El Faro sits on the site of the former El Barradero and whilst the cuisine hasn’t moved far geographically (Portugese to Spanish), there has been a leap in the quality. I always thought El Barradero was quite a good Tapas restaurant, but El Faro is definitely a cut above it’s former occupant. I’m not quite sure how they came up with the name El Faro (translated as The Lighthouse) as the closest they come is the fact that each floor is slightly round and it looks over Crossharbour Docks, but this is neither here nor there.

Plenty of dark brown in the decor (chairs, tables and wooden floor) coupled with the white ceiling and spotlights give a rather elegant feel about the place, whilst still appearing fairly modern.

The menu comprises of a good selection of starters, which also double up as tapas dishes, if that’s what you prefer, and mains split into Carne (meat), Pescados Y Mariscos (fish & sea food), Arroces (rice dishes) and Ensalades (Salads). I don’t think I have ever been to a Spanish restaurant in the UK which promotes the usual three course meal set up over tapas, so this was a refreshing change.

My dining partner and I dismissed having a tapas style meal and for starters chose Grilled Vegetables on flat bread with sardines (although there is an option to have melted cabrales cheese instead of the sardines) and the Asturian home made Chorizo cooked in cider. The grilled vegetables were soft and sweet and worked surprisingly well with the sardines. The chorizo was excellent, too, being spicy and meaty, although I couldn’t really taste the fact that it had been cooked in cider.

I chose the Spanish fillet steak as a main, which was stuffed with foie and cured beef and came with mushrooms and crushed new potatoes. The beef was very tender and the filling of foie and cured beef was delightful, with the mushrooms a worthy accompaniment. My dining partner selected the Monkfish with mussels and prawns and this was even better than the steak. The sauce was creamy yet light and had a real flavor of the sea, without it being overpowering. The monkfish was succulent and mussels perfectly cooked (I didn’t get to taste the prawns).

Being lunchtime, I already felt pretty full, so forewent dessert, unlike my partner. She went for the passion fruit and mango coulis cheesecake and it was superb. The cheesecake was exceptionally light and the coulis cut through it very nicely indeed.

The starters ranged from £4.45 to £14.50 and the mains from £14.50 -£22.50, so you can eat here for a reasonable cost, although the price can easily escalate if you’re not careful. In addition to the excellent food, the service is also worth a mention. Our starters were slightly delayed, so the maitre’d came over and informed us of the delay, explained what had happened, apologised and told us to expect them in the next few minutes. I added a few quid to the 10% charge added to make it up to 15%, because that type of service is worth rewarding. If you are in easy reach of Docklands, then it’s a must visit restaurant. If you’re not, it’s still worth the trek but be prepared for an awkward journey home.