Nothing quite screams casual tapas dining like Tapas Club. Opened by D+1, the biggest players of Spanish cuisine in Asia’s F&B scene, and the same guys who brought in that Spanish froyo chain that many people were somehow okay with queuing hours for (yes, llao llao), Tapas Club sits snug at the site of the former whimsical furniture store Fred Lives Here in Orchard Central, and has turned the once industrial chic facade into a rustic, spacious establishment complete with hardwood floors, maroon accented interiors, and images of various Spanish cities like Malaga, Barcelona and Alhambra hanging on the walls.
As the name of the restaurant suggests, Tapas Club’s focus is on affordable Spanish small plates that doesn’t compromise on quality (each dish is priced between $9.90-$25). And when you have two long-time friends with pretty exceptional training in the culinary world as the restaurant’s chefs, you know you’re in for a fun, appetite-pleasing ride.
Executive chefs Jose Alonso and Manuel Berganza both have merits of different natures worth mentioning—the former’s 10-year-career has brought him into the kitchens of numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, giving him the chance to work with world-acclaimed Spanish chefs the likes of Sergi Arola, Francis Paniego and the late Santi Santamaria, while Berganza was once the head honcho at the illustrious Sergi Arola Gastro and La Broche in Madrid. But together, they’ve put together a menu that pays homage to their roots with heritage recipes from various parts of Spain in the hopes of sharing their take on a cuisine that’s close to their hearts (and all the flavors it has to offer) with Singaporeans.
Without being convoluted and offering a ridiculous number of dishes, the menu seems focused and presents a couple of interesting entry-level selections for any tapas newbies as well as classic dishes that would potentially turn into crowd favorites. There are the evergreen mushroom croquettes ($9.90), ham, chicken and boiled egg croquettes ($9.90), deep fried potato cubes served with spicy brava and alioli ($9.90) and sauteed prawns ($12.90).
Or you can dive right in with something more solid from their Tapas+ section, which is made up of a selection of cuts and seafood. Each one of them comes with a choice of sides, and you can decide if you share your beef hanger steak ($18) or confit lamb ribs seasoned with Moroccan spices ($20) with your buddies or not. But if you need a dose of carbs, you can always opt for one of the five different paellas ($20-$25).
What’s a Spanish restaurant without a good selection of wines, right? They’ve scoured their motherland, which is known to have many distinct and well-known wine-producing regions and a huge of supply of indigenous grapes, to curate a diverse selection of wines, many of which are new-to-market, small-batch wines starting from $35. And if you like what you’ve been imbibing, you can always get a bottle to go at the little retail corner in the restaurant.
