Tapas Bar Near Me on D'Arblay Street: Copita Soho Sherry Stop

Search tapas bar near me from the northern half of Soho and the closest proper option is often Copita, a narrow corner bar at 27 D'Arblay Street. It has been pouring sherry and sending out small plates since 2011, and the owners still describe the goal in plain terms: tasty tapas, good ingredients, and a social room where you can drop in for one glass or stay for a long dinner.

D'Arblay Street is one of the quieter lanes between Wardour Street and Berwick Street, and Copita sits on the corner where the evening crowd spills onto the pavement in summer. The name refers to the slim tulip glass used for sherry in Andalucía, and the room is arranged for that style of drinking: high tables, a long bar to prop yourself against, and plates small enough to order two at a time.

The kitchen works from a seasonal menu that changes with the produce, and the team adds weekly specials, sometimes daily ones, which regulars say is why they keep coming back. The current October card mixes Spanish classics with ingredients from further afield, so you will find kimchi mayo next to salt cod and passion fruit beside Atlantic prawns. It reads as a London tapas bar rather than a museum piece.

The whole venue is on one level at bar height, and the owners note that wheelchair access is available. That is unusual for a Soho building of this age and makes Copita an easier pick than many basement or stair-heavy bars nearby. The flip side is that seating is mostly high stools, so if you want a low table for a long dinner this is not the room for it.

Start with an Atlantic mussel gilda at £2.9, a single skewer that pairs well with the first glass of fino. Caramelised sumac almonds are £4.5 and artisan sourdough with olives is £8.5. Cured meat fans can choose chorizo ibérico de bellota for £8.5 or go further with 50g of jamón ibérico de bellota at £23. The artisan cheese board with quince, grapes, walnuts and picos costs £19.

From the vegetable section, the mushroom croquetas at £6.9 are the cheapest hot plate on the card, and sweet potato bravas with alioli and peanuts at £8.5 is Copita's twist on the classic. Guindillas fritas, the mild green peppers fried and salted, are also £8.5. Burnt aubergine with labneh and pomegranate and the cauliflower with piquillo tahini each cost £9.9.

Seafood is where the kitchen shows off. Salt cod fritters with kimchi mayo cost £9.9 and harissa-spiced Atlantic prawns with passion fruit emulsion are £12.9. Seabass ceviche with jalapeño gazpacho is £15, black ink orzo with baby squid is £16, and the grilled octopus leg with potato purée, paprika and capers, at £25, is the dish to share if you only order one large plate.

Meat plates round things out. The spiced chicken and duck fat sausage with romesco is £12.9, beef onglet with green peppercorn and rosemary manchego sauce is £15, and ox cheek bao buns with PX and saffron mayo cost £16. Ibérico presa with spinach and jalapeño pesto is £16.5. A discretionary service charge of 13.5% is added to the bill.

Copita takes its sherry seriously. A 75ml pour of Gutiérrez-Colosia Fino is £7.5, and the bar lists the same fino in a 100ml glass and a carafe. Equipo Navazos I Think Manzanilla, served unfiltered, is £9.9 for 75ml, while La Bota No.118 Palo Cortado from the same producer is the splurge at £20. Ask the staff to build a flight if you have never compared fino with oloroso.

Nearly the entire list is Spanish and almost every wine comes by the glass, carafe or bottle. A 125ml glass of Aguazul Verdejo is £7.9 and Pazo as Barrieras Albariño from Rías Baixas is £8.5. Classic cocktails such as a margarita or espresso martini are £13.5, but from Monday to Friday between 4pm and 6pm the same cocktails drop to £9.9. Mahou beer is £5.9 a bottle.

If sherry is not your thing, the bar is also proud of its Spanish-style gin and tonics, and the house says you are welcome to simply prop up the bar with one. Red drinkers have a broad Tempranillo and Garnacha section: La Planta from Ribera del Duero is £8.5 a glass, and Casa Castillo from Jumilla is £10.5. Red and white vermouth by the 100ml pour costs £7.9, a good aperitivo before the croquetas land.

Copita is closed on Sunday. On Monday it opens at 4pm and the kitchen cooks from 5pm to 10:30pm. From Tuesday to Saturday the doors open at noon, the kitchen runs until 10:30pm and the bar stays open until 11:30pm. You can book online, and the bar keeps space for people who just want a glass and a couple of plates.

The weekday cocktail window from 4pm to 6pm is the best time to arrive without a booking. After work on Thursday and Friday the room fills quickly with Soho office crowds.

Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road are both within an eight-minute walk. From Oxford Circus, head south on Great Marlborough Street, cross into Ganton Street and then cut through to D'Arblay Street. The route passes Carnaby Street, so it is easy to fit in some shopping before the first sherry of the evening.

After dinner, step one block east to Berwick Street, home to the street market and several long-running record shops, then wander south toward Old Compton Street. If you would rather keep the Spanish theme going, Barrafina's walk-in counter on Dean Street is less than ten minutes away on foot.

Address: 27 D'Arblay Street, London W1F 8EP. Email: info@copitasoho.co.uk. Hours: Monday 4pm to 11pm with the kitchen from 5pm; Tuesday to Saturday noon to 11:30pm with the kitchen until 10:30pm; closed Sunday. Service: discretionary 13.5% added to the bill. Access: single level at bar height with wheelchair access. Private hire for up to 50 guests by phone.