Life of Guangzhou - Wine & Tapas

Staff group pose inside Wine & Tapas.

Fried rice with seafood

Lively Taojin Lu (淘金路) is a popular place for expats in Guangzhou, and the opening of a peaceful, compact two-storey restaurant Wine & Tapas, adds another reason to venture there. Authentic Spanish tapas, and excellent wine are its two main drawcards, but there's more. Read on.

Most of the menu is Spanish and there's a wide range on offer. A sprinkling of Italian and Swedish dishes add some variety and, for Italian food purists - ONLY olive oil is used in cooking, for that authentic European flavor. Shisha (those delightful Arabic water-cooled aromatic tobacco pipes) add a Middle-Eastern touch.

Simply put, the food is delicious, gutsy and strongly-flavored. Combined with the range of drinks (the Sangria deserves a special mention) and the ambience; Wine and Tapas is a very pleasant place indeed.

Home-made beef balls

Baked Bacon Skewered Oysters

We tried the "Baked Bacon Skewered with Oysters" and "Herring in Mustard Sauce with Potato" and ended up smiling. These are must-tries.

Prosecco (a bubbly white wine) is a specialty here and Patrick is choosy about what he serves. Like champagne (which it basically is) it can go to your head very quickly on a balmy Sunday afternoon, and invoke strong feelings of well-being. But that's why we're there, right?
A good selection of wine looks pretty silly without a good selection of cheese, and again we are not disappointed. Gruyere and Bleu cheese are favourites, and are strong enough to stand up to gutsy reds.

The decoration is boldly European, nowhere more so than on the second floor with its earthy wall painting of people dancing the day away, accompanied (of course) by wine. Even surrounded by other diners, the atmosphere is warm and cozy, however there's a separate room for those who desire a little more privacy.

Diners peruse the menu on the second floor.

Host and joint-owner Patrick, is from Hong Kong. He speaks fluent Cantonese and English with an American accent, despite the fact he's never been there. But he knows his stuff, he was educated in England and is a graduate of Hotel Management in Switzerland. He dresses and speaks with confidence and style. His friends call him a gourmet "perfectionist" and an expert caterer.

Most of his customers are foreign – 30% alone are French, and Patrick is a little critical of local Chinese who come to the restaurant, but don't want to try new things. "If there's no rice, they won't eat," he complains. "Locals here have blinkered vision. For example, they think Italian food is only two things – pizza and pasta." But he reserves his worst criticism for loud businessmen with fat wallets and egos to match, who come to the restaurant to impress their peers, ordering hugely expensive wines and expecting to drink them mixed with lemonade, or to mistreat his staff. "When you enter my restaurant," says Patrick, "you enter my house. Mistreat my staff and you'll be asked to leave." It's happened, he says. I believe it.

Pricing here is a bit above average, but the delicacies are worth it. The wines are surprisingly reasonable, an all-imported selection (don't bother asking for Great Wall) which ranges from about 75RMB for a quaffable Italian white, right up to 7,700RMB for the wines of the Gods.

Try it. You won't be disappointed.

By David Kellaway

The staircase decorated with wine bottles. A wonderful greeting.

Address:
98 Taojon Lu (Opposite Starbucks)
Tel: 020-8358 7890.

【Map】

Wine & Tapas

酒酷