To mark Ib\u00e9rica’s 10th anniversary this year, we dropped into Ib\u00e9rica Victoria for lunch to celebrate their special birthday.\u00a0Ib\u00e9rica Victoria is situated on the ground floor of the Zig Zag Building, located just moments from Victoria train station.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This Spanish restaurant showcases the true flavours of Spain in contemporary Iberian surroundings and offers gastronomic tapas from lunch until late evening amongst the relaxed and authentic atmosphere of a Spanish tapas bar.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For the last ten years, Ib\u00e9rica has been a pioneering culinary force bringing authentic Spanish food to a wider audience in the UK. With his Celtic roots firmly in the mountains of Asturias in North West Spain, Ib\u00e9rica\u2019s celebrated Executive Chef Nacho Manzano \u2013 who has been awarded 3 Michelin stars \u2013 brings together ingredients of the highest quality from imported from carefully selected Spanish producers to create a delectable and definitive tapas experience reflecting the best of the fields, farms and seas of the Iberian Peninsula.\u00a0Nacho\u2019s central philosophy of cuisine revolves around\u00a0traditionally made Spanish products and he is renowned for his\u00a0modern interpretations of authentic recipes focused on the Asturian specialities of his homeland.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Iberica’s Group Head chef\u00a0C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda is the right hand of Nacho. The pair go a long way back in their native Asturias and not only make a great team but also have\u00a0a great\u00a0personal\u00a0relationship. After finishing his culinary training in Spain, C\u00e9sar worked alongside top chefs in the north of Spain for a brief period after which he moved to London as a young chef.\u00a0Part of Ib\u00e9rica Restaurants since the start, it is said that all their tapas recipes\u00a0include a piece of C\u00e9sar’s heart… figuratively and not literally, we hope!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ib\u00e9rica Victoria\u2019s interiors are designed by internationally renowned architect L\u00e1zaro Rosa Viol\u00e1n of Contemporain Studios Barcelona creating a stunning restaurant with a cool Spanish air situated over two floors with a dedicated bar and beautiful terrace.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sure to satisfy any wine connoisseur, the extensive Spanish wine list covers\u00a0different regions of Spain to\u00a0representing the rich diversity on offer and features over 50 different wines with around 20 of them from small boutique wineries that are not available anywhere else in the UK.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

With the wines sourced directly from the producers committed to produce only the best wine using native grapes to reflect the local ecosystem in which the wine is produced. This allows\u00a0Ib\u00e9rica to offer guests a very competitive price on this top-quality boutique wines that are not available anywhere else outside Spain.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The menu features Spanish tapas classics including Jam\u00f3nes Ib\u00e9ricos y Serrano, top quality Spanish charcuterie and the finest artisan Spanish cheeses alongside meat dishes of pork, chicken, lamb and venison joining seafood delicacies like octopus, baby squid and mussels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What better way to kick off our Spanish feast at Ib\u00e9rica Victoria than with a refreshing aperitif cocktail. Ib\u00e9rica has a drinks menu to suit every taste whether you want a fruity mocktail, a classic Old Fashioned or an indulgent Pornstar Martini.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ib\u00e9rica Victoria, like all the\u00a0Ib\u00e9rica restaurants in the group, clearly demonstrate an outstanding dedication to quality in both its food and wine menus supported by a passion for sharing food with friends and family that resonates with us. So for our lunch, we simply had to start with a platter of their famous traditionally made\u00a0Jam\u00f3n Ib\u00e9rico.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This famous Spanish charcuterie is made from 100% pure-breed,\u00a0black Iberian pig. These pigs mature slowly and roam freely in the Spanish countryside, grazing in fields and acorn woods. Depending on the producer and the desired intensity of flavour,\u00a0the meat is hung for as long as four years,\u00a0before this excellent product is ready to eat.\u00a0The Jam\u00f3n Ib\u00e9rico really tastes as good as it sounds. The flavour is intense and you can easily appreciate the effort that goes into creating the different styles of\u00a0jam\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A great classic from the tapas menu is the Calamares. These fried baby squid are served with a delicious aioli and are a delightful snack for those wanting something tasty and light to start.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A great vegetarian tapas is the crispy aubergine\u00a0fried in a light batter with \u2018miel de ca\u00f1a\u2019. This is a typical\u00a0dish from Andaluc\u00eda. The\u00a0miel de ca\u00f1a adds a sweetness to the crunch of the batter and the mild taste of the aubergine makes for a dish that we will definitely return to enjoy again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Such a lovely selection was taken to the next level with the Croquetas\u00a0with serrano ham – delightful although perhaps not the lightest of options! Made to\u00a0Nacho\u2019s grandmother\u2019s recipe, these\u00a0Croquetas keep you coming back for more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Another favourite from the menu is the Black Rice – prawn & squid ink rice\u00a0served with aioli – a stunning contrast of\u00a0 textures and flavours\u00a0with the squid ink bringing an indulgence to the dish that is tempered by the aioli. If you like seafood, this is a must-try.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A dish that showcases the high quality of ingredients used by the chefs at Ib\u00e9rica Victoria is the Bonito Del Norte –\u00a0 cured raw white tuna from the\u00a0Cantabrian Sea served with\u00a0Andalusian ajoblanco & avocado. The tuna has a fresh firm texture without a fishy aroma that is perfectly balanced by the garlic and salt from the\u00a0ajoblanco and the rich buttery taste of the\u00a0avocado.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Twice-Cooked Lamb with marinated cherry tomatoes\u00a0& red peppers from Le\u00f3n was a very tempting dish to savour. The meaty flavours of the lamb was balanced well with the sweet taste and juiciness of the tomatoes and peppers. This dish was our last tapas of an satisfying meal but left us feeling surprisingly moreish which clearly shows the qaulity and excellence of the food served at Ib\u00e9rica Victoria.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nacho can expect to enjoy another 10 years of success serving such authentivc and delicious Spanish food!<\/p>\n

Ib\u00e9rica Victoria
\n68 Victoria St, London SW1E 6SQ
\n+44 (0)20 3327 0200
\nwww.ibericarestaurants.com\/restaurants\/iberica-victoria\/
\n@Iberica_UK<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To mark Ib\u00e9rica’s 10th anniversary this year, we dropped into Ib\u00e9rica Victoria for lunch to celebrate their special birthday.\u00a0Ib\u00e9rica Victoria is situated on the ground floor of the Zig Zag Building, located just moments from Victoria train station. This Spanish restaurant showcases the true flavours of Spain in contemporary Iberian surroundings and offers gastronomic tapas …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":36393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"loftocean_post_format_gallery":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_ids":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_urls":"","loftocean_post_format_video_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_video_url":"","loftocean_post_format_video_type":"","loftocean_post_format_video":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_type":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_url":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_audio":"","loftocean-featured-post":"","loftocean-like-count":0,"loftocean-view-count":1750,"tinysalt_single_post_intro_label":"","tinysalt_single_post_intro_description":"","tinysalt_hide_post_featured_image":"","tinysalt_post_featured_media_position":"","tinysalt_single_site_header_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header_style":"sticky-scroll-up","tinysalt_single_site_footer_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_footer":"0","footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Nacho-Manzano-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36276"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36276"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36278,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36276\/revisions\/36278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sloanmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}