Esquina had always been on my mind when I was planning to visit my favourite restaurants that I had dined at before my solo dining era. When I saw that they have a tasting menu featuring more than 10 dishes, I quickly jumped onto it and made my reservation.
I love Esquina’s concept of many small dishes of tapas presented in the tasting menu, giving me a full picture of what the food here is all about and of course, enjoying an awesome, exciting, varied gastronomic adventure through the landscape of Spain.
The taste of the food ranges from simulating, exciting to satisfying and blissful to indulgent and complex. The flavours and textures are carefully curated to be in perfect balance, yielding lots of lovely surprises on the palates. I love all the dishes here so much. One of the best Spanish restaurants? A definite Yes!
The ambience at the first floor bar counter in front of the busy open kitchen is vivacious, hip and cool. I love watching the chefs in action. The decor has that warm, rustic feel of Spain in summer, further enhanced by the Spanish music playing in the background. I do feel occasional rushes of hot air from the nearby oven when seated at the centre of the counter tending towards the right, so take note. There is a 2nd floor dining room for group dining or some romantic times.
Service is warm, friendly and great, and that includes the chefs. I’m so happy that I come back again for such an awesome dining experience.
Tuna Escabeche is lightly seared Tuna that has the lovely combination of taste of ocean and gamey flavours of meat. The refreshing taste of green apple and spiciness of jalapeño actually accentuates the sweetness of the tuna.
Uncovering the Quail Egg hidden beneath the Sweet Potato Puree
(From left) Delicious Spanish Cheeses of Tor dels Tillers, Garotxa, Manchego and Retorta. I especially love the wet cheeses. And they go perfectly with the sweetened eggplant. I actually love pairing the cheeses with this eggplant, which is wet in texture, over dried preserved fruits.
I'm going bananas over the Beer Stout Ice-Cream with bananas in different forms: cut, mousse, bread. I'm not usually into banana dessert, but this one is an exception. Because the bananas used here are so lovingly sweet that they totally entrapped my tastebuds. The sweetness juxatposes perfectly with the mild bitterness of the beer stout ice-cream. Caramel sauce adds a salty kick to the taste, highlighting the floral sweetness of the banana.
A special after dessert of rich chocolate ice-cream served with roe. Very interesting combination that works beautifully.
I'm really blown away by how good the food here is. If one is willing to splurge and want to try a good variety of food, I do recommend the tasting menu. One can also care and share to order the menu items since the portions are pretty big, thus being perfect for sharing.
Thoughts: Truly Outstanding Spanish Cuisine that hits all the Sweet Spots in Taste and Texture!
16 Jiak Chuan Road
Nearest MRT: Outram Park