Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Bayfare Social

This Spanish restaurant is located in Rosewood Hong Kong, offering a mix of different dining experience including a paella counter and tapas bar in addition to the dining area. Coming early on this Tuesday evening we are the first table, but very soon all the nearby tables are occupied, testimony to its popularity.

The décor is chic, with an open kitchen on one side where we can see the chefs busy in preparation, on the opposite is the tapas bar, with the seafood corner displaying the fresh and seasonal catch. The dim lighting offers a comfortable ambience, with ‘greens’ hanging from the ceiling giving a touch of nature and highlight the hotel’s sustainability focus.

I have a bottle of Bodegas Albamar Rias Baixas 2021 ($590) to pair with the food. Coming from the famous white wine producing region in Spain, this Albarino is made from grapes grown on the seaside, before hand harvested and goes through fermentation partially in neutral oak and stainless steel. Refreshing with a hint of salty minerality. Quite nice.

The first tapas we have is Pan Con Tomate ($98). Served on crunchy crystal bread, the chef has put the grated tomato on top, drizzled with Arbequina olive oil, a light and smooth Spanish olive oil famous for its fruity fragrance and pleasant flavours. With some chives scattered, it is a simple tapa, but one highlights quality of the ingredients to the full extent. Very good.

The second one we have is Scallop Crudo ($198). The raw scallops are sliced and placed on Escabeche dressing, together with some avocado. The unique dressing is a local vinegar sauce, providing nice acidity, with bits of garlic, salt, lemon juice and plenty of olive oil. On the scallop are some pickled chopped onions to add to the flavours. Very good as well.

The third one we have is 48-months Iberico Ham ($380 for 50g). The aged ham has rich and intense flavours, freshly cut with the surface still moist. There is a right balance of lean and fat, upon chewing the great savoury taste seeps out from the ham, pure luxury and wonders, but not overly salty. Really high quality and must try for ham lover.

The fourth one we have is Tortilla de Patatas ($180). The signature Spanish potato omelette, has alioli and some Iberico ham placed on top, decorated with also some chives. The omelette is beautifully seasoned, fluffy and soft in texture, with the ham adding the rich savoury to enhance the flavours. It is my favourite dish in the evening. Highly recommend.

The fifth one we have is Pulpo a la Gallega ($198). The Galician octopus has been cut into small bite-sized pieces, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with smoked paprika. The octopus is amazingly tender and can be chewed without difficulty. According to the staff this dish is the most popular one and I can understand why. Very good.

For the main we have a Medium Seafood Paella ($358). The paella has great flavours, using intensely rich seafood broth to cook the rice, adding clams, prawns, baby squid and alioli. The rice has also a nice crisp at the bottom for extra fragrance and texture, and we can taste the freshness of the seafood, very different than those frozen ones. Really good.

For dessert, since we are already very full, we go for something lighter, picking Vanilla and Raspberry Gelato ($78). Appropriate in sweetness, it helps to cleanse the palate and is refreshing. A nice finale to the wonderful tapas and paella.

Service is good, with the staff friendly and attentive, helpful in explaining the menu and introducing some signature dishes for us at the beginning but would be good if they can explain a bit more on the dish when they are served. The bill on the night is $2,354 which is also reasonable. A good place for Spanish tapas.