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Restaurant of the week
Tapas Bar 西班牙風味小館

Walk into Tapas Bar in Taipei and you will think you are in Madrid. PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS

Address: 50 Hoping W. Rd., Taipei (台北市和平西路50號)
Telephone: (02)2303-0999
Open: Tuesday through Sunday, 5pm - 1am
Average meal: NT$400 per person.
Details: English menu. Credit cards accepted.

Looking for a refined evening out? Then try sipping on fine wines and munching on healthy Spanish fare at Tapas Bar.

Opened six months ago by German native Michael Zug, Tapas Bar (西班牙風味小館) has already built up a reputation as Taipei's finest and most genuine Spanish restaurant.

The fact that the owner is German and not of Iberian descent doesn't matter in the least. The food cooked up by Zug could have come straight out of a cantina in Madrid. The dishes are delicious and add the ever-present aroma of olive oil, the Spanish music and the relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and you'll find that sitting in Tapas Bar is the closest to Spain you could possibly get without investing in an airplane ticket.

While not extensive, the menu at Tapas Bar is splendidly Iberian. Zug's Paella (NT$450) is by far the most authentic and palatable version of the Spanish specialty to be found anywhere in the city. Packed with plenty of seafood and chicken and large enough to feed two, the dish is a must when dining at Tapas. Other main courses include the seafood plate (NT$280), chocos -- fried squid in tomato sauce -- (NT$200) and albondigas, or Spanish meatballs in tomato sauce (NT$180). There is also a choice of colorful salads to accompany your main course. These include chicken (NT$180), squid and prawn (NT$260) and Parma ham and parhigiano (NT$260).

Of course, being a tapas bar, snacks and wine are not far away. However, unlike tapas bars in Europe, the snacks are not left on the bar for customers to eat at their leisure. Instead, patrons must order their choice of tapas from the menu. Zug says this way each customer receives freshly prepared snacks.

At present the wine list is lacking in full-bodied Spanish reds, but has an ample choice of French wines to suit all tastes. Common red wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti and Merlot are available along with more specialized ones, such as Chateau La Commanderie De Queyret 1998 and Domaine Du Mas Montel, an oak cast matured wine. The white wine list is not as extensive, but still includes some fine Chardonnays. All wines cost NT$130 per glass and NT$800 per bottle. Before you settle on a bottle of wine Zug is more than happy to allow customers to first sample a glass.

While the view of Hoping West Road is far removed from that of a beachfront somewhere on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, Tapas Bar is a great choice of eatery. The choice of tapas and wine along with the piped Spanish music that echoes around the joint will leave any customer contented, well fed and dreaming of life in sunny Spain.

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