A lazy afternoon of Mediterranean food in Singapore (Orchard Road)

We are experiencing a hot dry spell in Singapore. The sun seems brighter than normal and the dry heat is scorching. Almost like summer in Spain. The weather inspired us to search for Mediterranean food in Singapore. These days we have quite a bit of Greek and Spanish restaurant choices and we know of only one Portuguese restaurant. We ended up at the Tapas Club in Orchard Central. We have been there before but their weekday 1 for 1 tapas deal was irresistible. Unfortunately, we were told that this arrangement would end soon (I think they said 16 Mar 2018), so please call ahead if you are thinking of going. There could be other weekday offers in the pipeline.

On a weekday afternoon, Tapas Club was a peaceful place. We shared the space with two other couples who had Mediterranean food in Singapore on their minds.

Here are pictures of some portions of the Tapas Club menu and wine list. The 1 for 1 lunch deal was confined to the tapas and dessert part of the menu and that was where we focused our attention. We ordered four tapas. How the discount works is that the two cheapest items are not included in the bill.

The wines available at the Tapas Club were all Spanish. This is probably the most affordable wine list we have seen in Singapore in a full service restaurant. The bottles were priced starting from $30. Most of them were unfamiliar and so we were guided by the descriptions. We ended up with a bottle from the “full-bodied” section. Lagares Crianza 2013, a wine from Valencia is made from cabernet sauvignon. It is also available by the glass and in 500 ml portions, served in a porron, a traditional glass wine pitcher said to be have originated from Catalonia. We had the porron portion ($40) which is just right for two at lunchtime. A full 750 ml bottle would be too indulgent. The wine was really tannic and made our noses crinkle when first poured. After around 30 minutes the juice opened up and it was a delicious wine.

We had the garlic prawns ($13.9) and patatas braves ($9.90). The prawns were nice and fat but would have been better with a stronger garlic flavour. The patatas were drowned out by too much mayonnaise. Otherwise it was a generous portion which is ideal for those with big appetites.

The meatballs with stewed vegetables ($9.9) was the best dish to go with the rich cabernet sauvignon.

The Spanish omelette is something we order out of habit at Spanish restaurants. The dish was very beautifully presented. The colourful plate really put us in the mood for our lunch of Mediterranean food in Singapore. Tastewise, the tortilla was ok but not exceptional.

It was a quiet lazy lunch at Tapas Club on Orchard Road. We were planning to order a dessert or two but the portions were quite large and the four tapas were all we could handle. With the 1 for 1 lunch deal, the cost of our Mediterranean food in Singapore that day was very reasonable, less than the cost of the wine.