UPDATE: Somewhat redeemed by the patio and food, w...

UPDATE: Somewhat redeemed by the patio and food, where my first visit was only for drinks and only inside. The patio is very pleasant even if a bit busy on a summer afternoon. But it still doesn't quite hit it out of the park. My favourites were probably the simple but excellent ham and cheese pinxtos. The raw tuna conserva was good, but surprisingly a bit light on flavour. The chorizo con queso also fell short of expectation with the chorizo a bit more chewy and fatty than I had hoped.

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Only came for drinks, which were very good, and comparable overall to many of the other higher end cocktail bars in the city--Cocktail Bar, Bar Chef, etc. Service was generally friendly, warm and helpful. Menu was quite sophisticated and well thought out with a range of creative cocktails, many with obscure liquors, liqueurs and flavour additions that would impress many a mixologist.

Very charming and inviting atmosphere with a warm and rich carved wood interior encapsulating guests. A key design feature which seems like it might have been better in theory than practice is that the space has no seating at all--standing room only. This could work quite well if you're at the bar or along the outside of the bar. I wasn't as lucky and found myself sharing an upright beer barrel (literally) with another couple which was just awkwardly low enough as to make it difficult to pick up and rest your drink. The standing room design also detracts somewhat from a sense of intimacy which you end up sharing more with fellow bar goers than with the company you came in with. The unstructured space caused me to feel like I was frequently getting in the way of servers or other guests. As a Spanish-styled bar and charcuterie, this may have be intended to be part of the charm, but I wasn't quite feeling it this particular evening.

I would like to try it again to experiment with more of their menu options, food especially, and possibly reassess my assessment.

Expect to be waitlisted most weekend nights.