There is nothing like having the owner welcome you to his restaurant, and especially with the enthusiasm of Sabor’s energetic Esnayder.

By Amaranta Wright

The executive chef and founder of this high-end Latin fusion restaurant oozes passion and pride when he describes the Latin American combinations he has selected and how he has transformed them.

Nobody does courtesy and hospitality quite like a Colombian, but Colombian cuisine is not the continent’s most renowned…could he know each national cuisine that well? ‘Fusion’ food can go terribly wrong – pretentiously failing each national cuisine - especially in Latin America where each country does what they do so well. There is nothing worse than a Peruvian ceviche that is trying to be clever, and how can you improve an Argentine bife?  The results on the plates and in the glasses live up to Esnaydor’s passion.

We started with cocktails: passion fruit margarita and Amor Ardiente, a combination of the Colombian anaseed-based liqueur and blackberry. Both were absolutely exquisite. To accompany this we shared the trio of empanadas, which were so delicate and full of flavour it was hard to place them in their greasy (though also tasty) street food family. For starters we chose the classic ceviche and the chorizo. The lime-soaked cod was fresh and zingy with the accompaniment of sweet potato and corn, a recipe well left to its traditional Peruvian recipe. The hand-made Chorizo was meaty rather than greasy, with an amazing yucca, corn and spinache hash. We opted for the heavier main courses of slow-braised Oxtail and molasses glazed pork stuffed with prunes and apricots. Both were excellent, the portions as abundant as the flavours delicate and rich. With stomachs bursting our desire to continue experiencing the fountain of new flavours drove us to order deserts; trio of deserts and Banana cake. Both were slightly too sweet for my liking, the sugar smothering the flavours, but perhaps by this time I felt it necessary to criticise at least one thing.

Esnaydor’s passion goes beyond his country, it is about region, but more importantly about food. He knows what dishes to leave in their traditional form and finds creative ways to add dimensions to others. Though we cannot testify whether its steak was quite as good as that you get in some of the excellent Argentine parillas in London, for its overall effect of delight in taste, originality and ambition we concluded that Sabor is quite simply the best Latin American restaurant we’ve been to in London. Other Latin American restaurants: take this not as a definite but a challenge!

More info: SABOR