Take Your Meds
John Robertson rounds up the best places in town to taste the Mediterranean
Nothing says summer food quite like the coastal cuisines of the Mediterranean. For those who can’t fit in a siesta on the beaches of Sardinia or the Costa del Sol this year (that’s us, too), here’s our own Med medley for you to pick from.
Spanish
El Cid (1/F, Murray House, Stanley Plaza, Stanley, 2899-0858). Hidden in the (clumsily) relocated former British Army Officers' quarters with a big old terrace overlooking the sea, El Cid offers a wide selection of tapas, including garlic prawns, chorizo, lamb spareribs, crispy calamari and stewed eggplant. Other dishes include the baby squid, codfish with clams in green sauce, and the seafood paella.
Boca Tapas and Wine Bar (65 Peel St., SoHo, 2548-1717). Boca means “mouth” in Spanish, and there’s plenty here to indulge yours. The happening bar and restaurant combines a chilled out atmosphere with excellent food and
an 80-bottle wine list. The menu features chorizo, octopus, mussels and
an excellent chicken croquette.
Rico’s (G/F, 51 Elgin St., SoHo, 2840-0937). This cozy, dimly lit restaurant offers tapas for both vegetarians and ravenous meat-eaters. Also on the menu are paellas, fish, and salad. Large jugs of homemade sangria and live Spanish music get the crowd going on weekends.
Portuguese
Beira Rio (Shop 8-10, 45 Tai Hong St., Sai Wan Ho, 2567-8889). Perched on the Lei King Wan waterfront dining strip next to sister restaurant Beira Dos Namorados, Beira Rio offers traditional Portuguese food, including whole roast boar and fresh oysters and scallops. Bring a large group to tackle the hefty portions.
Italian
The Mistral at the InterContinental (B2, InterContinental Grand Stanford, 70 Mody Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 2731-2870). The Mistral’s special Mediterranean menu is a “culinary voyage through Italy,” featuring everything from Tuscany salami and cheese to Sardinian risotto with oxtail and porcini mushroom, Sardinian gazpacho with lobster, octopus salad with olives, and green taglioni with clams.
DiVino (Shop 1, G/F, 73 Wyndham St., Central, 2167-8883). The popular wine bar and restaurant has Sardinia fever this month, with a special list of dishes from executive chef Michael Senigaglia, including roasted Sardinian baby pork, spaghetti with bottarga roe (a gastronomic specialty produced from the eggs of mullet or tuna), and wild Sardinian sea bass with baby artichokes and Vermentino wine sauce. Finish it off with a glass of Mirto, the regional liquor essential in all Sardinian restaurants.
Enoteca (G/F, 47 Elgin St., SoHo, 2525-9944). The name is Italian for “wine library,” but it’s never quiet at this stylish eatery, with an open area out back and a raucous street-front patio. The menu features a large selection of tapas, pizzas and plentiful platters. Try the red-wine platter for some parma ham, salami, mortadella, tellegio cheese, aged parmesan, olives, marinated peppers and vine-ripened cherry tomatoes with toasted focaccia.
Baci (2/F, 1 Lan Kwai Fong, Central, 2801-5885). Specializing in southern cuisine, Baci flies its ingredients in fresh from Italy. Among the specialties are sautéed veal and the pan-fried salmon. Also on the menu are the thin-crust pizzas, including the quintessentially Mediterranean “four seasons,” with cheese, mushroom, black olive, ham, and artichokes.