Note: Foodbar Dada at Robertson Quay has closed and they are currently relocating to a new location.

In Singapore, a city full of amazing restaurants, it really takes something outstanding to make me sit up and take notice. I am just going to say this once: visit Foodbar Dada – a Spanish tapas bar at Robertson Quay – before it gets too popular. Make a booking, and go there soon.

If you are into Spanish tapas, I can safely say that this is one place you must try.

During my first visit two months back, the crowd was quite a sight. By coincidence, there was a restaurant owner, executive chef from a restaurant group, and Singapore’s top food critic from Straits Times, dining in the same time. It was completely unplanned, and felt like a mini reunion for everyone.

The bar itself is small, with 20 seats along a narrow counter. Upon stepping inside, I fell in love with the place, and I knew immediately tat it was going to do very well. It was a multi-sensory experience for me: the music, the people, the vibe, the smell, the clanking of cast-iron pans, the heat from the Josper grill…

We started with the Iberican secret ($16) which came highly recommended and the sous vide pork was superb! It was tender, fat, and very juicy.

During my visit to Barcelona last year, I felt let down that most of the squid ink paellas that we tried were mediocre. So I took a cautious approach when facing Foodbar Dada’s black mediterranean rice ($8). After trying it, I dare say it was better than most of the ones that I’ve had before. The rice was flavourful and cooked to the right doneness of what you would expect from a good paella.

I wasn’t very keen to try the watermelon gazpacho ($12) as I was not a fan of cold soup, until Foodbar Dada’s rendition changed that. It was light, and very refreshing. That said, I would probably order this just once as there are too many items on the menu to choose from.

The best dish of the night – and something I would return to Foodbar Dada again and again – is the Josper mini squid ($18) cooked with olive oil, salt, pepper, and egg. It was simple, but so so good. Definitely a dish that you must order!

We decided to push our luck and go for the potato bravas ($6). Here, it was done slightly refined, with four cubes of potatoes on a nice elongated plate. It was very from the usual potato bravas, but I have to give credit to the chefs for the presentation.

On the second visit, we had the same baby squid and black squid ink rice, and I am happy to say that the quality of both dishes were still very good.

I was disappointed to see that they removed salmon from the menu, as I remembered it to be nicely-seared, and paired with heavenly sweet grapes and a well-balanced sauce.

In place of it was the grilled seabass ($18), which my dining companion noted that the chef managed to maintain the integrity of the fish by not over-complicating it. I thought it was decent, but nothing to write home about.

Josper razor clams ($18) – with diced tomatoes, onions, olive oil, and lime – while good, was slightly overcooked, and it paled in comparison to the signature baby squid.

We also had the cod puffs ($12) – a new special item on the menu – which is essentially a savoury puff pastry filled with cod bits.

Next up was the 150g Josper steak ($30), accompanied by red pepper, pumpkin, and peas. Again, a piece of good meat seasoned well with sea salt, and prepared to a high level in the Josper grill.

For desserts, we were puzzled that the souffle ($12) did not rise as much as it should, and it had a molten chocolate-y centre. It was more like a chocolate lava cake than souffle. Not that we were complaining, it was a sweet ending for our wonderful meal.

The food at Foodbar Dada is not rocket-science. They use fresh produce, well-seasoned with good quality olive oil, maldon sea salt, and expertly-cooked in Josper grill. If budget is a consideration, prices here are significantly lower than the other top Spanish tapas restaurants in Singapore.

It might seem that I raved too much about Foodbar Dada, and the last thing I want to do is to set your expectations too high. But trust me on this, Foodbar Dada is worth a visit.

I’d go so far as to say it is one of the best new restaurants to open in Singapore this year. See you there!

Foodbar Dada
60 Robertson Quay
#01-12 Singapore
Tel: +65 6735 7738
Tue to Sat: 6pm – 11pm
Reservations are required.

For more recommendations, read my list of Spanish Restaurants in Singapore

Everyone knows Dempsey Hill. It is arguably one of the hottest dining destinations in Singapore, with popular restaurants like The White Rabbit, Barracks Cafe and PS Cafe. But not everyone knows about Don Quijote Spanish restaurant at Dempsey. Well, I guess now we all know.

Be it a nice date with your partner; or a birthday party celebration with a big group of friends – Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant is the ideal place if you like tapas, paella and sangria.

One thing to note: the original branch at Lorong Kilat is no longer in operation.

The menu is huge. From cold tapas like Mixed Platter of Ham, Sausages and Cheese ($36) and Anchovy and Piquillo Pepper on bread ($12); to hot tapas like Tortilla Espanola ($11), Calamari ($12) and Gambas Al Ajillo ($13); to meats like Ox-tail Stew ($36) and Tenderloin Steak ($39); to Paellas ($30 for small); and desserts like Leche Fritta ($9) and Warm Chocolate Cake ($19) – there is something for everyone.

Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant recently launched a Market Seafood Menu where they serve “live” seafood from the market. It largely depends on what is available in the market, but the typical menu will feature a selection of fishes, lobsters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

While waiting for Sophie to arrive, Qiuting and I started with the Mejillon Al Vino Blanco – Mussels cooked in White Wine ($16); and Gambas Al Ajillo ($16) – Garlic fried Live Prawns.

The Scallop ($18) that came next were equally impressive.

For main courses, we were served a gorgeous Baked Whole Lobster ($69), and the visually pleasing Baked Whole Snapper ($45).

We stared at the baby lobster when it arrived on our table and for a moment, we didn’t know what to do. After five seconds, instinct took over and the three of us started to attack it with the fork. Om nom nom nom. It was as good as it looked.

The Baked Snapper, on the other hand, was slightly disappointing. The fish was really fresh, but we felt that it was under-seasoned.

And of course, a Spanish meal would not be complete without having Paella. At Don Quijote, there are four different Paellas: seafood, squid ink, vegetarian and meat.

The Paella de Carne ($30 Small/ $45 medium/ $60 large) came  with Beef, Chicken, Chorizo Sausages and rice cooked in a delicious saffron stock.

Even though we were quite full after polishing off the Paella, we were tempted by the highly recommended Tenderloin Steak Cubes with Blue Cheese ($20). The owner was very confident about it, and truth be told, I was quite skeptical initially. But I had to take back my words after having a cube. It was oh-my-god-yummy.

I also ordered the Chorizo Asado Barbecued Spanish Chorizo Sausage ($10) as Qiuting never had it before. It was a shame that we didn’t have room for desserts, otherwise I would love to try their Warm Chocolate Cake made with Spanish Chocolate ($19).

Don Quijote at Dempsey Hill is a nice place to go to if you are craving for Spanish food. While prices are not cheap, neither are they exorbitant – it is on par with most of the better Spanish Restaurants in Singapore.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant
Blk 7 Dempsey Road
#01-02 Singapore
Tel: +65 6476 2811
Sun to Wed: 11.30am – 10.30pm
Thu to Sat: 11.30am – 1am
Note: This was an invited media tasting.

For more recommendations, read my list of best Spanish Restaurants in Singapore

Sabio Tapas Bar & Restaurant is located on the slope of Duxton Hill, alongside Buyan Russian Restaurant and Flor Patisserie.

There’s just something intoxicating about eating in a tapas bar. Maybe it’s the idea of having a glass/(es) of wine with many plates of Spanish appetisers. Maybe it’s the fact that you get to chill out with a group of friends after a long day of work. Or maybe it’s simply because I am a big fan of Spanish cuisine.

Like the Chinese dim sum, Spanish tapas offer you the luxury of having small bites of everything. Then, you also have the pinchos, which are somewhat similar to tapas. It is the name of certain snacks typically eaten at bars in the Basque country. The main difference is that they are usually served in individual portions with a skewer or toothpick, often to a piece of bread.

Gambas pil pil – prawns in olive oil & garlic

Anyway, I digressed, let’s get back to Sabio. The Spanish restaurant was full when we were there on a weekday night, with mostly expats enjoying a drink and some snacks after work.

The menu is broadly divided into four parts: Cold Tapas ($6-19), Jamon & Chorizo ($8-25), Hot Tapas ($8-18) and desserts ($6-8). It took us a while to scan through it.

I was rather attracted by the cold tapas like Boquerones en Vinagre ($9) – Anchovies served in vinegar; Sombrero de Setas – Mushroom hat in olive oil and garlic; or the Chipirones en sa tinta ($16) – Stuffed squid in ink. But my friends were not interested in cold tapas, so we focused on the hot tapas. Some of the options that were waving frantically at us include: Tortilla espanola con chorizo ($12) – traditional Spanish omelette with chorizo; Revuelto de esparragos ($12) – scrambled eggs with asparagus; and Pulpo gallego ($11) – Octopus cooked in olive oil and lemon.

There were over thirty Spanish small plates to choose from, and we were tempted to order everything. We eventually settled for some hot tapas, a paella and a jar of sangria.

I love Spanish food!

The Embutidos Mixtos ($25) – a selection of Spanish ham, sausages, and cheese – arrived before the hot tapas. We ate the fantastic Spanish ham, drank sangria, and ate more ham.

A must-try tapas at Sabio is definitely the Vieras en salsa de cava ($14) – Sea Scallops with sparkling white wine sauce. What a sexy dish! The scallops were kind of openly flirting with each other in a pool of sparkling white wine sauce.

It would be perfect if they were meatier (if there’s such a word), but it didn’t really matter because the sauce was the highlight. The sparkling white wine sauce was divine. In fact, it was so good that we had the other tapas with it. I was actually a little sad when the waiter cleared the pan away.

The Gambas pil pil ($15) – sizzling prawns in olive oil and garlic – was equally good. I also liked the Bacalao al ajo arriero ($18) – salt cod with red capscium, and the Calamares a la plancha ($11) – pan fried calamari.

The Chicken & Seafood Paella ($22), on the other hand, was disappointing. I can’t put my fingers on what’s missing, but it just isn’t something that I’d order again on my next visit to Sabio Tapas Bar.

Sabio Tapas Bar & Restaurant at Duxton Hill is a good place to chill out with a group of friends. If your office is near the Tanjong Pagar/Duxton area, why not drop by Sabio after work? At the same time, you can also check out the other new restaurants in Duxton Hill.

The idea of tapas bar hopping has always been at the back of my mind. I’m going to shortlist a few Spanish Restaurants, and go on a tapas bar hopping adventure!

Singapore Food Blog Review
Sabio Tapas Bar & Restaurant
5 Duxton Hill
Tel: +65 6223 4645
Weekdays 12pm – 12am, Sat 5pm – 12am

For more recommendations, read my list of Spanish Restaurants in Singapore

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I am in love with tomatoes. It may sounds crazy, but I’m head over heels in love, and addicted to them. Who the hell eats tomato as snack while watching TV? Me. The irony is, I remember my mother used to force me to eat tomatoes when I was young and back then, I gave all sorts of excuses not to eat them. I only started to like them after the beauty blogger told me about the benefits of having tomatoes. Okay I digress, but there’s a reason why I’m talking about tomatoes — Spanish cuisine makes heavy use of ingredients like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, beans and mushrooms. Honey, we are having Spanish food today!

Zsofi Tapas Bar is a quirky and fun Spanish restaurant located in the heart of Little India, Singapore. I know it’s a rather strange place to go for Spanish food, but hey, there’s French food in Little India too!

Look at that beauty up there. Tell me, who can resist not eating the Spanish Paella?

I think the Spanish Paella is an amazing creation. It may seem simple enough to throw in a variety of ingredients like prawn, mussel, tomatoes, chorizo, saffron into a pan, but preparing a good paella is never easy.

I like the Paella Valecia ($35) from Zsofi Tapas Bar. Tasty isn’t exactly an appropriate word to describe it since there are so many flavors within. I’m not too sure if this is the best Spanish paella in Singapore since I haven’t tried that many before, but it is definitely one of the better paella.

Be it with a group of friends, or in the company of loved ones – I love the idea of having Sangria with a few Spanish tapas and Paella after a long day of work.

One day, I’m going to fly to Spain and take lots of photos to make all of you jealous. But until then, I can only visit the Spanish restaurants in Singapore to satisfy my cravings for paella, chorizo, churros and Spanish Tapas.

Sometimes, it’s good to step out of our comfort zone and explore new places and experience new cuisine. If you have never tried Spanish Cuisine before, it’s time to read my list of Spanish restaurants in Singapore. Zsofi Tapas Bar serves a free tapas with the purchase of every alcoholic drink.

Restaurant Review
Zsofi Tapas Bar
68 Dunlop Street Singapore
Tel: +65 6297 5875

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