with the meat inside soft, shiny and just falling off the bones. The pig came with flavorful dipping sauce. If you pour the sauce on the pig and dip sourdough bread in the juices while enjoying the succulent pig you will be mindblown.

Even the side dishes of baby potatoes and gem lettuce salad were taken to the next level. Nothing overpowering, minimum ingredients, executed perfectly and celebrating the quality of the produce.

The open kitchen was a nice addition to the experience. The atmosphere in the kitchen was reflected in the dishes. Everyone seemed to be in perfect harmony with each other, cooking with pleasure and enjoyment.

Big thank you to Sabor for hosting us. I believe Sabor is the embodiment of what happens when a group of talented inspired individuals put their hearts in their work and do what they...