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2012-11-21
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I made a reservation a week before the day. Nice and easy. Little did I know I would get hounded with about 7 phone calls on the day of the booking, even up to 10 mins before the booking time to make sure we were going to show up. Of course we did and promptly so. Upon walking in, at 7:30, there were a lot of empty tables for a 60 seater. Not sure what all the fuss was about, it was Wednesday night.Lived in NY for almost 7 years, and was ecstatic to find out one of my old favorite haunts was
Lived in NY for almost 7 years, and was ecstatic to find out one of my old favorite haunts was opening in HK. I booked as soon as the 2 month new restaurant trial period ended, hoping to bypass all the new restaurant food and service flaws.
We were 2 and ordered 4 tapas and a pitcher of red sangria. The chorizo in red wine reduction was average. Cant go wrong with slicing some chorizo and sauteeing with some red wine. Chorizo choice was clearly chosen for the local market as this sausage was sweeter than the average chorizo in traditional spanish tapas bars. The Croquettas were the best of the 4 tapas, creamy and excellently fried. Mushroom was better than the ham but both were pretty solid. We could have easily ordered a few more of the croquettas. The Almondigas was also an average dish, slightly undercooked meatballs with very basic almost canned tomato sauce, but the soft cheese was a nice touch. The gambas were above average, garlic was toasted properly, olive oil not too overwhelming.
The thing that really got to me was how all the tapas were out within 5-7 mins of ordering. The dishes were clearly prepared in advance and hiding in an oven for a quick meal. Weeknight dinner done in 40 minutes. After loving tapas restaurants for about 20 years, I know for a fact that they need to be made to order and not pre cooked. Boqueria of New York with the lines around the block - this is not. This is why I need to wait for that next 15 hour trip to go to the real thing.
Wine list was full of wines I did not know, Spain is not my specialty in the wine department. The sangria was a good value at $240, but watered down with ice so maybe just fairly valued. Overall a bit of a disappointment and will not be back. Tapeo is much better quality.
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