Tapas & Beers

The Gaslamp District has almost everything one could want to eat: French steak frites, Italian pasta, sushi, pub fare, and lots and lots of places to meet with friends for a drink. So with all of this great stuff, what's missing? A cozy place to indulge in the Spanish tradition of tapas and drinks. 

 I've been looking for a good tapas place since I moved here. Sadly, there seem to be none in close proximity, until now. Tapas & Beers is a brand new tapas bar with American flare. The menu is a take on classic Spanish bar food with a distinctly California slant. 

The atmosphere is one of a definite meeting place -- it's all high-top tables and bar stools, so it's a great place for toasting a new job, meeting an old friend, or just unwinding after work.  

 Tapas are Spanish-style snack plates -- small plates of carefully prepared, delicious food best enjoyed with a glass of your favorite adult beverage. With San Diego's lively craft beer scene, that just has to be beer.  The beer selection is vast, with cold taps, so it will be the ideal place to unwind in the summer. However, we were bad and ordered from the wine list! 

 Our first taste of the night was the truffle popcorn. It's a great bite to share with the table, and it's not terribly filling, so you'll have plenty of room for other enjoyable eats! 

 I've never seen ribs served as a tapa before, which means that serving them in this manner is bloody brilliant! The ribs were a perfect size, and coated with a sweet, tangy sauce that was messy, but tasty. 

 One of the most original and unique items on the menu was the crostini. You get a choice of three for $11, with choices like salmon, prosciutto, goat cheese, and avocado. We chose the salmon with avocado and sundried tomatoes, the burrata and proscuitto, and the strawberries and burrata cheese. The were served atop a slice of crusty bread, and were perfect little bites to make me daydream about lunch on the Mediterranean. 

 I chose the lobster bisque for my main course, as I was getting pretty full with all of the tapas. It was the best choice, as lobster bisque is a very filling soup! It was so delicious, very rich and velvety, with that briny flavor of a fine seafood soup. 

 A juicy burger and fries might not be the most traditional thing to eat at a tapas place, but tapas bars are all about bar food, and nothing says bar food more than a great burger and fries! The California burger is topped with fried onions, bacon, and of course, avocado slices. Definitely the go-to item when you want more than just a few bites!

The chocolate delight was our dessert selection, which was a spongy cake and whipped chocolate frosting. It was very rich, and hard to finish, but a great way to end the evening! 

Whether you are looking for a full-course dinner, or just a snack with a friend, Tapas & Beers is worth checking out!