Tapas Club

Tapas Club
181 Orchard Road
Orchard Central #02-13

78 Airport Boulevard
Jewel Changi Airport #03-220

1 Harbourfront Walk
VivoCity #01-98

https://www.tapasclub.com/

Cojonudos (SGD $16)

Accessible Spanish Fare

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $37 per person.


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Established in January 2017 and operated under the D+1 Holding Group, Tapas Club serves affordable and authentic Spanish sharing plates made with carefully curated ingredients. Founders Miguel and Javier Diaz seek to capture a convival dining experience at Tapas Club, and pre-pandemic, used to have flamenco performances, live Spanish music, and even screening of Spanish soccer matches.

Ambience at Tapas Club is casual and rustic. Inspired by La Posada, a tavern-style eatery oft frequented by the founders in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, the spacious seating area boasts smooth wood parquet floors, mosaic glazed wall tiles, wrought iron grills, and warm overhead spotlights, with lively Spanish background music. The relaxed vibe is complemented by large comfortable furniture, great for lingering meals. However, seats exposed to direct sunlight will get uncomfortably warm.

Service at Tapas Club is attentive and polite. Staff quickly greet and seat guests, displaying decent product knowledge as they offer recommendations from the relatively small, focused menu. I note they proactively offer to clear finished plates, and clean up efficiently when diners leave. Their beverage knowledge could use some work, but they manage to get by. These days, there's less of a crowd, even during peak periods.

Food at Tapas Club is authentic and rustic Spanish cuisine. There's a range of 20 tapas dishes, alongside a focused selection of salads, cold cuts, soups, desserts, and paella. Ingredients are carefully curated and imported from Spain, and prepared to consistently good standards. Portions are sized for communal group dining, ranging from medium to large. Prices are reasonable for a restaurant, budget about SGD $37 per person.


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Tapas Club Signage

Tapas Club Exterior

Tapas Club Interior

Bar

Seating

Us

The Wine Giró Ribot Cava Reserva Brut (SGD $12) is a sparkling wine, made from a blend of 50% macabeo green grapes, 30% xarel·lo white grapes, and 20% parellada white grapes, by the Giró Ribot winery in Alt Penedès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Aged for 24 to 30 months, this has a pale straw yellow colour, with aromas of vanilla, toasted white bread, almonds, and pear. The body is lively, crisp, and silky, with tastes of green apple, lemon, brioche bread, and honeydew melon. Has a fresh acidity, with clear fruity floral sweet flavour, and a hint of bitter on the persistent finish. Very enjoyable.

Wine Giró Ribot Cava Reserva Brut (SGD $12)

The Sangria Red (SGD $14) features red wine infused with orange and lime, resulting in a woody earthy fruity sweet sour tangy zesty flavour. Drinkable and decent, but less refreshing than I'd expected.

Sangria Red (SGD $14)

Sangria Red

The Wine Miss Tela Moscatel De Alejandría (SGD $8) is a lovely dessert wine, made from 100% muscat of alexandria white grapes, by the Bodegas Arráez winery in La Font De La Figuera, Costera, Valencia, Spain. This has a deep copper orange colour, with aromas and tastes of honeysuckle flower, orange marmalade, ripe peach, and apricots. The body is soft, fresh, and gentle, with bold floral fruity sweet flavour, and a balanced acidity that fades smoothly. A nice digestif to end a meal.

Wine Miss Tela Moscatel De Alejandría (SGD $8)

The Tabla De Embutidos (SGD $34) is a cold cuts and cheese appetizer platter. The thinly sliced meat cuts include air-cured jamón serrano ham with meaty savoury salty flavour, salchichon sausage with meaty savoury spice flavour, and chorizo sausage with meaty spicy salty flavour. The cheeses include firm manchego cheese with buttery cheesy flavour, and semi-soft mahon cheese with earthy buttery flavour. Accompaniments include juicy green olives with vegetal earthy sour flavour, crunchy walnuts with nutty savoury flavour, juicy pickled guindilla peppers with vegetal sour spicy flavour, soft apricot jelly with fruity sweet flavour, and crunchy biscuits with grainy bready sweet flavour. Good!

Tabla De Embutidos (SGD $34)

Tabla De Embutidos

The Pan Rústico Con Jamón Ibérico (SGD $32) features crisp rustic toasted Spanish baguette bread slices, served with thinly shaved succulent slices of air-cured Iberico ham, and a chunky tomato salsa. When the ingredients are layered, each bite is a delightful burst of meaty salty savoury bready vegetal sweet flavour. Enjoyable to munch while chilling, though I wish the bread slices could be portioned to match the ham. Good!

Pan Rústico Con Jamón Ibérico (SGD $32)

Pan Rústico

Jamón Ibérico

The Ensalada De Burrata (SGD $18) has a base of fresh crisp mesclun salad (with rocket leaves / arugula, mizuna, baby spinach, lettuce, radicchio) studded with juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy red onions, and tender black olives, topped with a round of creamy burrata cheese, dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. The salad has bright zesty tangy vegetal sweet sour bitter earthy flavour, while the lovely cheese lends a depth of milky sweet notes. The cheese was slightly less solid / more semi-liquid than expected, but the flavour is spot on. Good!

Ensalada De Burrata (SGD $18)

Ensalada De Burrata

The Ensalada De Salmón Y Aguacate (SGD $18) has a base of fresh crisp mesclun salad (with rocket leaves / arugula, mizuna, baby spinach, lettuce, radicchio) studded with juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy red onions, and tender black olives, topped with creamy avocado and succulent raw salmon fish slices, dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. The salad has mellow zesty tangy vegetal sweet sour bitter earthy flavour, with the salmon and avocado lending complementary notes. Nice fusion salad. Worth ordering!

Ensalada De Salmón Y Aguacate (SGD $18)

Ensalada De Salmón Y Aguacate

The Berenjenas Con Miel (SGD $16) were excellent. The thin sliced eggplant / aubergine / brinjal chips are coated in a crisp batter, yet hold tender juicy texture. Bite in, and you get a lovely vegetal earthy sweet flavour that floods the palate, so addictive. Even better with the rich thick honey, which lends a floral sweet note. So good, we wiped the plate clean in record time. Highly recommended!

Berenjenas Con Miel (SGD $16)

Berenjenas Con Miel

The Tortilla De Patatas (SGD $16) is also known as a Spanish omelette, but the egg isn't the star here. Rather, it's the thick chunky tender potato cake enveloped within the thin egg layer, which contributes most of the sweet savoury flavour to this yummy appetizer. Served with roasted pimiento peppers sprinkled with sea salt, which lends a mild peppery spice sour salty flavour to the dish. Good!

Tortilla De Patatas (SGD $16)

Tortilla De Patatas

Tortilla De Patatas

The Calamares A La Romana (SGD $16) are excellent. These are nicely coated in a crisp golden batter, which crunches lightly to reveal the bouncy squid rings within. With an addictive salty sweet savoury flavour, the calamari is delicious on their own, but even better when sprinkled with a little lemon juice and dipped in creamy tartar sauce for a milky zesty sour sweet note. Highly recommended!

Calamares A La Romana (SGD $16)

Calamares A La Romana

The Gambas Al Ajillo (SGD $16) is decent enough, with the small but juicy deshelled shrimp picking up the fragrant vegetal sweet savoury flavour of the rich tomato gravy. Paired with crisp pourous bread sticks, which soak up the sauce beautifully. Worth ordering!

Gambas Al Ajillo (SGD $16)

Gambas Al Ajillo

The Cojonudos (SGD $16) is a traditional style tapas from Burgos, Castile And León, Spain, whose name could be translated to either mean 'bollocks / testicles', or 'wonderful / excellent'. This bite-sized snack certainly lives up to the latter meaning (and hopefully won't make you swear using the former meaning), with mini crisp rustic toasted Spanish baguette bread slices, topped with juicy chewy chorizo pork sausage slices, and a vibrant sunny side up quail egg with runny yolk. Each bite is a burst of meaty salty spice savoury eggy bready sweet flavour, very enticing. Takes 2 bites to finish, and it's deliciously yummy. Highly recommended!

Cojonudos (SGD $16)

Cojonudos

The Cabecero Iberico A La Plancha Y Salsa Chimichurri (SGD $34) wasn't that good. While the thick cut Iberico pork collar was well cooked and moist tender in texture, unfortunately, it was overly gamey in taste. The lovely vegetal sweet spice notes of the fresh chimichurri helped, but this was still lacklustre. Could be improved.

Cabecero Iberico A La Plancha Y Salsa Chimichurri (SGD $34)

Cabecero Iberico A La Plancha Y Salsa Chimichurri

Didn't like the Carillera De Ternera (SGD $36). The mashed potato and celeriac puree was too thin, almost gravy-like. Would have liked a thicker, denser consistency for a better mouthfeel. The slow braised beef cheek was properly tender, but oddly overly gamey in taste, making this unpleasant. Could be improved.

Carillera De Ternera (SGD $36)

Carillera De Ternera

The Arròs Negre (SGD $30) features a large pan of paella rice infused with squid ink and seafood broth, with a crisp soft moist texture and deep earthy grainy sweet savoury flavour. Garnished with crunchy young asparagus shoots with vegetal herbal bitter sweet flavour, juicy plump seasonal shellfish (either blue mussels or white clams) with briny salty sweet flavour, crunchy capers with vegetal earthy herbal sour sweet flavour, and creamy garlic aioli with bright herbal savoury spice milky flavour. The medley of tastes and textures is lovely. Highly recommended!

Arròs Negre (SGD $30)

Arròs Negre

Arròs Negre

Loved the Paella De Chorizo Y Cerdo (SGD $30), which features a large pan of paella rice infused with pork stock, with a crisp soft moist texture and robust savoury salty flavour. Garnished with crunchy young asparagus shoots with vegetal herbal bitter sweet flavour, crunchy capers with vegetal earthy herbal sour sweet flavour, snappy pork sausages with savoury sweet herbal flavour, chewy pork chorizo sausages with salty spicy flavour, and tender string beans with vegetal sweet flavour. Love how it all comes together, made a repeat visit just for this. Highly recommended!

Paella De Chorizo Y Cerdo (SGD $30)

Paella De Chorizo Y Cerdo

Paella De Chorizo Y Cerdo

The Paella De Verduras (SGD $30) is certainly wholesome. It features a large pan of paella rice infused with vegetable stock, with a crisp soft moist texture and mild vegetal earthy sweet flavour. Garnished with crunchy moist vegetables, including cauliflower, broccoli, string beans, eggplant / aubergine / brinjal, capers, and red peppers. These lend bold vegetal earthy sweet savoury smoky flavour, so nice. We actually decided on this in place of a salad. Worth ordering!

Paella De Verduras (SGD $30)

Paella De Verduras

Paella De Verduras

Was slightly disappointed with the Churros Con Chocolate (SGD $9), which didn't have a dusting of cinnamon sugar crystals, and held a bready spongy texture instead of a pourous airy crisp texture. Otherwise, this dessert churros has decent bready sweet flavour, and is able to pick up the rich thick chocolate sauce well, with the chocolatey sweet notes making this sufficiently decent. Alright at best.

Churros Con Chocolate (SGD $9)

Churros Con Chocolate

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