Our Story

Brindisa Tapas Restaurants

By Monika Linton, Founder & Owner:

“My curiosity about Spain was sparked by my father’s stories of journeying around its great cities in the 50s on his Bateman Motorbike. This spurred me on to learn the language and set-off on my own adventure to discover the true food of Spain.

With years of studying Spanish under my belt, I settled in Catalonia after University for a few years. The ingredients available to me while there were simply extraordinary. I desperately wanted to bring them back to the UK.

At that time in the early 80s people had little, to no, knowledge or interest in Spanish food. I wanted to change that, so in 1988 Brindisa was born on a shoestring with a box of cheese supported by my UK and Spanish family.

After years selling to Chefs and London’s foodies it soon became time to get our own shop. We were incredibly lucky to get a space in Borough market. Here we got encouraged to start to experiment and bringing in more and more exciting ingredients for curious cooks.

In 2004 an unexpected opportunity presented itself to me – to take a corner site at Borough Market (an old potato factory) it was here we created London’s first no reservations, traditional tapas bar. A place to bring the true food and hospitality of Spain to London’s table for all to enjoy.

Now is our 30th year, I am proud to see that Spanish gastronomy has flourished in the UK and to see our Brindisa family has grown across London. We continue to travel Spain to bring new ingredients and recipes to your table at home or in our restaurants.” Monika Linton, 2018

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