Weekly Review: Legado
Courageous Spanish cooking in a comfortable, eye-catching space adds up to a Shoreditch gem.
Legado has been much praised. It took home Best New Opening at the FT Business Lunch Awards. It snagged a fast listing in the Michelin Guide, and might secure a star next month. It attracted positive reviews from David Ellis, William Sitwell, Giles Coren, Jay Rayner, Tom Parker Bowles, Hillary Armstrong, Ben McCormack, Jules Pearson, and others.
It’s also gorgeous.
In a new development near Shoreditch High Street station, it’s a big, open space with a large and well-placed skylight. It’s smart, bright, and warm. There’s a long counter that faces into an open kitchen, inviting you to watch the magic happening over the stoves. There’s a pleasant bar with a big window that opens into a modern courtyard. In the summer, there will be a comfortable outside space.
But given the strong consensus, why am I bothering with a review? You have probably been already.
For what it’s worth, I think there’s value in a 6-month check-in. Has the team managed to continue the magic that powered the opening? Is the second take at the menu — developed in a few months from the heat of the kitchen — as good as the ones created through the years before the opening?
In the case of Wildflowers in Belgravia, it wasn’t. After a cascade of great reviews, the restaurant wasn’t delivering when I visited a few months later.
In the case of Legado, I’m happy to report that Chef Nieves Barragan Monaco and her team remain at the top of their game.
Then there is our central question: It might be great, but is it a good choice for a professional lunch?
In a word, yes. Given the restaurant’s location, atmosphere, and quality of the food, Legado has to be considered a top choice for lunch, drinks, or dinner with colleagues or clients.
I had the pleasure of trying Legado with writer Sam Wilson, brilliant word-spinner of restaurant reviews, ad copy, and trend forecasts. I’m hoping Sam will have the chance to share his own take on the experience in the coming days. If he does, I will certainly share it.
We turned up at Legado on a freezing Friday afternoon, and were delighted to be seated at the counter where, in addition to the view, we could benefit from the warmth of the kitchen’s heat lamps, ovens, and ranges.
Chef Nieves, originally from Bilbao, was the force behind Sabor and Barrafina. So, naturally, the food at Legado focuses on Spanish cuisine. But here, it is exquisite and elevated. Courageous even. There were dishes that I didn’t know. There’s a whole suckling pig. If that’s too much, you can merely order the pig’s head, or its ears, or its belly.
We started with lovely monkfish tempura, served with chilli jam “alioli” and Basque morcilla — a traditional blood sausage — served with piquillo pepper and a quail’s egg. The morcilla was a highlight — a big a rich flavour bomb, enriched still further by the egg.
The second round included orzo with fried lamb sweetbreads. If I were being harsh, the sweetbreads were minutely overdone, but I didn’t care. I wolfed them down anyway. There was tender grilled octopus, cooked perfectly. And a pig and apple empanadilla, delightful with flaky pastry.
We had to try to the “Legado Sandwich” — it was lunch after all — which turned out to be deep fried with “bread” made from Swiss Chard and filled with air dried beef and smoked cheese.
The highlight was the roast pork belly. Served with a wonderful sauce, it was the perfect antidote to the chilly day outside, and paired perfectly with a lovely Rioja from Legado’s excellent list.
Chatting through the afternoon, Sam and I agree that we found Legado’s space incredibly inviting — an ideal place to bring someone and share a delicious meal.
Thanks to openings over the past year or two, Shoreditch is one again abuzz with some of London’s best restaurants — Duchy, Bistro Freddie, Plaque, and, of course, The Clove Club, amongst others. The new take on foodie favourite Singburi is next door to Legado.
But Legado measures up against all of them. The food and service are excellent. The atmosphere is fantastic. It’s a Spanish-themed delight and a great choice for a professional lunch.
Quick hit: Exquisite, elevated, even courageous Spanish cooking at a gorgeous spot in Shoreditch.
Details: Booking advised. Shoreditch. £££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram and from Michelin.
Find it on Google Maps. 1C Montacute Yards, 185 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6HU.
Thanks for reading this week’s review. What’s your favourite place in Shoreditch? Tell me in the Comments. And please subscribe if you haven’t already.
The morcilla with piquillo and quail's egg sounds like the kind of dish that justifies a restaurant's whole concept. Blood sausage can be hit or miss but pairing it with that eggyolk richness changes the dynamic entirely. I dunno if the six-month check-in thing will catch on more broadly but its smart for seeing if post-opening buzz actually converts into sustained execusion, especially given how quick restaurants can slide after that initial push.
I’ve loved all of Nieve’s restaurants and can’t wait to try this ❤️