The Place
There’s a fresh, new feeling to the white-washed interior of El Toro, an earnest echo of the Pueblos Blancos of Andalusia. As one of the very newest restaurants in Nanshan’s Coastal City Mall, they’re still perfecting the look and feel of the place. American R&B pipes through the speakers; we hope they’ll add more Spanish flare in the future.
The 100-seat, two-floor space is simple as abuela’s home, unpretentiously welcoming. It serves “traditional food for normal people, not five-star cooking,” co-owner Salim Pons tells us. He brings seven years experience in nightlife and kitchen prep, though he assures us his wife is really the boss.
The Food
The focus here is pure Spain. Of the tapas, mejillones picantes (spicy mussels, RMB35) are most satisfying, with good Spanish olive oil beneath clean, firm seafood. The salsa is bright but not exactly spicy. Like most other dishes, it benefits from a little added salt.
Home-cooking classic tortilla espanola (Spanish omelette, RMB15) is pure Iberian comfort food. It’s simple egg and potato, but too rarely seen here. Galician tuna cake (RMB25) is also tasty with rich and fatty fish in a flaky crust.
But we heartily recommend the paella. Beyond the seafood varieties you’ll find elsewhere, Valencia’s paella tierra pollo conejo y pimientos (RMB158) delivers cubes of chicken and hunks of rabbit meat along with rice that’s perfectly tender. It takes time under supervision by Spanish-trained chefs, but it’s worth it. The crisp bottom adds texture to balance the softness of the rice, carrot and deliciously hearty peas. Elsewhere you’d pay twice the price for something half as good.
El Toro boasts virgin sangria (RMB15), but the beer (RMB20-25) is limited to Tsingtao, Bud and a light-but-earthy Muchenal. A supplier of Spanish beer is still forthcoming, as is the Barcelona pastry chef who’s in negotiations. We look forward to savoring the effects of those additions.
The Vibe
With the Poly Theatre next door and a cinema within the mall, El Toro will prove an endearing spot for a familiar Spanish bite before or after a show. For anyone missing the flavor of Andalusia, El Toro will take you home.
Price: RMB100-200
Who’s going: Spaniards, Poly Theatre visitors
Good for: unpretentious dining, paella
Nearest metro: Houhai (Exit D1), 5 minutes
Open daily, 8am-11.30pm. See listing for El Toro.
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