¡Ay va! There is a real Spanish tapas bar in Vancouver, they say.
My partner booked us in for ¿Cómo? Tapería this weekend, and coincidentally, one of my colleagues mentioned that we should go there, just this past week.
I do my best not to look at menus or read the reviews by other diners when I go out – especially for Spanish restaurants. Coming from Toronto, there weren’t many Spanish restos, but I definitely had my favourites. Years ago there was a place called Coca, which was named after the delicious flatbread pizzas you get in Mallorca, topped with chard or red peppers. It was run by a fantastic young chef named Nathan, who hit the nail on the head.
A couple of years after I found Coca, a great spot called Torito opened up in Kensington Market run by a Spanish lady, who later opened up my favourite Spanish resto called Carmen. Unfortunately, both are closed.
There are a small handful of others in Toronto, but I feel as if good Spanish bars are finished back home. Some diehards will probably hate me for not mentioning Bar Raval, but hey, you can’t please everyone.
First things first about ¿Cómo?, they’ve definitely recreated the typical tapas bar environment that I’ve seen in Madrid and Palma. I spent a lot of time in the La Latina neighbourhood in Madrid (one of the neighbourhoods mentioned on their site as an influence), so I had the opportunity to immerse myself in that culture.
From the tiles, to the colours, to having vermouth on tap, the first impression was looking good.
We got started with the El Bandarra vermouth from the tap (for me) and cava for the lady; both very good.
We decided to take a stab at a few different tapas to get going: Pan Con Tomate, Fried Eggplant (served with honey), and Chipirones a la Plancha (Grilled Squid).
I’m pretty die hard about Pan Con Tomate … so I was expecting something quite different than what was served, which was four small squares of bread with a small amount of tomato and parsley (and perhaps garlic) on top.
I had visions of smashed tomatoes, garlic and olive oil being layered on top of big hunks of crispy bread straight out of the oven.
Oh well.
Another thing, Pan Con Tomate should be served like Bruschetta, with the tomato cold or room temperature on top – not baked in with the bread – and the version here at ¿Cómo? tasted as if the tomato was baked in with the bread.
The Fried Eggplant was good – thin, crispy, with a bit of honey. It was very well put together, with the light flavours connecting well.
The Chipirones a la Plancha were fantastic – and were served in a Romesco sauce (tasted like a nice Italian sugo) and lemon. I believe it was mentioned in the menu that their Romesco had hazelnut in it. It was definitely a hit – I even used the thin discs of eggplant to sop up the remaining sauce from the squid.
On to the second round.
The lady had the other cava on the menu, which was described as being unfiltered, and I had the sidra (cider), which was dry as hell and perfect for the meal – and was made by Zapiain, a Spanish brand that is more than 425 years old. Our server had a little fun with us, when I requested him to pour the sidra without looking. It’s common in Spain for a server to hold the bottle up high above their head and pour the sidra into the glass in front of their body … well, he did a great job and didn’t spill a bit!
The next round of tapas were: Tortilla (Potato Omelette), Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimps in Garlic), Patatas Bravas (Fried Potatoes in Red Sauce) … and my partner had the Octopus.
Like Pan Con Tomate, I’m a bit picky when it comes to Tortilla … and this is the second time that I’ve had Tortilla made-to-order. I don’t want to say that they did a bad job, but it wasn’t what I expected.
When I walk into a joint looking like this, I expect that the Tortilla was made last night or in the morning – firm, yet tender – and thick enough to need a knife to cut through. What came to the table was different – thinner, and cooked medium, so it was a bit runny.
Again – not bad, just not what I was expecting.
The Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimp in Garlic) were good – but not great. The product quality was exceptional, but it was just not quite hitting the flavour profile I was looking for, having had this dish in Mallorca many times during my last visit and cooking it quite often at home.
My partner said that the Octopus was very good – and we both agreed that the Patatas Bravas were great!
I should have prefaced all of this by saying that Spain is not a country known for overt flavours (aside from garlic and pimentón) in their cuisine, no sauces, nothing dripping in flavours … but rather simple food. So, I hope that I didn’t come across as unfair in my commentary on the food at ¿Cómo? … I just might have done a few things differently.
Our server was excellent. He was knowledgeable and took great care of our table.
The environment was super – with cool music in the background (perhaps a little loud for my old ears) – and a neat little grocery section, including wines, sherries, and vermouths to purchase for home.
Knowing what I like about ¿Cómo? makes it easy for me to want to return – as it’s the type of bar at which you want to meet up with your friends after work; kind of like how Spaniards do it.
Return: Yes – good food – great drinks – excellent service, and hip environment.
Rating: 7.5/10
Vikas Sharma 
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