I first came across Más Tapas Bar scrolling through Instagram; amid all the pictures of freshly baked breads, beautifully decorated cakes, and melted cheese, I suddenly saw four colourful pintxos staring at me with quail-egg eyes. My interest was piqued, my mouth was watering.
Más Tapas’ Instagram page is a collection of brightly colored snapshots, closeups of their tapas and portraits of their cocktails amid fiery red hues, burnt oranges, and vivid yellows. It is lively and vibrant, not your usual Tito/Tita bar, and so much more fun.
Students and recent graduates of the Katipunan bar scene may remember “The Rooftop”, an ambient bar I used to visit during the golden hour after class. Although I didn’t frequent it as much as I would have wanted—something about the bar being converted to a private events’ place around the time I graduated—I remember the music being great, the sunlight being golden, and the drinks being delicious. I don’t frequent bars along Katipunan anymore, but fortunately for me, the minds behind “The Rooftop” have now brought us a wholly new and delicious concept: signature cocktails and tapas, lots of it.
The first thing you will notice as you step inside Más Tapas is that it is beautiful. There’s really no other way to describe the interiors, though “chic” and “relaxed” come quite close. With its tan wicker chairs, large areca palms, and warm low-hanging lights (embedded with capiz shells for that chill, subtropical vibe), it is everything that a yuppie wants for a chill night out. Painted against a navy blue wall are white, red, and gold palm fronds that seem to sway along with an invisible breeze.
Who wouldn’t want to extend sobremesa here?
The beauty of Más Tapas, I think, really lies in the way it does its business. It’s such a simple concept: you pay a certain amount of money and eat all you want. They know it’s been a tough week; they just want you to relax without having to think of how much your tab is going to be at the end of the night.
For just 550 pesos, you can enjoy up to five different types of tapas. These include the albondigas, the huevos rotos, the tortilla de patata, the croquettas bombas, and the aforementioned pintxos. For 750 pesos, you can get unlimited paella, chicken iberico, gambas with chorizo, and mussels in white wine sauce to go with everything else in the 550 menu. You can even top up the food menu with 300-350 pesos for unli sangria and or gin and tonic.
Tapas are life!!!
I will start with my favorite, the (underrated) albondigas, beef meatballs steeped in tomato sauce. Its taste is meaty and unpretentious; comfort food from your abuela that reminds you of simpler times.
The huevos rotos are the perfect finger food!
The huevos rotos is another hit. Think of this as fries, but levelled up. The thick cut potatoes are soaked in water before being fried, allowing it to become thicker. It is then topped off with ground chorizo, egg, and garlic aioli. Mix it all up for the ultimate finger food; you pick it up with your fingers, savor the potatoes, then lick that extra chorizo and aioli off of your fingertips. Delicious!
The tortilla de patata are layers of potatos and eggs topped off with garlic aioli
The tortilla de patata somewhat reminds me of a cake. Layers of potatoes are topped with baked eggs and a dash of garlic aioli is placed at the top sprinkled with a little pepper and chilli powder. The smooth texture of the potatoes goes so well with the egg and aioli. It is as addictive as it is delicious.
In case you didn’t know, pintxos are Spanish hors d’oeuvres made by placing vegetable or meat toppings on bread. The ones at Mas are cute, but don’t let their sizes fool you. They pack a mighty flavor punch. Both variations are bursting with flavor; meats and vegetables on a tiny bread biscuit for that added crunch.
The salchichon and quail egg pintxos were the first to catch my attention.
I prefer the salchichon (Spanish sausage) and quail egg pintxo; but if you’re into tangy treats, then you’ll probably enjoy the anchovies and salsa pintxo more.
Anchovy and salsa pintxo packs a mighty flavor punch!
Try these one-of-a-kind croquettas bombas
Last but not least on the 550-menu is the croquettas bombas. You’ve probably had croquettas before, but these are different. These croquettas aren’t made of potatoes, but with ground chorizo and béchamel sauce. It’s a great alternative to the usual kind of recipe, one that goes (unsurprisingly) well with sweet cocktails.
Read on for more!
