Carmen Tapas in Lambeth

Been going here for years, always been good but recent change of ownership/maybe just a redesign has made it even better. The last few times we've eaten at Carmen the food has been unreal, the menu is simple and just extremely fresh and well executed, as well as their great Spanish wines and ciders. Probably the best restaurant in the area and great to see one of the few places around stand the test of time.

Had a groupon for 6 people with cocktails. Seated ourselves! Cocktails were sangria or cava with juice! 4 pieces of bread came out for 6 people. A sharing platter is apparently 2 small dishes of tapas. The worst was gone off chicken that came out. When I complained got told none of us have tatsebuds. I am a sous chef just by the way. It was 6pm on a Friday in Clapham and we were one of only two tables....now I know why. We didn't eat anything else and left. Awful from start to end and if u value your health.....avoid it. I have edited my review in response to the owners reply....firstly I have not posted under 2 different names....the other review is from my daughter who was also eating and also told she has no tatstebuds. And yes I did raise my voice because I was refused a refund after being served gone off chicken. Which is dangerous and we left all of the rest of our food and drink and our night was ruined. And then had the waiter/owner be rude to us as well. As for being born after the establishment of the restaurant. I am 43 years old and have been a chef for 7. I would never write a bad review unless deserved as you may well see from all of my other many reviews.

The server was pleasant but seemed inexperienced. After serving the food, she returned after 40 minutes to ask if everything was okay. Salt and pepper were not on the table and were not offered. The sangria was delicious. The paella was underwhelming. There was no bowl for the discarded shells or hand wipes. Also, the king prawns were not deveined.

Fantastic tapas. The worst paella in London. Chef - go easy on the salt But the tapas was 10/10

Very disappointing. Travelled here after work to enjoy Tapas and cocktails with my mother and sister with a voucher we got from groupon. I was greeted at the door by a very nice waiter who showed me to the table whilst I waited for my family. We were then served by a new waitress who was okay, she was a little condescending though. We were told that for our “cocktails” we were allowed wine with lemonade or cava with fruits and for our tapas we were allowed 1 basket of bread one bowl of olives and 4 tapas dishes. The groupon was meant to be for 6 people and despite this all dishes came with only 2-4 items as to only feed 2-4 people. As is this isn’t disappointing enough we then came to find that one of our chicken dishes was clearly off. It was the chicken in mushroom and wine sauce but the meat was insanely bitter and sour and upon tasting the mushroom and the sauce alone we could definitely tell that this chicken was not okay to be served ( my mother and I are both chefs at different restaurants ). My mother complained to who we assume is the manager and he was the most unprofessional person I have ever encountered. He was very defensive and not only did not apologise that we had been served rancid meat but said we are lying and have no taste as the chicken is fine and is good quality. He then proceeded to tell my mother she was being recorded and as we were leaving the restaurant was telling us to leave the restaurant. Absolutely AWFUL service and I would really recommend this restaurant to replace their management and update their food safety management systems. Will also be reporting this to EHO as this is a SERIOUS risk to public health!

Beautiful Spanish deco, toilets very clean and live atmosphere, it was a busy night ( New year’s eve ). I loved all the dishes but my friends found the paella a bit salty and overcooked. One of the waiters that seems very young was rude and threw a plate in the table I think because he was struggling with so many customers and that’s why I won’t give 5 stars, it’s a shame because the rest of the staff were amazing and very polite.

Great food and service. Recommend to anyone.

Very delicious Spanish food with quality products and at a very good price. Spanish music and good atmosphere. The best Spanish restaurant I have tried in London. 🤤💛

Loved the sangria! Bear in mind it is cash only, but cash point just near by.

Everything was absolutely deliscious! Definitely, will be coming back!

Honestly if you are looking for dinner in Clapham there are so many better places. The food was fine, anything deep fried was good, the seafood tasted abnormally fishy and we had what appeared to be a half eaten olive in the very unattractive tricolour salad. At the end of the meal we were told the electricity had gone out and we had to go find cash or wait to see if the card machine would start working (which didn’t make any sense given the lights were still on and food was coming out for other tables). Anyway all in all a really odd experience in an area where there are some really nice restaurants - you could do a lot better than here!

Great Restaurant! Quality price was okay. Portions were normal. I was expecting a bit bigger for the price. They were tasty.

Remarkably good; indeed better than many tapas we've had in Spain. Friendly staff, buzzing atmosphere. House Rioja very acceptable. Hard to find fault except the tables are a bit small if you are having a wide selection of tapas!

Sitio encantador, buena comida y muy buen servicio, totalmente recomendado, gracias Salomón

Me encantó el sitio , sobre todo un trato excepcional de Salomon y la comida muy española

Excellent place the food is delicious and great attention from the staff every time, highly recommended

Very good, well worth a visit. Tapas is lovely.

Great tapas place. We were served very quickly. Restaurant seems well organised and a cozy atmosphere

My friends and I have been visiting Carmen for well over 10 years, it’s always been the place we like to go to we find it cozy enough to chat and enjoy the ambience. The last 2 times though I have to say I am not impressed :( they’ve changed the menu and it’s not that appetising to us anymore…. I had my first mojito (not a drinker) but my friend encouraged me to try and and it was AMAZING! Wanting to go for 2nd I was told they’ve run out of ice? I this wouldn’t have been an issue if it was 11am but it was 8pm??? Would I continue to recommend Carmen Sadly no :(

I've been here several times, and the food never disappoints. However I think the prices have gone too high now. We paid nearly £10 for 5 tiny pieces of pork in a blue cheese sauce. This worked out at almost £2 per mouthful. The sangria was particularly nice this time, though.

Paella was ok. Patatas bravas weren't as expected, they tasted like regular chips (no seasoning) with a spicy tomato sauce on the side. Sangria was on the sweeter side.

Fantastic! Very kind staff, lovely vibes, great music and food is outstanding. I shared a vegetarian paella with my friend and had some spinach croquettes and patatas bravas. Very tasty and made with love and passion. Would love to come back soon! 🫶🏼

Took my dad and sister here, and genuinely loved it. Great food with lots of veggie friendly options. Lovely atmosphere, a little loud for my dad, but still really enjoyed it. Really nice and friendly staff. Would thoroughly recommend! ✨

Can’t give this place anything other than 5 stars. Incredible staff, great vibes and the food was sensational. The gambas al ajillo and the paella negra in particular were outstanding. The best tapas I’ve had in London and very reasonable prices. We will definitely be back!

Ordered a stake, it came uncooked and I couldn’t eat it. 2 waiters and none asked what’s wrong or how I like my steak cooked. 2 waiters and none of them asked what’s wrong with my steak that I didn’t eat. If there is a rating with minus, I will give this place a minus 5⭐️

I recommend the chef to travel to Spain and try Spanish food because it was an insult to Spanish people and their gastronomy… The waiter didn’t ask how we want the meat and we left mostly everything and he didn’t ask if there was anything wrong either.

I came here this evening, it is a decent little place. The sauce for the patatas bravas was a bit lacking in flavour, but the portions were fair for the price and it tasted good overall! I'm not sure what is expected of the goat's cheese with cassava chips, however the chips did seem very stale and were all broken up, and the goat's cheese wasn't soft enough to use with them. That aside the service was very sweet and the ambience was alright.

I have visited twice and both times the service was great and friendly. The Sangria's are to die for good quality. The food is plentiful and tasty. I highly recommend the cheese croquettes it's a special cheese forgotten the name. We shall be back again! Also the prawns in white wine yum! On another occasion we had the seafood paella, flavoursome!!

Great location, lovely food, long running place and consistent! Nicely decorated, feel very cosy and homey style; very friendly staff and efficient, definitely recommended!

After a long time - we decided to visit this restaurant; Did not have a reservation, so my husband and I was pleased that there was a table available. We was served quickly and so was the food. Food was unfortunately bland, no taste, no flavouring. The sea-bass was incredibly tasteless. The so called pasta was rubbery. Jug of sangria was decent enough!!! Price £75.00 (including service charge). Very unlikely, we will be coming back again!!!

Love this restaurant, their tapas have been consistently great over the last few years since I first visited and never disappoint. Staff are always friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is cozy and inviting.

Fantastic atmosphere, lovely staff, very friendly, food is good, paella needs to be tried! Located exactly in front of the tube entrance! Very easy , well recommended

Such a lovely place! Please go and get filled with gooooooood food!!!

Have been twice now and both times really enjoyed our food and friendly service. We will go again

Delicious tapas and paella and really friendly staff. I spilled some chorizo oil on my white trousers and they were so helpful, bringing me stain remover to help get it off.

Second time in a month this place doesn't disappoint me! Had great time with my friend, and as being Italian she can be very fussy about food! Tapas were delicious, good portions too, and staff were busy but so friendly, relaxed and ready to meet our needs! Loved the decor, so much attention to the details ! It felt like being on holiday in Spain! Just loved it xx

Excelente comida, el queso de cabra delicioso

Overpriced and mediocre food. The cod pieces had a weird tasting batter and the food generally was very under seasoned. The steak is a very tough cut served whole on this tiny plate with stale chips that are not fresh.

Delicious place to have some Tapas. A week after going to Spain. We needed a taste of Spain and the place did not disappoint. The Spanish omelette was fresh which I never see so loved it. And the menu was so varied and tasty. Can't wait to go back.

TL:DR If you not booked you give a old iPad and expected to fill in your person detail, email telphone number before you can sit down. When asked why they say will send you a link to review site where we like you to review the food you not eaten, there no mention of how long the hold your data or GDPR. The food is ok not a lot of flaour. but you have to be paitent when ordering your food, I had to repeat my order muliple time. I would advice to order a few tapas as the paella can take 40 mins to cook and arrive. The portion size smaller than what you would get in Spain/ Balearics. I asked if the Seafood paella had crap mean in it as I am alleric and the waitor could not tell me. I object to having to fill in my contact deatils on an ipad in order to get a table in an empty restaurant. A review is ment to be helpful and independent not an requipment to get a seat. They should check withthe ICO about the way in which you require consent for public data.

I’ve been in here in the past, and the food was good and the service was quick, but they seem to be under new management and have different staff so it’s gone downhill since then give it a few months until her back on their feet again.

It was clear they’d had a busy day as most empty tables were dirty when we got there. Clear they needed more servers. The lady that served us (blonde-didn’t catch her name) seemed to be the only one that was working. Food came before our drinks did. Food was very,very average. Patatas bravas seemed like frozen potato’s and the paella lacked flavour. Overall disappointing.

Honestly for the price that you pay I expected a better quality of the food. The staff was nice but I felt sorry for them because our waiter was running like crazy to serve everyone. Atmosphere is nice, I liked the decor.

Amazing food, we ordered chorizo paella and breaded prawns, so flavourful. I wished there was a homemade lemonade to go with the food, must be so refreshing. Will be back!

The waiter we had, had no customer service and ended up physically assaulted my friend out of the restaurant. When she said she was gonna called the police he continued to yell at us when we were outside. We calmly tried to discuss our grievances with him that included, not preparing the food correctly, the food coming out at different times and the food not being served on appropriate plates. Instead of listening he got defensive and started shouting at us in front of all his customers, making a scene when that was the opposite of what we wanted. He started to blame us for how we ordered the food and that we didn’t order in the “correct way” even though he never ask us what our needs were. He continues to shout at us staying that he “knows how to do his job” without even trying to hear us out. I would not recommend this restaurant.

This is the best everlasting restaurant for healthy eating

Food was not great chiroz red wine was very oily

Among other dishes, we ordered a 3-person mixed paella, seafood & chicken. The only seafood visible is a few mussels in the shell, chicken pieces where so small, equivalent to mince meat, shrimps so small , they are invisible. The plate size is no bigger than 20cm. to add insult, , the plate was bulked up with frozen green garden PEAS, never tasted a genuine paella with green peas. plate, £28.95 plus 121/2 % sc. not recommended, not genuine spanish food

Excellent food and atmosphere - good value too!

Fantastic food & ambience ! Definitely will be back

En general todo muy bien, calidad precio bastante asequible y la comida estaba rica, sin embargo las paellas nada que ver con las originales (soy de Valencia), pero de sabor estaban ricas.

Great atmosphere. The paella was amazing. I almost forgot I'm in London and felt like I was in Spain. The waiters were also very nice and professional.

Cuisine espagnole avec portions généreuses. Service simple et rapide et prix corrects

I first dined here in 2005 while living in London and the food is delicious and served in a rustic style which I prefer. Not only does this restaurant share my name, but its address is also the day of my birth, #6. Since my first meal, I've always felt at home here. I visit every time I'm back in town, bringing friends and family with me. Thank you for always filling our stomache and our heart! Looking forward to dining here in May.

Went on a Groupon I got 4 tapas and 2 drinks. Food was so tasteful and so filing for small dishes. Service was on point and friendly. The only one thing I would say is that the Sangria didn't taste like it had any alcohol I'm it. Other than that it was a great experience.

Good reasonably priced tapas and always friendly staff

Gracias Isabel por tu atención y servicio. La calidad de la comida buenísima. Gracias Carmen tapas 😊

Genial servicio de la camarera : Isa volveremos !

Omg. We went to Carmen many times. Always was good but today …. Everything was perfect. Food amazing atmosphere so great and service wow. Specially service from Salomon xxx❤️❤️

The most amazing food and service I have in my life, brilliant you doing amazing job

I'm a delivery man, I went to pick up an order at this restaurant, they didn't even give me a reason I waited 20 minutes and nothing, I was treated like garbage, I don't recommend this restaurant to anyone

I had a great anniversary here with my partner-. I fully recommend . great service by Salomon and great food. My favourite was the cheese cake 🎂 thank you. We will come back soon

Went for a dinner with my friends and we had an amazing experience and really good service provided by whole team. Tapas are just amazing and the sangria is delicious. But one of my favourite dish was the Lottus cheesecake dessert🫶🏽

Salomon recommended me the Lotus Cheesecake and guys it is just amazing! 😍😍😍

This restaurant is so lovely, very intimate and cosy vibe. Food was amazing, we had two sets of tapas as starters that were delicious, then a paella to die for. And for desert, we enjoyed the beautiful cheescake. We will go back, for sure.

Very happy overall. We shared the Huevos Rotos, which was a great starter for two, tasty iberico jamón, and the mixed salad was also very good and well presented. I should like to mention, more for the benefit of management, that the paella was spoiled for me by it being a bit burned on top. Had it been grilled?

I had such an amazing dinner with my boyfriend. The vibes were immaculate and saloman was such a great host and delivered the best service !

Staff very polite. Food too tasty. Good music. I strongly recomend it.

Lovely food good prices would recommend

Incredible food and service!! Seafood paella tasted phenomenal!! Definately recommend!

amazing food!! I am spanish and the food taste like authentic spanish dishes!! incredible team and amazing chefs!!! highly recommend

FANTASTIC FOOD! This place is a hidden gem. Sangria was superb, Tapas came extremely quickly and was all delicious. Good job to all staff there 👏

Excellent food and service, our favorite at Clapham.

Thank you to Salomon, Isa, & Marian. Spanish food is definitely worth the try. My experience was fabulous! Xoxo love it! Thank you again…..

Awful experience, very disappointing as tapas is my favourite cuisine. From start to finish, when we arrived my bf ordered a sangria then asked the waiter if we could change to red instead of white, he then came back with both jugs and we had to pay for both. The meat was soft, so soft that it tasted off. We mentioned it to a member of staff and she didn’t seem to care. My bf then told the manager as he was extremely angry at this point. Apparently they were all speaking in Spanish, so he could not understand, which to be honest is very rude. They then handed me a discount card for our next visit instead of doing the right thing and discounting our meal that we barely touched. To me the service is the most important, and the customer should be given some sort of compensation. If it was just the food that was bad I wouldn’t be so upset, if they dealt with it the right way and looked after their customers with respect. I will defiantly not be back. At one point the manager was standing over our table basically waiting for us to leave and making me feel very on edge and stressed. Very unprofessional, the whole restaurant was watching, I ended up in tears. Extremely disappointed. Ruined our whole night that we were very excited for. I hope the owners are aware of this because this is not okay for a restaurant now a days.i would say save your money and go somewhere else! Loads more in Clapham, £90 for nothing.

Always an absolute pleasure to dine here. The food is truly amazing, reasonably priced for the area with fast, friendly service

Amazing tapas!!!! Top class food and lovely wines. Service was amazing and so friendly. Highly recommend this place to everyone!

The place was quite empty when we were there but food was absolutely delicious and at reasonable price.

Im from Spain and I was really eager to come to this restaurant, overall the service was really good and the food as well!! I’ve ordered some: pimientos del patron 9/10, basic but I loved them! Gambas al ajillo, nothing outrageous, they were good but maybe a bit more of prawns? Moreover, the calamares where AMAZING!! Very tasty and just like I’d eat in Spain! I must say I was quite disappointed with the croquetas de jamón basically because it did have the taste of Spanish ham but the bechamel was not what I expected, it was a bit too thick meanwhile it should be smooth. Last but not least, I ordered crema catalana, it was ok. Plus, I ordered a sangria jug and I’d add some peach in juice tin in it to give it that taste that we have in Spain like more sugary… but it was really nice tho. What I didn’t like is that they brought some bread and then they charged it when we didn’t order it… if you are gonna charge me the bread, at the very least, ask me if I want and let me know you’re gonna add it in my bill…

Cute little tapas restaurant but the food was hit and miss. We had to send the croquettas back twice for being cold in the middle, then gave up on those. The albondigas and tortilla were good. Reasonably priced and nice wine

Carmen is a great restaurant. The food is always good and the people are always lovely. I must’ve taken everyone I know here over the past year.

We had two paellas and the red sangria JUG! It was something else. Worth a visit!

This is a consolidated Spanish restaurant at Clapham Common, just close by tube. Tapas quality were as if you are in Spain and service was great, special mention to Isa. We have a joyful experience.

Muy buena atención y muy rica la paella

LUNCH WITH FRIENDS I bought a Groupon Voucher and took my friend for Lunch. Although during this time of the day it is pretty quiet. The service by Isabel was fantastic, she listened to all queries I had and was very attentive. The food was delicious and plentiful. Ample amount of bread and Olives, sizzling prawns, meatballs, seabass served on bed of tiny pasta. The wine also included in the deal. I have been here before but never on a deal so was apprehensive but no need to worry everything was lovely, great service. Thank you Isabel.

Located close to Clapham Common underground station, Carmen Tapas is a brilliant restaurant serving authentic Spanish food. Between the two of us, we shared 4 tapas plates to start, and then had a paella each. This was loads of food at a reasonable price. The waitresses were friendly and attentive. Thanks for a great evening.

I bought a Groupon Voucher and took my friend for Lunch. Although during this time of the day it is pretty quiet. The service by Isabel was fantastic, she listened to all queries I had and was very attentive. The food was delicious and plentiful. Ample amount of bread and Olives, sizzling prawns, meatballs, seabass served on bed of tiny pasta. The wine also included in the deal. I have been here before but never on a deal so was apprehensive but no need to worry everything was lovely, great service. Thank you Isabel.

Wonderful authentic Spanish meal on a Sunday lunchtime. Ordered a chicken & chorizo paella & several tapas dishes, including patatas bravas, crispy cod & alioli, mushrooms in garlic & olive oil, meatballs & the chicken escalopes. We also had bread & olives & Sangria. For dessert we ordered the churros & chocolate & a cappuccino. All food & drinks were really good & we will definitely be going back here.

Cute little venue, staff were nice enough, but we had 2 paellas and both were BLAND!

Some of the best tapas I have had in London, delicious food and nice atmosphere. Will definitely go back for more.

Highly Recommended..!!Amazing Spanish restaurant Near Tooting. We have visited a restaurant at Friday Evening & tried Mixta Paella 🥘 and Sea food Paella .. Taste is awesome , like Spain Thanks for Your great service/ chef Rating 10/10

I visited Carmen restaurant during Friday evening with some friends at around 9pm and two of us was left feeling very unwell after eating at the restaurant. We did not eat anywhere else during that day and we had experienced the same stomach cramps, chills and nausea the morning after. We ordered mostly seafood tapas. We are quite sure that it was from the food served here as both of us felt unwell around the same time after eating the same order and as we had not seen each other in some time, we know that we didn’t share an illness of some kind. There was no issue with the service and we enjoyed the food at the time but we are frustrated with how ill we are feeling, which is a big shame as this was our first time eating here. I contacted Carmen on Sunday however they have not responded. Update: They have still not responded to my email or my review over two weeks later, which is appalling!! Please avoid this restaurant!

Quality tapas, reasonable prices, good service.

It was an amazing find just next to Clapham Common Station. Nicely decorated and the ambience is like being on holiday. Their front French windows are opened making it more welcoming to sit specially on a sunny day. Wide range of selections on the menu and their servings are quite generous for tapas. The calamari is exceptionally soft like butter and no sign of chewiness. We were a party of three and had four types of tapas plus mixed paella for two. We couldn't really finish it all and I even had the rest of the paella home. It's highly recommended and the price is worth it for servings that you get. The staff are also very attentive and charming.

I don't understand how this place is rated so high, cause the food is soo bad!! We ordered a salad but the tomato was gone off so we had to return it. We also had to return the lagrimas de pollo cause it was soo dry and bland and also the mixta paella because it was also very tasteless, overcooked and really wet, you can tell from my picture that they use frozen seafood and vegetables that you get from Iceland to cook this. It got so bad that we had to go to another restaurant down the road to eat because we couldn't really eat anything we ordered and were so hungry! I hate bringing down a local business but when the waiter is giving me so much attitude and was soo rude talking behind my back about how customers come to restaurants and don't like the food! This was my first and last times at Carmen's and if you want to save your moneys and leave hungry I would go ANYWHERE else but here!

Muy buena comida y excelente atención. Todo muy bien.

Amazing food, amazing service. I love the Spanish.

Lovely food! Red Sangria is lovely, croquettes, pork, pawns, all lovely! Staff very nice. No complains over this places. 10/10 location also

Very accommodating to dietary requirements, quick service. Pretty big portions for tapas, can easily share 1 plate between 2 people. Food was very tasty and well seasoned with a large variety of tapas on their menu

A friend of mine said this place was not worthy and...I'm so glad I trusted my intuition that this place is worthy. My family had a great time for dinner, wine was exquisite, food was so tasty (specially the vegan paella and the ham and cheese croquettes! Wonderful) and the stuff was so nice to us. And believe me, my family and I are spanish people from Spain and we felt like home so definitely I'll be back again to this restaurant. PS: I think I'm going to stop be friends of this friend lol