My friend and I visited on a quiet evening but the food and atmosphere did not disappoint. The interior is really interesting and unique, especially the basement, although it wasn't open. The staff were really welcoming, friendly and obviously enjoy their restaurant and are rightly proud of it. Food was fresh, filling and delicious, came in good time. I really enjoyed the calamari, something done so simply and deliciously which you surprisingly rarely find. I am really happy to recommend this great local restaurant as the town centre is now dominated by chains, which have their place no doubt, but all credit to Pinchos.
Dawn Hooper January 2012
Visited in the evening with a group of friends. We ordered a variety of Tapas and found it to be fresh and enjoyable and the atmosphere was complimented by live acoustic music on the night that we visited.
Elphie T - December 2011
I regularly visit pinchos whether it be on a Sunday afternoon, in the sun drinking wine with a friend, or an evening out with my partner for tapas. The food never disappoints, the customer service - especially from the owners is second to none, made to feel ver welcome, and can not do enough for you. Must visit this restaurant in Chelmsford, namely because of the food and service, but also for the fact tha it is a family run business, not a chain. There are too many chain restaurants in Chelmsford.
Venessa W - November 2011
My friend and I visited Pinchos on Saturday and a warm, friendly welcome greeted us! The service was excellent, the food was amazing and the owners were very friendly and helpful. All together it was a wonderful experience and I would recommend that if you are in Chelmsford you avoid the chain restaurants and give Pinchos a go.
The BEST steak you will EVER eat!!
Teresa W November 2011
My girlfriend and I decided to take a chance after reading the below negative reviews and we are very glad that we did. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left the service was impeccable. All the staff here are extremely welcoming, even going as far as moving us to a ‘warmer’ table as the one we was allocated had a draft from the open front door (the waitress was serving people outside) so it was more comfortable. The food was served to us very quickly even though there were a couple of big tables who ordered in front of us. The paella took a bit longer, but that’s expected when ordering paella, but the wait was worth it – we had a 1 person to share and we couldn’t finish it (we also had 4 dishes to share). To summarise we were both over the moon with the service and the food and will be returning in the near future.
Dan F October 2011
Essex Chronicle review from Thursday, March 17, 2011
Pinchos tapas bar on Baddow Road, Chelmsford, is officially one of the cleanest restaurants in the borough after earning five stars in a new council health and safety initiative. The food may be clean, but is it any good? I wentalong to find out and was suitably impressed. One of my main gastronomic gripes about Chelmsford is its procession of soulless chain restaurants where you know exactly what to expect. The menus are all clones of ones that appear inevery town in England, from Aberdeen to Brighton; the food feels mass-produced, and they often miss the essential personal touch.
But dotted in between their number are a few gems, and I believe Pinchos is one of them. Run by Chilean guitar aficionado Juan Acevedo and his lovely wife Beverley, it cultivates a distinct air of individualism, from the assortment of decorative knickknacks to Juan’s late night crooning. It is a far cry from the sleek, shiny restaurants I moaned about above, and instead the bustlingatmosphere feels welcoming, cosy and relaxing. We started with an array of tapas – from chorizo to calamari – washed down with ice cold Coronas, and I was impressed by the contrasting flavours. Jugs of outrageously good sangria followed, along with rib-eye steaks cooked to perfection. Seared on the outside but pink in the middle, I could not fault the texture and taste. Juan’s South American heritage pervades the menu and it is not a typical tapas bar. The steaks come from fresh, free range Argentinian beef. You can choose sirloin or fillet, but I prefer the flavour injected into the steak by the layer of fat that runs through the best rib-eyes. The steaks come with a daunting range of trimmings. They were all most enjoyable but I could not finish them.
Somehow I found room for dessert, however, and we ordered honeycomb cheesecake, lemon tart and ice cream. I have no idea what they have to do with Spain, Chile, Argentina or anywhere else in the Latin world, but they tasted phenomenal. And that illustrates once more the appeal of an individual place: the charm of little things appearing on the menu that seem out of place but work. Beverley and Juan put their heart and soul into the restaurant, and as I stumbled out, full and somewhat dizzy on sangria, Beverley told me: “We are very proud of the fact that we received five stars from the environmental health inspectors. Our customers mean a lot to us, and we are proud to offer them them the best in cleanliness."
Martin Green
Balance life magazine review (October 2010).
"Pinchos tapas restaurant and steak house has just been awarded 5 stars from Chelmsford Council for its quality of food and the high standard of its kitchen, so we were not surprised when we had a fantastic meal there recently.
I had probably the best Ribeye steak I have ever had, it was cooked just as I like it with home made chips, garlic mushrooms and peppercorn sauce £14.95 (all steaks are fresh, free range Argentinian beef). My partner chose Tapas all cooked and prepared on the premises, from fresh and mostly locally sourced produce, each dish from £2.50-£8.95. The home-made deserts are also a must at £4.95, I had the warm pancakes filled with banana and maple syrup served with vanilla ice cream (yummy).
Pinchos has two levels seating 24 downstairs which has a warm, cosy Moroccan feel (ideal for private parties) and 30 on the upper level which is vibrant and friendly. There is also a large seating area outside which is a real sun trap in summer and also great in winter with its large heated umbrellas.
This privately owned, family run restaurant is definitely worth a visit - we will be back soon.
At lunch times, there is a special deal at £9.50 for any three Tapas and there is a great selection of wines, beers and spirits. At the weekends, there is live music, which adds to a great evening out.
Why not book a table soon, or book for a great Christmas party 3 course Spanish fiesta menu from £22 per person?"
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Reviews from Dining out In Essex (essexrestaurants.com)
Wow what an amazing experience!, my partner and myself were in Chelmsford recently for a business meeting and stopped off at Pinchos for lunch, what originally drew us in, was the opportunity to eat at an 'independant' establishment rather than a 'chain' and boy what a reward we got!. I chose the lunctime special excellent value at £9.50 for a choice of any 3 tapas from the extensive menu and daily specials, the homemade fish cakes are to die for, as were the home made meat balls all complimented by my final choice of andulucian chick peas - heaven! My partner who is a steak addict could not resist the argentinian steak on offer along with home made chips and garlic mushrooms and mixed salad and his quote - not only the best in Essex but the best in the UK!! The service was attentive, friendly and welcoming and both customers and staff seemed very at home in this comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. Although I only had a glass of house white wine, it was chilled and delicious, and I noted that they had an excellent wine list with 'all' tastes catered for. We can't wait to return, especially to take advantage of the extensive outside seating and to sample that beautiful and delicious food once again!!
K Lake
My wife and I stumbled on this place by accident and were smitten, so for our second visit I took a chance and booked it for my birthday party. Due to numbers, and choosing the lunchtime tapas special, we phoned orders ahead and food started appearing 10 minutes after we walked through the door! The food is fantastic and varied with plenty of choice for veggies like myself. The atmosphere is great, the staff friendly, the chef amazing, and it's great value too. I can't recommend this place highly enough and can't wait to go back. GrahamCan't resist writing this review to share our experience dining in this excellent restaurant. The food is excellent!,Pinchos is a restaurant where you can chat with friends and enjoy the food and their lovely music. this is definately THE place to go for extraordinary tapas and have a very good time.The quality and diversity of dishes was impressive and it is also a great value for money.We went after reading the reviews and were not disappointed. The service matches fantastic food. We love this place, don't miss it!
A Sosa
After years of talking about it, some old school friends and I finally arranged a lunch. We are all professional women, living in various parts of the country and Chelmsford was deemed a central point to meet. But where to eat? As a self confessed foodie, I took no chances and made sure out choice of venue came highly recommended and boy did my research pay off. I work in Spain and Portugal for much of the year but haven't found anywhere to match the qualitiy of tapas (don't get me started on the deep fried baby squid or I shall start drooling all over again). Every dish had a distictive flavour - tapas can be so samey in my experience, we put calory counting to one side and shared the amazing banana and apple pancakes. There was a fabulous choice of wine, the service was second to none and it was amazing value for money. We shall not leave it another ten years but will go back again and again!!
K Lippitt
I am an ex British Airways longhaul hosty and have travelled all over the world, eating in the best restaurants and sampling all delights. During my flying years - when I was back in the country - the one place I could be found if I wanted to go out would be Pinchos - the ambience, the service, the food and wonderful warmth and welcome was always paramount. I now no longer fly - but I frequent Pinchos often as the atmosphere and friendliness of everyone is so inviting - why go else where I ask myself!!!! When the sun shines (although there are warming heaters outside when not so warm)- the outside seating area is a suntrap and one can watch the world go by and enjoy an almost mediterranean atmosphere.....lunch times often span into the evening as it becomes so comfortable and friendly. I have only praise and compliments to give this lovely Tapas Bar - I would recommend it highly.
M Whitten
My first lunchtime experience was a visit to remember. Welcoming staff along with great wine and the best food I have tasted. Each Tapas had a individual taste.
Service was prompt and friendly. I can also recommend the Deserts especially the banana and maple syrup pancakes.
I am looking forward to my next visit.
David Palmer
Excellent well presented food,friendly staff and the added bonus of an outside eating space wen its warm. Will go back again when in Chelmsford
Jim and Lynn
I booked a table of 24 here for my birthday so they gave us the downstairs room to eat in, which just so happened to be next to the loos, which was handy more than anything really, unfortunately there were only two, but hey ho.
The table was booked for 8pm and by the time everyone had got drinks and sat down the food was on it's way out, and everyone was totally ready for it. I had chosen the £20 party menu, I wasn't sure what was going to come out as I hadn't read a menu, but the food was all really lovely and dessert was also included in the price. We were all completely stuffed afterwards but the food was top knotch, I would definitely recommend this place and visit again :)
Siobhan Marshall
Great place to eat...warm and friendly service, great atmoshphere (especially on a Sat night), feels like you are at home in the living room with all your friends! A friend of ours who's parents own a Tapas bar in Wales prefers the food at Pinchos and refuses to eat elsewhere when he comes to visit! Eaten here many times, and have never been disappointed...definitely worth a visit!
LW & DT
The tapas was very good and full of flavour! I would definitely recommend the spanish omlette and the tender pork. We went early evening so it was rather quiet and was lacking a bit of the ambience that had been described in many of the other reviews but this was OK. I think the lunch time deal must be better value than the evening menu. However if you want good Tapas it is worth paying that bit extra.
Clarry
Went to Pinchos today for lunch for the very first time. Service was friendly and the food was superb and very well prepared. (Chocolate Brownie for dessert was heaven)We thought it was excellent value for money and cannot recommend it highly enough. We will definitely return in the near future.
Mr and Mrs Mitchell
Recommend the lunchtime offers.A bit of Spain in Essex that tempts me to change language in a modern but traditional atmosphere. Friendly and relaxed. Not the automatic bread served here in UK but less typical UK prices for Spanish tapas...and I'm soon full!!
Martine Norman
Never been to a place like pinchos before, well recomended, especialy the live music on friday night
John McSmyth
An evening at Pinchos is a whole experience rather than just a good meal out. The food is totally authentic and with the ambience and live music, it feels like a night in Barcelona rather than a night in Chelmsford! The service is excellent and the staff are incredibly warm and friendly. It's so rare to find a place in England where you get excellent food, great service, brilliant decor and amazing ambience but Pinchos delivers all the above and more!
Karen Haddon
"Having dined at Gordon Ramsey's Claridges the night before, my palate could have proved difficult to please, but the food here didn't fail to impress.The restaurant was moderately busy, and all the diners were busy clearing their plates of delicious food. Everybody had praise for the food when I asked what they thought.
Our waiter new the menu well, and suggested various dishes which were pretty outstanding. Glorious meatballs. They were so well made and tasty that I wanted more. Spicy Beef - fabulous. The portions were large and unfortuneately we couldn't finish all our dishes.
The atmosphere was friendly and lively, with fellow diners joining us for after dinner drinks.There is outside seating which will be a big attraction once the rain stops and summer arrives."
